Touched by Death - spn_j2 BB art masterpost

[amberdreams]

For the first of my two art fills for the marvellous spn_j2_bigbang,I was lucky enough to snag spnloverja's murder mystery/thriller Touched by Death. I love me a good mystery!
You can read it here (or click on the banner).

As usual, I had much more in mind but ran out of time, but I did manage this illustration - cops Jensen and Jared working late into the night on the trail of the killer.

And two text/chapter dividers



Process!
You'll have noticed a raven theme to these pics. That's because the plot centres round a serial killer with a penchant for Edgar Allen Poe.
Banner:
I drew the raven in pencil, photographed it and added it to the banner. The crime scene tape was a transparency gained via an image search, and I used two textures - one old paper, the other bloody scratches - to get the background effects. The quote is from a Poe poem, and appears in the story.
Main scene:
The background was a collages from photos I found via an image search (because I'm lazy!) - an office, plus a crime board that I pinned a Poe Killer notice to. I then drew the boys using PS and PaintTool Sai, and added various textures and lighting effects to get the right look and feel to the scene. Hopefully it worked. I didn't use any references for the boys.
Dividers:
I used the same crime tape and textures as I used for the banner, and drew a new raven perched on the tape. The raven was drawn in PS.

Comments

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

That is beautiful cover art! I love the colors and the crime scene tape contrast with the raven. (So creative!) The late night office pic is makes me want to read this fic - can't wait! Love these!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot! I'll give you a heads up when the fic goes live.

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

Very cool ravens plus J2 have their own wall of weird. I love the wee small hours of the morning still at work feel of the office picture. Nice work all around.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

heh heh - wall of weird... Thanks, glad you like it!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

That is completely gorgeous art honey, I love the way you can REALLY see the sadness/frustration on Jensen's face!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Poor Jensen, this case has been bugging him for a long time...

[kalliel]

Hoooo~ly moly, that piece is gorgeous! I absolutely adore all the depth to the space of the scene. The way the light draws you do the bottom right corner, but that doesn't make the top left seem any less material--just further away. And the wall of weird!! It's definitely occupying space in the back of the room, and isn't just a wallpaper or a flat set. The dimensionality is just so real here. And I love the tuck-in creases of JP's shirt (and his lovely back, mmm). :DD

Fabulous work!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you for seeing more in the pic than I did myself! You are a star commentator! :D

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

Wow - what stunning art!!! The raven is gorgeous, and I love the investigation wall, with all the details. They boys are perfect; so grim-faced, and the desperation and frustration comes through.

Stunning!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! So glad you get that sense of frustration from this, that's exactly what I was hoping to get across.

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

Lovely!!! I really like this whole set so much. The piece with the boys is just so great, all the detail and things like the way their shirts drape and fold. Because I am totally shallow, I also like Sam's ass on the desk too ;-)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Hee hee I kind of liked Sam's perching bum too :D

[emmatheslayer.livejournal.com]

this is very awesome and truly so pretty great job I love it you have such skill

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Cheers me dear!

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

I want that wall of clues as a background, LOVE the detail and green underwater palette :-D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks - that is all just photo manipping really, and making sure the lighting and colours matched. But it was fun.

[chomaisky.livejournal.com]

That investigation room pic certainly worked well! Very interesting. Love the details in the room!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

i can't claim any credit for that, it was just a photo manip! LOL

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

Love the detail of the raven in the banner, and the lighting in the main scene lends a wonderfully "noir" feeling to the piece. Great work!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! :D

Touched by Death Masterpost

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User spnloverja referenced to your post from Touched by Death Masterpost (http://spnloverja.livejournal.com/10129.html) saying: [...] are put in jeopardy. Because after all, the hardest thing to do is love something death can touch. [...]

Touched by Death

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User spnloverja referenced to your post from Touched by Death (http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/458243.html) saying: [...] Link to art: http://amberdreams.livejournal.com/334456.html [...]

[celtic-forest.livejournal.com]

Wow, these are fantastic! Love the details in the office scene. The boys are working so hard!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

They are indeed!
Thank you!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

they look so tired and overworked in the main pic. i love it. (seriously! what's a crime story without a couple of overworked crime-fighters?) the banner is really good too, with the crime scene tape and the bloodstains and the raven.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Exactly, the working through the night weariness is a must! Thanks so much!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oooh wonderful hun! The raven's a cool and this really makes me want to read the fic. :) I love the colouring in the main pic - it all looks wonderful. <33

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank my dear, glad this is tempting you to read, that means I got something right!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Very nice. The ravens and the crime scene tape area a beautiful contrast and the picture of the late night at work with the crime board thingy behind them is very engaging; I really wanted to get up close and study everything. Of course, the first thing I noticed when I looked at that picture was the way Jared's bum was perched on the edge of the desk; I'm not gonna lie. I spent a while staring at that before moving on to the rest of the captivating picture! :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I find Jared's bum very engaging too... LOL! Thanks for the lovely comment!

[chiiyo86.livejournal.com]

Oooh I particularly like the banner, with the colors and the addition of the"crime scene" tape.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'm glad to hear it! :D

[dun.livejournal.com]

Lovely art, coloring really works in both pics in setting the mood. Love the raven too, and Jared's bum ;D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[big-heart-june.livejournal.com]

You're so talented ♥ LOVE so much here: DEAN'S FRECKLES! his rolled-up sleeves and HAIR, Sam's gorgeous ass lol :P also, the raven! absolutely gorgeous ♥

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Dean's freckles and Sam's ass are necessities (or in this case, Jensen's and Jared's, but whatever - same difference...)
Thanks me dear!

Edition 3,268

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User lesson_in_love referenced to your post from Edition 3,268 (http://spnnewsletter.livejournal.com/907487.html) saying: [...] by Art for "Touched By Death" [...]

[virtualpersonal.livejournal.com]

Great work, love all the little details on the desk and in the room. Feels like the cover for a procedural.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Glad you got that vibe from this! And thanks but I can't take credit for the details as they were all on the pic I played with - took no effort on my part LOL!

[amypond45.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous art! Looking forward to reading the fic!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you - sorry I didn't reply earlier!

[equally-dour.livejournal.com]

ooh, nice work!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you - sorry I didn't reply earlier!

[sillie]

These are wonderful. Love the feel of the cop Jared and Jensen one. <3

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much - sorry I didn't reply earlier!

[arianstarr.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous - I particularly love the illustration.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks, so glad you like it!