SPN_J2 BB - When the Devil Came to Pluto. Art Masterpost

[amberdreams]

This year's spn_j2_bigbang I claimed a Western J2 AU, because the summary sounded like so much fun. I was right! I was chuffed to learn the story belonged to tsuki_no_bara, as I hadn't worked with her before. So this meant lots of new things - so exciting!

Click on the banner  or HERE to read the story

There were so many interesting characters and so many visually pleasing scenes in the fic I'd have liked to illustrate, but sadly the timings of the bb mean artists don't get a huge amount of time, and mine ran out very quickly!
Here are my finished pieces:
The town of Pluto

This is a composite made from two different drawings. Here's the town buildings on their own.

I thought it would be fun to try some gifs, so the next two are (slightly) animated.
This is the scene where Jared sees Jensen take off into the night, using a burning brand to light his way.

Next, Jared and the herd of ghost ponies. I'm not really happy with this, it didn't turn out like I wanted but it is what it is.


And lastly, here's Jared and Jensen by their campfire.


Process!!
All the creations were a combination of traditional and digital.
Here are the traditional drawings for each piece.
First the two drawings of Jared and Jensen that I used in the last picture, done with Koh-i-nor sanguine pencil.


I used two overlay effects on that final picture; one is from Pack 19 by_sirius_sdz, which gives the effect of a fire between them, and the second was a NASA Hubble photo of cosmic dust. I then digitally painted the background and highlights of the fire on their faces, added colour dodge yellow and multiplied shadows to creat the fire effect and sparks. I then used those layers to create the gif.

Here's the town drawing number 1 before I changed Funeral to Richings on the last building.

I used a composite of several photos of Western towns for reference, and then, because I'd stupidly done the townscape too near the top of a page, I drew the town sign separately then mashed the two together in Photoshop.

The pic of Jensen climbing over the rocks was done entirely without references, and I used ink pen and watercolours. Stage one was drawing Jensen and the rocks in ink, then giving it a wash of watercolour paint.

Stage two was adding more colour with watercolour pencils, then washing over that with water to blend it.

Stage three was all digital, adding shading and shadows and the flickering light.

Lastly, this was my first ghost pony idea.

Done in a hurry on my iPad but I actually like the pony on this much better than the ink wash versions I tried this morning.

Here's the ink wash version. I then drew Jared with sanguine pencil and fineliner. Not at all happy with it.

Comments

[kalliel]

Omg, I kept scolling down this post like "yeah, that's my favorite one" and then thinking "NO WAIT THAT ONE," NO WAIT--" I love the combination of styles you employ here--from the eye-popping sparseness of the town line art to the evocative, suggestive colors of the torch pic. AND THE GHOST PONIES! In negative, they are so delightfully creepy. I love the green tinge you get from the difference coloration, vs. how a pure white or grey might have looked. Gorgeous spread! <333

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

This whole comment! ♥ *NODS*

[sinfulslasher]

Came here to gush, read this comment, figured I'd just go "so co-signing this!" because I couldn't have said it any better. :)

Amber, you outdid yourself and I can't wait to read the fic!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

The colours on the ponies worked pretty well, I'm glad you liked that! I inverted the original then overlaid a couple of textures for the colours.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking I'm going to find my favourite piece and then stop but nope, all the way to the bottom of the post! Love the ghost ponies, I know you aren't happy with them but I really like the green hue and the minimal lighting on the image, very very creepy :D As for the gifs, super clever. I think the campfire one is my fave of those, but both are excellent. You never just stick to one style or medium and you're too talented!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Aw thanks me dear, I'm glad you liked the ponies! I think I'd have been ok with that one if I hadn't liked the sketchy iPad one so much! LOL

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

Wow!!! Considering you had limited time you sure did a lot of pieces for the fic!!! I love the varied styles too, especially the gif work for the fires, and the ghost horses! Such a wonderful rich art set - thank you for sharing. take care :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks bunches, I think you'll enjoy the fic! It should be posted later tonight.

