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temiel — ATC: Nostra Mater Invicta

Published: 2010-05-03 04:52:56 +0000 UTC; Views: 2066; Favourites: 40; Downloads: 23
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Description Grand Admiral Lady Trean Maeglan, called the Red Sword or the Imperatrix Invicta, once and future champion of the Terran Empire. Avowed enemy to the illithid menace; protectress, conqueror, legendary hero.

I've had this image kicking around in my head for a long time, like a "saint" version of Trean carrying baby Farael, and I've done one or two pencil drawings of it, but I never thought to actually do it in color on something as small as an ATC, which is weird because I should INSTANTLY have thought of Russian icons, but I didn't. When I put up this week's challenge for #ATC-Exchange ("divine"), I had a totally different idea in mind for what to do, but a conversation with =LadyGhostDuchess reminded me of this, and I knew I HAD to do it, just so I could have a real-life version of this thing. The scan... the scan doesn't really do it justice, because in real life, this looks VERY COOL. The halos and borders were done with super old and clumpy gold ink, which of course doesn't scan well.

3.5"x2.5". Micron, watercolor, Prisma pencil, gold ink, white gel pen on bristol.

Yes, her fingers are weirdly jointed. Yes, Farael doesn't look like a proper baby. Yes, the anatomy and folds are abstracted. I was inspired by Russian orthodox icons, which have a very characteristic style that I TRIED to emulate... not sure how successful I was, but it was super fun anyway.
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Comments: 60

waldemar-waldemar [2011-11-29 19:05:41 +0000 UTC]

Is it elven Maria and Jesus? Elven icon?

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temiel In reply to waldemar-waldemar [2011-11-29 23:44:33 +0000 UTC]

Sorta-kinda. It's not exactly intended to be Mary and Jesus per se, but I did take a lot of inspiration from pictures of them. Icon art is just so fantastic.

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Achen089 [2010-05-09 17:21:04 +0000 UTC]

This picture is very interesting.At first,i honestly thought it was the picture of an actual saint,which i wasn't quite expecting to see from you (i don't mean this in any insulting way other than that i just hadn't seen something like this in your gallery before).Then i realised they were your own characters and it just made it more interesting.Because the idea is simply brilliant.Very fitting and convincing enough for me to be fooled.I believe the style you went for is very well executed too.
So i find that this is a quite intriguing and great picture in every way,from the idea to the execusion.

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temiel In reply to Achen089 [2010-05-09 22:56:48 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow, thank you so much! That was a GREAT comment to read. :3 I had absolutely no idea how anyone would react to this one, since it's INCREDIBLY different for me. I'm really glad you like the idea! Let me just say, this looks REALLY NEAT in real life, because it's, like... actual-icon-size. I have it in a frame right now that's not really flattering it, but I hope I can find a new one soon. I wanna show this puppy off!

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Achen089 In reply to temiel [2010-05-20 15:12:34 +0000 UTC]

Haha,well you're most welcome!I found this so interesting because it was exactly something very different from what i usually see from you.Which is a good thing in its own account (i mean apart from the picture looking great already) as it shows you can take different things and make them your own.

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Pietroigor [2010-05-06 21:02:09 +0000 UTC]

Nice idea!

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temiel In reply to Pietroigor [2010-05-07 01:27:34 +0000 UTC]

Aff, thanks. It was just this weird thing I thought up one day but never wanted to commit to paper because I wasn't sure I could. Now, several years later when I'm much better (and no longer second-guessing myself), I'm glad I did.

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WhimsySmile [2010-05-04 16:36:00 +0000 UTC]

Wow. This really looks amazing.

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temiel In reply to WhimsySmile [2010-05-04 19:50:46 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I'm so glad you think so. I'm hoping to frame it in something nice. :3

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WhimsySmile In reply to temiel [2010-05-04 22:15:46 +0000 UTC]

You are most welcome.

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solfieri [2010-05-04 10:55:44 +0000 UTC]

AMAZING concept! (And execution, of course! xD) I loved the idea, it's always interesting using symbols and "existing" imagery to give a new twist to our own characters. And you captured the medieval style incredibly well; the painting is gorgeous and I love the stylization of the anatomy (which matches your own style rather nicely, actually!)!

