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

[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