Aes Sedai: Cadsuane Melaidhrin

I've always wanted to paint that scenario in Winter's Heart where Rand was being protected as he did his thing, but the cut scenes make it quite hard to compose into a single piece, even for the imagination.

Anyway, I gave it a try, and came up with the main person providing protection, Cadsuane.

Here she's using one of her ornaments to help her while she keeps a shield up, while using another to detect the One Power being used. I suppose most ornaments were in 'full gear' during the battle, but I wanted to highlight the two she used the most during the time, the shrike and the swallow. (Yes, they don't glow, but I wanted to show them 'active') By the way, you can also call her Cadsuane Squarepants - I'm not a fan of divided riding skirts, but I discovered that light passing through her legs gave her a ... stronger stance.

Also, I imagined the 'beacon' of saidar would be something focused, like Nynaeve shining like the round sun. The 'inconceivable amount' is such a convenient measure for RJ - inconvenient for artists! So to add some drama, I made the light bigger, taller and denser, like something you would see even if you're on the other side of the mountains - if you could channel.

Tried a new color scheme, so that I veer away from my usual brown. Oh, and Far Madding golden hand earrings!

Cadsuane using her ter'angreal near Shadar Logoth

I didn't post the step-by-step process this time, as I realize that searching the character names on google, also turns up the unfinished pieces!

Aes Sedai: Seaine Herimon, Yukiri, Egwene al'Vere and Saerin Asnobar

SPOILER ALERT!


This is a scene from Towers of Midnight, where Egwene confers with three Aes Sedai atop the Tower. Although it is a blink-and-miss-it, boring scene, I found it quite appealing to me as a testament of loyal, senior Aes Sedai accepting Egwene's authority.

From left to right are, Seaine Herimon, Yukiri and Saerin Asnobar. I wanted to get the ageless look right (unidentifiable age between 25 - 40) in contrast to Egwene's youthful face. Maybe you can zoom in and see if I got some of the agelessness right. Oops, careful the file is big, might get your eyes poked!

Egwene actually is NOT my favorite character. I can simply relate to her more with the experience, status, and over-all character development. Like what Siuan said, I actually don't like her - she reminds me too much of myself!

Seaine Herimon, Yukiri, Egwene al'Vere and Saerin Asnobar

Also, earrings depict nationality! Seaine wears a bull's head design, while Yukiri has thin lacy rose earrings. I was supposed to put leopards in Saerin's earrings, but I found it too cougarish, so I settled for daggers with leopard hilts (not entirely visible). Egwene has reddish eagle earrings, and we all know what that conveys :)

I might release separate portraits of the background characters, as I have their parts complete although made invisible by Egwene's presence. Also, no stole. I kinda forgot about it, but settled with the idea that she doesn't need to wear them all the time - especially in a private windy area :D

Forces of the Light

Having identified my light source (upper right), I proceeded to add more highlights, even ahead of time.
This way, I can see which parts are given focus to when exposed to the light, which of course would lead to either details or corrections. For example is Egwene's (ok, there I identified her) sleeves. The bell sleeves would have to be toned down a bit as they look a little of a cross between candy and silk. Might add some last minute embroidery there.

I wanted the background not too dark, as the scene is in some time later in the day, but with clouds quickly forming to loom over the city. I must admit, I first planned to paint a snapshot of the city, but I'm not too confident with my cityscapes so I didn't go there. Instead, I just added some different hues to the sky, something I haven't done before, and I'm happy it turned out the way I wanted without too much strokes.

I also added a thin darkening of the opposite side of the highlights, which I think makes the effect more realistic.

So far, so good. Still got minute details to do like accessories, hands and maybe embroidery. I thought of having banners in the background so create that dramatic wind, but we'll have to see as I might overdo it.

Aes Sedai Support

Been working on the three background characters for a time now, and I decided to complete each one's figure and clothing, as opposed to them being hidden by the foreground. Also, in the course of using the new style, I found it quite clean - in fact, too clean for my taste. So I roughed it up a bit, added some ruggedness to the characters - especially their hair, after all they're in a windy area.

I couldn't resist adding highlights before hand, just to see where things were going.

Hid the main character for the meantime as I finish off everyone's clothes. While doing so I added highlights putting in mind where the light was coming from. I think it's a little dirtied up now, much to my preference. Will have to see what would happen after I finish the foreground and the background.

Of course no hands yet - I like to put them last :)

A New, but Traditional Style

It's strange that a certain scene in the Wheel of Time series that feels so boring is compelling me to paint it. Maybe it's the characters who do nothing but talk, plan and think on top of a building, but for me it's probably the feeling of 'acceptance' of one character's leadership, despite the age and experience gap.

This blog contains many spoilers, especially for people who have not yet advanced in the books. So I'll leave some details out, but I'd probably name the characters once I finish the piece, or near completing it.

I looked through various painting tutorials, and although they're methodically done, the pieces seem to achieve more than mine could in such a short time. So I tried changing my style, and opened my mind to learn what other digital artists have to offer. Here's a little of the process...