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temiel In reply to solfieri [2010-05-05 13:04:00 +0000 UTC]

Abrrrrrbrrrr, thank youuuuu. I'm SO glad you like it, this was such a weird little pet project I wasn't too sure how it would come out, but as it is, it turned out EXACTLY like I wanted it to. The stylized anatomy was a bit tricky, but like you said, there's a certain length and thinness to the features that made it a pretty good fit for my regular style.

Now what I REALLY need to find is a frame that'll show it all the way to the edges.

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sionra [2010-05-04 04:18:30 +0000 UTC]

An interesting interpretation of the icon.

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temiel In reply to sionra [2010-05-04 04:24:44 +0000 UTC]

Aff, thanks. I think I enjoyed making this just a little too much.

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raka-raka [2010-05-03 22:42:01 +0000 UTC]

I love this one!!! *_* my best appreciations for this card!!!

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temiel In reply to raka-raka [2010-05-03 22:52:50 +0000 UTC]

Yay, thank you so much!! It's sitting on my desk in front of my computer now, all gold and shiny. :3

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raka-raka In reply to temiel [2010-05-03 23:16:58 +0000 UTC]

*_*

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Dwenda [2010-05-03 19:10:48 +0000 UTC]

Fsss, this looks AMAZING. Considering hw terrible my own gold scanned, I think this looks really good! It must look intense irl. i love Trean's face and how honest you were to the style, an n'aaw, tiny Farael. That flame sword looks totally awesome as well.

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temiel In reply to Dwenda [2010-05-03 22:00:33 +0000 UTC]

ANNNGH thank youuuuu. DDD: I spent SO LONG on this last night. Taking into consideration how your gold scanned, yeah, this doesn't look TOO bad, but it's weirdly uneven, you know? Like, it seems like it picked up the metallic on one section of the card but not the other? Fff, I don't know. My scanner is stupid. I will say that in real life it does indeed look MUCH better, Alan thinks the scan doesn't do it justice. The flame sword was so hard to find a reference for since you don't see a huge amount of swords on icons, but in the end I think it worked out because it ended up looking a bit like the staves some of those guys hold. ("Staves" is the plural of "staff", right? Firefox is telling me it's misspelled. )

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Suupashi [2010-05-03 18:24:28 +0000 UTC]

I really love the way you did this. You captured that old Medieval Madonna and christ child look. I mean, you captured it SO much so that i did a double take when i looked at my inbox. I love Faraels look, the gestures of peace and whatnot really just nails the authenticity for me.

Love the byzantine sort of gold look you've got going with this. Just

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temiel In reply to Suupashi [2010-05-03 22:09:15 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you think I captured it. I think the reason I was so apprehensive about ever committing this to paper was the fact that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it look right, since I wanted something that looked as if it could've been authentic once upon a time (or, I guess, in a far future time).

When I realized that I could do this for this week's ATC theme and that I even had the gold ink I wanted on hand, I was PSYCHED. I couldn't leave the gold out, it's totally one of the best parts of religious art, the random spots of gold around.

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LeoNealArt [2010-05-03 18:07:05 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful line work and colors

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temiel In reply to LeoNealArt [2010-05-03 18:11:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I'm glad you like it, I tried to pay really close attention to the lines here because on most orthodox icons the line work is really sparing.

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LeoNealArt In reply to temiel [2010-05-03 18:34:25 +0000 UTC]

Yes, and I believe u've done the job wonderfully.

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kanako91 [2010-05-03 16:53:29 +0000 UTC]

That's much much better than orthodox icons
Farael is so cuuuute!

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temiel In reply to kanako91 [2010-05-03 17:39:14 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! Not sure I was really going for "cute" (I don't think I've ever seen a baby Jesus on an icon or altarpiece I'd call "cute", since very often they're a little creepy... I saw one once at the Boston MFA where he was whispering in the Virgin Mary's ear and she looked really suspicious, it seemed like they were conspiring or something), but I'm glad you think so anyway!

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Chenria [2010-05-03 16:08:19 +0000 UTC]

Gold ink... why aren't things like that available around here??

