Take 2:
Take 3:
Take 4:
... and counting :).
So far, I like the fourth one best, but I'm not happy with how Gawain's legs look, plus I think Ragnell should reach out a bit more - right now it almost looks as though Gawain is holding her hand against her will. On to the next attempt...
This is for a contest at deviantART. All concrit is appreciated!
This is for a contest at deviantART. All concrit is appreciated!
4 comments:
Ugh, it’s been ages since I last commented on your blog. Sorry! I still have to read all the posts below, but since you ask for comments, I’d thought I could leave you one even if I return here all of a sudden ^^
Let’s say first of all that I don’t know the story. Is Gawain trying to help the old lady? Is the old lady in reality a witch or a fairy who helps/damages the knight? In any case, my favourite one is the first one. It has a William Blake-sque flavour in it, and with a little more bending of Gawain toward the lady it would be perfect. The composition is simple, and it is intriguing where the two characters are going – bringing to my previous question, is the lady going to reward Gawain for what he’s doing or to punish him? It’s more compelling. I’d colour it with a limited palette of brown and grey, just like a washed engraving by Mr. Blake.
Take 4 is more refined but is also more crystallized and less fluent. The pose of Gawain is particularly stiff, even if that could serve to his knightly position. Old Ragnell seems perfectly happy of being helped, and in general it seems a much more tranquil situation than the previous one. It really depends on what you want to represent: a civil conversation between an old lady and a gallant knight or a doubtful scene of a possible treachery. I don’t know what that’s about, so please forgive me if I completely misunderstood the story or your intentions :)
I guess this is for the Arthurian contest. I wish I had the time to do a little entry myself, just a little thing about Avalon...
Actually I could more or less guess why I didn't see you around anymore... ;-) I'm so sorry to hear you won't be doing a piece for the contest after all; I was very curious. But I think you have other priorities now *g*. Just think that the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can start doing art again...
(Yes, I know: blech! :P)
The lady is a fairy, yes. But if the first draft looks more sinister, then it is definitely less suitable to the story. The way you interpret the fourth picture is very much in line with my intentions - even though I *would* like Gawain to look less stiff. He's actually proposing to her, honouring King Arthur's promise to the lady - she saved Arthur's life. The story is a very classic one. I don't know if you would like me to tell it, or wait till I draw it :).
I read the story (thanks, wikipedia) and definitely the second take is the most appropriate one ^^ Even Gawain's eventual stiffness can be the result of his reluctance to marry the old lady... Even if I'd done something more audacious with Gawain finding the beautiful bride in his bed ^^ ahah, sorry. No, the thing that I liked in the story (at least, in wiki's summary) is the fact that Gawain gives her the soveraynté or how it is spelled. I think I would have chosen to draw that moment (but how? Maybe reading the poem would help...). So now dress Ragnell in white and show Gawain putting the wedding ring on her finger!
As for me, since my idea is really a small one, I hope to find one hour or two in the weekend and to make at least a little thing for the contest. After all, it's not that I'm writing 24/24... only some 14 hours a day. Pheeu!
Btw, there is an unofficial date for the discussion! Brrr!
Ha! The sovereignty thing is *of course* also the thing that interests me about the story :). Some not-so-feminist-inclined people interpret it as meaning that women want to rule men, but basically all Ragnell says is that women want to make their own decisions instead of being told what to do by their husbands. This is really a recurring element in Gawain's behaviour, not just in the Ragnell story: he doesn't want to impose his decisions on women. That's pretty unusual for a knight :).
I agree that there are other attractive images to be done of this story, and Gawain + pretty Ragnell + bedroom would certainly be more popular than Gawain chatting to a hag. But it's the contrast that interests me. If I draw Gawain with a pretty woman, she could be any woman, and he could be any knight. Gawain is the only one of Arthur's knights who is linked to an old woman, and the handsome young knight taking a hag for his wife is striking - or so I think. Of course the other moments are all going to go into the comic :)...
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