1. I did the traditional way of digital painting (again!), which is completing as much pencil as possible.

2. I colored the parts slowly and flatly. However, I couldn't resist painting faces, so yes I jumped a little back and forth.

3. Found out that painting faces the traditional way was soooo much easier!

4. Added the main character - here you can see I first painted her flat.

5. I learned that to paint correct light, an object must be taken as reference in the light of choice. So in normal light, the least amount would be the darkest shadows. Then second is the brightest highlights.
On average are the lesser shadows and highlights, while the most amount would be the midtone - the flat colors. It was a revelation to me.

6. Being (quickly) satisfied with the faces, I tried to do clothing so I wouldn't get bored. I first practiced with the leftmost character, using my old style. Surprisingly, I wasn't happy anymore. Then I tried the middle character using the new style - I was quickly impressed!

7. It took half the time to finish the middle character's clothes! I think that I should be redoing the older one's but to get my enthusiasm going, I might try the other characters first. I added a blurred background to get the feel of the atmosphere. I will have to paint that last.

Let's see how well this goes!

If you're interested with the major influence of this style, here's the the link to Mominur Rahman. He posts his tutorials on deviantart.com, and here's his website! Thank you so much, Mominur!

An Ageless Question

Recently, I've been wondering about my style, and although it hasn't solidified yet, I think I managed to establish a certain 'feel' to my pieces. Realizing I'm painting mostly Aes Sedai, I thought that I might as well perfect the ageless face. Since starting digital painting, I've finished four characters that are supposed to be ageless - Verin Mathwin, Siuan Sanche, Bera Harkin, and Kiruna Nachiman. So far, the nearest to the ageless look seems to be Siuan Sanche, which kinda makes me not so satisfied.

So I browsed through different approaches to digital painting, some are rough, while others are extremely polished, so I settled for something in between. Having a piece and a character in mind, I started a new style, with 'agelessness' in mind. Here's what I came up with:

My bf actually helped point out that (in photos of ageless women we browsed online),

the agelessness had something to do with the eyes - they were creased, sad, and almost droopy, while the rest of the face was unaffected. I pointed out that botox helps, and even plastic surgery - causing that tiny curl in the lip, a little cat-like in overdone cases. We both agreed that the cheeks were a little too emphasized and rounded.

My perception may be a little distorted, but I do think this unfinished portrait somehow hits near the mark. I sure do hope I can repeat it, as I suck when it comes to repeating works (hence I did not become a comic book artist). As only one of four characters in a piece I'm planning, I'm a tad bit scared to finish it.

Aes Sedai: Bera Harkin and Kiruna Nachiman

Yay! I finished my first all-out action scene, and finally uploaded it. However, I think there are a few awkward places, perspectives and sizes that could have been done much better, but I think it's quite alright considering my level of expertise with digital painting.

Here you can see Kiruna Nachiman (left) and Bera Harkin (right), surrounded by three (out of their seven) warders, fighting off the Shaido Aiel, in a scene from the Wheel of Time, Lord of Chaos. I don't think there's a line where they're fighting side by side, as it was a busy Perrin who saw them dropping themselves one by one in the middle of the battlefield, so that they could channel effectively.

Bera Harkin and Kiruna Nachiman

Kiruna Nachiman was said to be queenly, statuesque, and had a commanding presence. Bera Harkin on the other hand, was plain, square-faced and looked like a farmwife who became prosperous. I painted them in somewhat Asian-inspired clothing, as these are quite wonderfully maneuverable even if they are made of silk or any other soft fabric, which I thought was perfect for Aes Sedai. I'm also somewhat getting a little addicted to putting 'nationality earrings' on these Aes Sedai as evident in Siuan Sanche's silverpike earrings..

Kiruna has rose earrings - something of Arafel her homeland, where she was the king's sister. While plain Bera has silver lion heads - a reminder of the white lion of Andor where she came from. I think Bera's short hair and plain face coupled with the opulence of her earrings is a great contrast. Also, I first wanted to portray Kiruna with tied-up hair and having a long neck, to get that Ms.Universe feel, but I settled for windswept hair for a little dynamism.

As usual, agelessness is quite hard to perfect, more so with tricky lighting. I think I've managed to paint 'something off' about their faces, so I think it's ok. And I had to remember that they were calm and serene, even during battle.

Caught Up in Conflict

I realize that I haven't posted any progress in almost a month, and it's probably because I've been caught up in some of the most inconvenient timings of both work and hobby schedules. Things have been a little 'tight'... I mean, feeling 'tight in the stomach', and I've been waiting to breathe a little. But enough of them little personal critters, and let me post some progress on the artwork:

 

It's my first time doing a scene where a lot is going on, and I'm struggling to focus on one element at a time. I had to adjust the characters' spacing, as I noticed there were some awkward spaces, especially in the sharp angle.There's still a lot of loose ends, and I wish I could finish them all before proceeding with with hands, which I admit is a great movement indicator in a composition. Oh and the flames, I may need to learn how to make proper fire and add more colors, but this will have to do for the moment. So far, I'm around 60% satisfied. Hopefully when I finish this, I hit my 100%.