This looks really gorgeous it totally reminds me of pictures Russian ikons the idea is also really amazing!
Great job!

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temiel In reply to Chenria [2010-05-03 17:31:39 +0000 UTC]

Really?! You don't have it? It's just Winsor-Newton gold ink in the little glass bottle... You could probably order it here. [link] It is AWESOME.

I'm really glad you like this! It's definitely different for me, but it was so much fun to do such a radical style departure.

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Chenria In reply to temiel [2010-05-04 20:25:48 +0000 UTC]

I heard of Winsor-Newton but I think most art suppliers just sell Pelikan, Rotring or Faber Castell around here... but maybe I'll get to Berlin again and the art stores there might have gold ink... I just never looked for it and maybe I just never found it XD

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TheDevilsBlush [2010-05-03 15:26:10 +0000 UTC]

Wow.. O___O That is amazing.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

temiel In reply to TheDevilsBlush [2010-05-03 15:29:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! It took up pretty much my entire yesterday, so I'm glad you like it.

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TheCursemaster [2010-05-03 13:08:05 +0000 UTC]

Ergh, I mean... "it looks like* =_=

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TheCursemaster [2010-05-03 13:07:22 +0000 UTC]

Pwahahahah, this is so funny X°°D
Btw, the work is wonderful It really likes like an ortodox icon, congrats! *3*/

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

temiel In reply to TheCursemaster [2010-05-03 14:27:35 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad you like it, thanks! I'm also glad it actually looks like what I meant it to.

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windyautumnmoon [2010-05-03 12:45:14 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is really lovely . You did an amazing job with all of the little details (that had to be a killer on something so small).

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temiel In reply to windyautumnmoon [2010-05-03 12:50:39 +0000 UTC]

Aff, it totally was. By the end my hand was cramping up like I don't know what. But I'm really proud of the end result, so I think it may have been worth it, and it definitely gave me a healthy appreciation for the skill of the people who made these in real life! I'm really glad you like it!

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Larissa-Bright [2010-05-03 10:22:02 +0000 UTC]

As far as I'm concerned any weird joints and anatomical inaccuracies don't matter in a picture like this when pne is emulating a style like this, which was hardly 100% realistic. It looks very mural or stained glass window indeed.

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temiel In reply to Larissa-Bright [2010-05-03 12:34:37 +0000 UTC]

I figured, just thought it was best to cover my bases with a disclaimer. I'm glad it looks at least a LITTLE like what I was going for!

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rosalbarts [2010-05-03 10:16:56 +0000 UTC]

Wow, for a moment, by seeing the preview, I thought it was a REAL byzantine-orthodox holy icon
Really interesting interpretation, Trean REALLY looks like the Holy Mary

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temiel In reply to rosalbarts [2010-05-03 12:17:02 +0000 UTC]

LOL! Thanks so much! You know what I REALLY wish, is that I had the art chops to do a little version of this on an actual wood panel in oils, but really, I don't.

Trean does look far more Mary-ish than I intended, alas. I thought at the time that I was giving her a different-enough-colored robe, but I really didn't. But there are so few colors that work with the red hair!

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Asarea [2010-05-03 09:47:38 +0000 UTC]

I really like how this came out, but although I'm not a very religious person, this one feels a bit odd for me. No offense meant, I just think religious cultural influences of the present should not be mixed too wildly with fantasy stuff.

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temiel In reply to Asarea [2010-05-03 11:42:20 +0000 UTC]

I was wondering if it might hit any nerves. I hoped it wouldn't, but you can't please everyone, alas. I've seen some AWESOME fantasy work done in styles like this before, so I figured it was GENERALLY safe territory.

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Asarea In reply to temiel [2010-05-03 16:16:52 +0000 UTC]

Oh, of course it is ... maybe it's my experience in different religious styles that makes me feel odd dunno. Technically it's a well done scenery, although it can't please my deepest heartly feelings. But as you mentioned, you can't please everyone all the time

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PhantasmMarquesses [2010-05-03 05:52:37 +0000 UTC]

When I saw this from the thumbnail the first thing that went through my head is "how the hell did I remind her to do something so amazing? something like this!" but then I remembered our conversation

I think this turned out really really wickedly cool! And I like the fact that he doesn't look like a baby because if you see all the religious inspired artwork 99.9% of the time baby Jesus looks like a very small full grown man So I think you captured them together just wonderfully.

