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

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%.

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?!

Egwene al'Vere

Finally, I'm done. Tweaked the colors once more as I found out they were too saturated. and also added some more elements like a falling 'raken', and the sa'angreal she used. I think I've done a little justice to Ms. Egwene al'Vere here.

Egwene al'Vere during the Seanchan Raid

Still got a lot to learn though! 

An Egwene Update

Another long weekend is coming up and I'm so excited. I get to do my stuff! Clean the house, the office, work in the garden, and of course, finish the painting. Maybe do a craft or two. Considering how stressful the job is, these little tranquil days of quiet are so precious.

As for my second painting, I've finally added a hand! Based off my own of course, and I had to strain to get a nice meaningful pose - not just your average gnarly fireball-conjuring hand.

I also toned down the colors a bit, which is a wild guess. I will have to go over the other computer to view it again, and see if my colors are right this time.

I think I'll be done before the weekend comes and I'll be posting this to my deviantart account!

Backgrounds are Hard Work!

I showed my unfinished Egwene to my boyfriend and he gave me some nice suggestions on how to improve my little painting. So I took his advice, and it got even better!

I must say, painting the background is hard. Even if they're just clouds and smoke, I really wanted to get a good mix of both drama and realism. Anyway, I still have to view this on the other computer and see how the colors turn out. My laptop's colors are screwed!

Long Weekend with Egwene

It's a long weekend once more as the Palace declared today a holiday. So I finally got some R & R and some more time to work on my Egwene project. Here's how it's coming along:

I've been trying to tone down the colors every now and then, and given that my laptop isn't calibrated, I really can't see if the colors are too intense. I'd really like a dusty look filled with debris and smoke, but I think I'll add that last. And yes, no hands yet! I have a hard time making hands so I'll be making those last ;-)

A Change of Mind

Ok, so as time went by, I kept scrutinizing my sketch of Egwene, and I finally changed my mind about it. Thankfully I did. The old sketch was a bit too rigid, with a weird arm gesture that wasn't really my first intention. I realized I wasn't following my normal thinking process, I was thinking through all the painting tutorials I found on the net. So I erased everything and started anew.

This time, I first made the flow of things, then made a really rough sketch to let the gestures flow with the movement. And I went back to my old habit - coloring without finishing the sketch!

Well, I think I've made a good job of it, as I'm much more satisfied with the progress.

I thought I could use the time-tested process, that sketches and details come first, then colors and highlights come later. I can't! I must paint immediately! Scrap the details, I'm adding highlights right now!

Alone like Egwene al'Vere

I think I'm coping up nicely being the lone 'Artender' in the Creative Department, and so far I've managed to squeeze the time to design my own artender table. Hopefully, the production team will get to fabricate it in two weeks, so I don't have to sit exposed to everyone anymore (Yes, everyone who passes by can take a peek at what I'm doing -- which would piss off any artist immensely!).

In other good news, my work was featured at dragonmount.com, which fired me up to make another WoT painting! I've been thinking about my second painting for the past month, and I've settled myself with a major character - Egwene.

So far, I've only seen two interpretations of her in The Gathering Storm, so I thought I'd contribute to the fanart community. I chose her particularly because I could somehow empathize with her, in how she handles her position of power. Although life-wise I relate to Moiraine so much more, I kinda like how Egwene 'learns' things, and in that way I think I've learned a lot from her too.

And learning from my first painting, I think it would be better to detail out a few things before I jump right into the coloring, so now I'm taking my time in sketching. Here's a sneak peek:

I may have to edit the facial features more, but so far, I'm happy with the pose. 

However, my long-time friends and I are going to have a little party this Saturday, so I think there goes my weekend painting plan. In any case, I'm taking my time with this one, and hopefully it would turn out great, if not better than Verin!

 

Aes Sedai: Verin Mathwin

It appears I couldn't stop myself from adding a background. Whenever I peek at this painting, something seems to be missing. So here, I've added some village houses and a few scraggly pines. I think it sort of completes the picture, adding a sense of scale into it.

Verin Mathwin in Emond's Field

Here's a close-up of Verin again:

Verin Mathwin

Well, to say the least, I'm quite satisfied for now. I think I can have a good night's sleep tonight, ending my  week-long vacation. I didn't go out of the house except for buying stuff, and instead I just cleaned and worked on the garden (which I would post about one of these days!).

New Stuff and Painting One (Part Five - Final)

Finally! I'm done with my very first digital painting. Although I was first meaning to put in a lot of detail, I think both laziness and exhaustion got the better part of me. Well, I wouldn't want to drain myself so I think I'd just stick with the basics.

Verin Mathwin

Background does seems little plain. Anyway, it's still my first, so I'll be studying how to make better backgrounds in the future. Hey, if you want a copy of this for your desktop, feel free to comment or contact me here, and I'll send you one!

New Stuff and Painting One (Part Four)

Almost there! I think I've done around 60 percent of the total composition and I'm liking the feel of it. I'm already itching to adjust the depths, but I can't do that unless every element has been laid out.

In other news, I'm planning to help my colleague clean up the office, with all these cigarette butts lying around. I will have to find some cheap ashtrays to assign everyone, one big ashtray for all is encouraging laziness! So I thought why not assign people their own ashtrays with their big names stuck on the little canisters - that way everyone gets to see who smokes like a chimney and who acts like a slob. Brilliant! If I may say so myself :)

Trollocs and Trolling

After watching the second season premier of Grimm last night, I was feeling a bit shady til I fell asleep. Then, a few disappointments at work and facing my pet emotional vampires...coupled with my growing insecurity became my little clammy sandwich for dinner. I don't know why I should feel this insecure, I'm way better in almost every aspect I can think of.

Maybe it's just an 'older child' thingie. Where you don't get praise enough and the younger, problematic child gets all the praise and comforting. I'll probably get over it soon, and hopefully before the day ends. I have absolutely no reason to feel insecure, and every reason to feel privileged

Anyway, as far as painting goes, I've added another element to my Verin composition. Trollocs! So far, they're not as detailed yet. But here's a sneak peak.

Kinda looking like a cross between a rat and a boar, and I think I'll continue to depict trollocs this way - as not just from one species of either bird, boar or goat, but as a mix of human+2more species. Hopefully I can do more and not take shortcuts... I have to do 3 more big ones, and a bunch of background trollocs!

New Stuff and Painting One (Part Three)

Dammit, I can't put the pen down. As soon as I've stopped working for the day, I immediately grabbed the pen and started painting right away!

Here's the painting progress so far...  

Verin Mathwin Unfinished

After hours of trying different techniques, I've finally found the most comfortable and easiest way to digitally paint: Splash on the darker colors, and let the light ones define the picture.

I don't think I mentioned how tired I am of seeing 'static' portraits of the Wheel of Time characters. Everything you see is a studio portrait, where the character seems to stand or sit still, and 'pose for the camera'. Well, to deviate from that, I'm aiming to paint Verin Mathwin in a very dynamic scenario! (By the way, I'm still at 1/4th of the entire painting!). Here's a closer look:

Verin Mathwin Unfinished Closeup

I've also added some symbolic touches of my own: a black sash for a belt, and white under-sleeves. I'm sure you Wheel of Time readers will understand ;-)