Chewing Clothing

Ugh, I may have bitten more than I could chew. So far, I've added two warders to help with the fight. I should probably add 1 or 2 more, just to balance things out. Then my nightmare, doing lots and lots of Aiel. I'm still thinking of how I could find an easier way to paint them.

I wanted this battle to remind me of old Kung Fu movies where fight scenes were done with a lot of fabric flashing and folding, that it becomes very dramatic, even to just move a few awkward steps.

Here I added some nice flowing fabric to our Aes Sedai, as we all know, they all love.

Wishy Washy Weaves

I call my way of painting wishy-washy, because of my very fickle pattern of fixing the layout. Obviously there are a lot of changes to the front character, but I think I've remained loyal to the sketch of the second. I do hope that I can get quite content with them this time as I realize that I've still a long way to go.

Is there a shortcut to painting thousands of Aiel? If there is a way, let me know!

Two Aes Sedai

I'm not entirely sure what's going on these past few weeks, but it seems things are coming up to the surface. There's definitely something to rock the house a little, as a household member leaves for a job overseas, and I think after that, things will get a little hairy. Having the office in the same house I live in kinda makes things tight and bumpy.

In other news, my last aunt on my mother's side recently died. She was the eldest of five and the fourth to pass away - which leaves my mother the last remaining of the siblings. I was a little closer to my Aunt than most, but not as close as my sister was, so she was really devastated. My mom and I kinda accepted the fact that she may go any day because she was already getting weak and very old - she was 83. I'm deeply saddened that she had gone during the night, hopefully peacefully in her sleep, but I'm more saddened by the fact that she and my mom had been together the longest, and now, my mom is all alone. I know that so many, including myself, are here for her, but nothing can compare to the love that my mom had for her sister. My Aunt Elena never married, but she had been there for my mother for so many times, it adds to the sadness that my mom never had the chance to say goodbye.

I'm dedicating this Wheel of Time Fan Art to her, and my mom. Two Aes Sedai - who have passed power among themselves. As I hear from spoilers in A Memory of Light, one of them died as well.

Part 1: Sketching

Part 2: Basic Coloring

Aes Sedai: Siuan Sanche

Finally I'm done! Say hello to Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat in the Wheel of Time: The Great Hunt. This is the scene where she visits Nynaeve al'Meara and Egwene al'Vere aboard the Tar Valon bound ship and teaches them a quick lesson.

I believe this is Robert Jordan's foreshadowing of Siuan's future. In that particular scene, she channels a sword made out of Air upon Nynaeve's remark that she's rather learn to use one. Siuan, while astounding the two girls by making the sword appear out of nowhere, further says that a sword is almost useless. She then turns it into a paring knife, saying that the knife was more useful. In the future, Siuan Sanche realizes she's more useful with her reduced status than before.

Siuan Sanche 

Silverpike!

Added some 'silverpike' earrings and completed the rest of the stole. Softened some shadows on her face and added some neck details. *sigh* I really need to learn speedpainting.

Sick with Siuan

Got a little sick literally, and by the time I've finished half her shoulder, my nose is already dripping wet. And I thought I've finally gotten all the time to finish her this vacation week. I was planning to do a little plant shopping tomorrow and work on the garden a little more, just in time for Easter. Ah well, let's see what happens tomorrow. Maybe I'll work on Siuan again tomorrow night.

Stretching with Siuan

It's been a while since I was able to post something and I guess it's time to stretch my little fingers a bit once more. I realized that all the characters I paint had something 'significant' happen to them, especially in the last book, and trust me, it's not something I expected in the first place.

Maybe my blog is the unofficial prophecy book!

Siuan Sanche

Obviously, it's Siuan! Siuan Sanche as we know her, was the previous Amyrlin Seat, here in all her ageless mystique. I really tried to achieve that ageless look, where a face makes you second, or triple-guess an age. Moiraine describes the look clearly in her narrative, as an estimation of a twenty year old face quickly causing one to second-guess it as a forty-year-old's.

I wanted to veer away from that Zooey Deschanel look people portray her in, and instead give her latin-inspired features. Her nationality was Tairen - Robert Jordan's version of Spain, or some other latin country. I based most of her features from Jennifer Connelly, with those thick, dark brows, making her eyes so intense. Siuan was described as having a strong face, and an intense blue stare.

Although the books say she didn't have concern over her clothes, I interpret it as 'having no care whether what she wears is beautiful or ugly'. So I added lace, partly because there's a small line in New Spring where she smiles in delight at Anaiya's lacey room, and also because it looks so appropriate to give off a hispanic feel.

I really do hope I can finish this one within the week. But at least I got most of the hard part down. Oh wait... what background?!