With the thickness of the golden paint and the color choices you used I can really see this as being a "divine" picture, it looks like something that you would have seen on a bible from Renaissance time and the re-birth of religion.

My word I am using religion a lot in this *swats it away*

I really love the colors that you chose, they seem so bold and brilliant! And I LOVE the gold paint The fact that you used so many mediums in it shows that you have control over a grouping of art kinds, not just one (like I am stuck on )

I really love this, over all I think it is breath taking and I am so happy I helped you to remember to do this piece because it was an amazing piece to be brought to our eyes!

Love it!

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temiel In reply to PhantasmMarquesses [2010-05-03 12:28:39 +0000 UTC]

Yes indeed, I wouldn't even have thought of it without that conversation, which would've been a SERIOUS waste of this theme. So yes, thank you!

I'm REALLY glad you like how it turned out. This one... normally the ATCs I make I love to have around but I often offer them for sale, but this one I'm keeping all to myself so I can frame it. I'm SUPER proud of it, and it took a long time and was really painstaking toward the end when I was messing with that gold ink which is so old it wouldn't flow properly. By the end my hand was cramping up like a mofo.

I definitely figured it was okay for Farael to look like a mini adult for exactly that reason. Normally I WOULD make him more baby-ish, but the style really demanded something weirder.

At first I was planning to make this entirely in watercolor with the gold ink and the lines, but I just couldn't swing that because watercolors, unless you lay them down ULTRA thick which makes it pick up the paper's texture too much, just don't get really dark. After enough working the paper can't absorb any more water, so it just stays a certain darkness, so I really needed to bring in my good old friend the colored pencils to push the darks more. It looked okay before, but once I started delineating the really dark values it looked SO much better. Also, through this experiment I managed to find out that gel pen does indeed work on top of the wax. Just don't go over the gel line more than once, because it'll start carving a groove down the center of the line.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

PhantasmMarquesses In reply to temiel [2010-05-03 19:33:41 +0000 UTC]

YAY! Okay note to self, do not buy a gel pen, white out pen it is!
I am glad that experiment really opened up the answer to another question you and I were talking about.

I am glad you are not selling it, that you are keeping it for yourself that makes me happy. I always have issues in selling my art or taking commissions lol. You should frame it and put it up for the world to see!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

temiel In reply to PhantasmMarquesses [2010-05-03 19:56:56 +0000 UTC]

Oh, that's totally the plan! If I can find a small enough frame that's also decorative, I want to hang it in that. Our Lady of Perpetual Ass-Whomping can hang over our gaming table, ensuring critical hits and favorable dice rolls.

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PhantasmMarquesses In reply to temiel [2010-05-03 20:04:22 +0000 UTC]

That would be f'in aw-sum!!

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MNat [2010-05-03 05:38:39 +0000 UTC]

Trean certainly like a jack of all trades, isnt she? She's just awesome at everything!But how is she at SCABBLE?!

Actually, I'm very fond of emmulating old-tiney styles. Russian gothic icons are AWESOME and you were entirly successul. I know exactly what you were trying to do even when I saw it in the thumbnail in my inbox.I love that old-time tapestry style as well, harkening to The Unicorn Tapestries.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

temiel In reply to MNat [2010-05-03 11:46:17 +0000 UTC]

HAHA, she's probably NOT that good at Scrabble. Her specialties lie almost exclusively in the ass-kicking field. She CERTAINLY has no patience for puzzles, games, "creative" pursuits, or anything of the like; after all, she's got places to go and monsters to kill ALL THE TIME. She's not even that much of a combat strategist, truth be told; her MO consists mainly of "if it has an ass, I'll just kick it; lacking that, I'll just kick whatever it's got".

I love old-timey tapestries too! I've only tried to emulate a really different style once, and I was going for a Japanese woodcut and didn't do nearly so well. But then, I was in school, and didn't care all that much.

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