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*

[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!

[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 :)

[emmatheslayer.livejournal.com]

Awesome work love it

[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!

[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!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

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

[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

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The story is cool, I reckon you'll like it! Tsuki will be posting later tonight, I'm a bit early.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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!

[red-b-rackham.livejournal.com]

I just want to 100% second everything from kalliel here. These are BEAUTIFUL and so cool! AMAZING WORK. <3

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

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

[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!

[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

[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!!!