[emmatheslayer.livejournal.com]

Awesome work love it

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[dear-tiger.livejournal.com]

:D This fic is dear to my little heart, and look at all the cool, amazing art you did in a really short time! I also struggle to pick a favorite. Dude, the night scenes are so cool and creepy. And the firelight scene is gorgeous. And the ghost ponies and so ghostly! I also adore this undertaker's little ad on the front of the building :D That was gorgeous.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It was a most enjoyable read, and there was so much choice for an artist, I was well chuffed I'd picked this one! Glad you like the art and think it goes with the story!

[thruterryseyes.livejournal.com]

To be honest i love the horse one. There's just something about it. This stuff is great. Especially the line drawings.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you (and others!) like the horses - that often happens to me LOL. Must be contrary... Thanks!

[aggiedoll.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy each time I find an artist who still brings in "traditional" techniques... the way you mixed your drawings/paintings with digital techniques is really gorgeous- and fits the story so well! Great job!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Weirdly I have only relatively recently started up traditional arting again, but I'm gradually getting more confident. Thanks for the endorsement!

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

As someone who can't even draw stick people very well, I so enjoy your "how i did it" segments. And the art, as usual, blows me away! It definitely entices me to explore the story asap!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Excellent! My work here is done then!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

What do you mean, time ran out quickly? Look at all the things you created, I'm in AWE! From the line drawings that feel so very Westerny to the fricking animated fires: IT'S ALL SO PRETTY and beautifully coloured!

The ghostponies are GLORIOUS. Woah, they're coming right at me! I love how dark and spooky you made them look. The colours are gorgeous.

All the process pictures and so much Making Of information, yay! *bounces* Heh, I know Koh-i-Nor only as a fancy toothbrush brand (and yes, I own a couple, they are the BEST toothbrushes;) What program did you use to make the gif? The fire in their eyes looks so cool, truely impressive animation details.

The way you mix and edit traditional art with digital fiddling is inspirational. I think the original drawings already look great and then BLAM you make magic happen.

Oh, I see what you mean with the blurry ghostpony, that effect is indeed intriguing. But the ink wash ponies are making me swoon and I'm crushing hard on the final version of that.

*bows down at your feet*

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Aw you are too kind! Making me very happy with your lovely words.

I use a free website called makeagif.com - there are probably better, more sophisticated ways of making gifs but this one seems to work ok. I used 6 different pics to make the movement in the campfire gif - the sparks (and the light in their eyes - well spotted!) were two images, one at 50% opacity so I could try and make it a bit more subtle. I probably should have tried more layers and more images but yeah. There you go!

[sillie]

Ooh, these are all so wonderful! I love all of them, but I'm especially smitten with the banner for some reason. The lines are so nice and crisp. <3 Thanks for sharing the process, that was fun to see. :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

They look crisp because the drawing is so small LOL! But thank you! :D

[julchen11.livejournal.com]

OMG! All of them are amazing and gorgeous. My favourite? No choice possible, absolutely not. Wow.... just wow...
Thanks for sharing, my dear. You did a "fan"-tastic Job!!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i still love that you made not one but TWO gifs! the fire effects are really fabulous in both of them, altho think the jensen-and-his-torch is my favorite, because the sky is so dark and the landscape looks so empty around him. and i'm so tickled that you used a pic of cosmic dust as an overlay for the second one, because SPACE! i love space. and the ghost ponies are fantastic! the color palette makes them look especially ghostly and otherworldly. you can see jared's clothes better in the ink wash drawing - and his cute butt :D - but seriously, the ponies are really good. and i lovelovelove what you did with the banner, crossing out "welcome to" in favor of the title. and the fact that you included the undertaker's place (with coffins made to measure! hee) makes me cackle like a loon. and it's so vintage-looking and sepia. good stuff. :D and i love process pics, so those are a nice bonus.

it was just a total pleasure working with you. :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Given that you've had the services of petite_madame in the past, I'm grateful I could give you something you liked! LOL

[reapertownusa.livejournal.com]

These are all so beautiful! I am a particular sucker for pen and ink (and Microns are my favorite pens!), and you did such an amazing job rendering the town. I can't believe you were able to draw it so small and get in so many wonderful details.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I need to put my glasses on instead of taking them off for small details now though... *sigh*. I'm getting old!

[jimbobjoe.livejournal.com]

Wow, these are amazing! My favorite is definitely Jensen holding the torch climbing the rocks. Both the regular and the gif are awesome!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Yay! It's cool you like that one best, as that was kind of the least digital of the set. :D

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

Holy Moly! My dear Amber, you have talents with no ends ;) I have a thing for Western settings (AU and canon) for a long time, but I've never, ever seen some drawing of an Old West town with so much life in it than yours! And just how beautiful are both the pic of Jensen wandering around in the mountains and the boys at the campfire? *is awestruck* And as for the ghost ponies - they so remind me of the ghost army from the last part of Lord of the Rings, just more beautiful than them.

Gorgeous post, hun!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Aw thank you so much! What a lovely comment!

Ooh I hadn't thought about the ghost army from LOTR, that's a very cool comparison.

[bflyw.livejournal.com]

holy cow girl, you are so talented!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are fantastic! Awesome! I admire your art so much!

I have one project coming up (in my 5th day of march series), where I want to draw. For bigbang this year, I do photomanips again, because it's been a while since I did that, and I still love it, and still want to show that as a way if making art. But yeah, looking at these makes me excited about my upcoming project. :-)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm glad you are drawing too though, I do love photo manips but traditional (and digital) drawing is more intriguing and individual, you know? I'm very happy you like this set of mine!

[siennavie.livejournal.com]

Love the penwork and rich details on the town. And then the watercolor and flickering lights is just so atmospheric! I'm with you on the ghost ponies - the iPad version better captures a sense of non-corporealism I think. But you still did a great job with the coloring on the final piece to capture that ghostliness! :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes sometimes a happy accident is better than a finished piece...

[equally-dour.livejournal.com]

nice work!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And sorry for the slowness responding!

[hugemind.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, shiny! I love how the style and technique of these fits the story! The linework looks pretty and the ghost ponies are creepy-cool and the one with Jensen with the torch has very nice colors. ♥

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[glovered.livejournal.com]

These are so great! Love me some western art. It's always super interesting to read about artists' processes, so thanks for adding these notes!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And I've just updated the post so the gifs are working again now.

[cherie-morte.livejournal.com]

OH AMBER. GOD DAMN IF YOU DIDN'T OUT-DO EVEN YOUR OWN INCREDIBLE SELF WITH THIS ART SET. I am in. fucking. love. with it. The way you used that sepia tone to create the old west feel is so perfect. I adore the way you let the banner set a really desolate 'wandering through the desert' tone for the story, that skull at the bottom, the spooky ghost town in the background, and the bloody graffiti on the sign. It would have been a huge mistake to populate this piece with any characters, so I'm really glad you let the viewer just sit with the setting like this in the introductory piece.

BUT THEN THE LOVELY SCENE ILLUSTRATIONS!! I love that you carried through the theme of the fire flickering in the gifs. I haven't read the story yet, but you really captured a sense or urgency and desperation in that scene of Jensen taking off into the night, the fire lighting him.

I know you mention not being happy with the ghost horse piece, and I get that we are all our own worst critics and hearing assurances from others doesn't usually put our inner critic to rest, but man, I wish I had the words to tell you how much I love that piece. Not only is it my favorite in this art set, it's one of my favorites from this entire round of bigbang art. I love everything about it: the POV, the use of space. The way you seemed to make the ghost horses glow in the dark, such a perfect ghostly coloring job. Jared's tight little ass...not gonna lie to you, I liked that a whole lot. YOU HAVE A GIFT FOR ARTING BUTTS, WHAT CAN I SAY?

And then the last piece is just so sweet. You brought it so much to life with that fire--I could almost feel the flames. But even more palpable is the connection between the boys. You captured that J2 connection that we all love so much. The smile on Jared, the heart eyes on Jensen. And it's so suggestive of action--even though the boys are still, I can hear and see their animated conversation.

What a beautiful bigbang art set!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks for such an enthusiastic response! Makes a girl feel all warm and fuzzy. i'm so happy you like the ghost ponies, and the J2's expressions. They make it so easy to find good references for that loving look! LOL

[finchandsparrow.livejournal.com]

Ummm lemme just pop in six months after this was posted to say I just saw this and I love it!!! All fabulous pieces—the fire effects in those gifs are so neat!—but I am especially in love with the pen drawing(s) of the town (so much wonderful character to it) and the ghost horses (the beautiful fading forms, the eerie glow, ahh!) <3