The Evolution of a Drawing:
This drawing is a little different in terms of how the scrolling worked. Rather than being definitively a part of the boarder, it became a background. As the drawing evolved in the beginning stages, I saw Torrin surrounded by the scrollwork as though they were the memories he was experiencing.
I find it interesting how the tragedy of his past came out in this drawing, as he grapples with the loss of a family as well as the passed lives he is remembering as part of the narrative in the books.
I took my time with this drawing and was actually planning to bring in some gold paint on the scrollwork. I may still do that but I wanted to post and properly photograph the piece first. I will perhaps work into it with the gold and post it next month – perhaps I can add the layers in Photoshop – so I don't risk the original drawing.
Sometimes during the process of creating, I find myself unable to move forward, afraid to ruin what is already working well. But without risk and experimentation , we do not evolve creatively.
I hope you enjoy March's illustration.
Writing Excerpt:
Remembering, Book Two of The Stone Guardians,
Chapter: The Commander.
Torrin awoke slowly, finding his way back from the dream as if through fading mist. It had been so vivid, so filled with sensation and color. He was the commander – everything the man felt and thought was him. He shook his head and looked around the inn’s room in the dawn light. Rowan was still asleep beside him. He looked at her beautiful face and thought of the green eyes of the woman in the dream.
I know her.
Frowning, Torrin sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his face, then reached for his shirt. Rising quietly, he placed another log on the dying fire to counter the morning’s chill which had seeped into the room. He dressed quickly and left after a last look at Rowan. He needed some fresh air and wanted to look in on the horses.
At the bottom of the stairs he met the innkeeper and asked for some breakfast for himself and his wife, then stepped out into the cold morning and crossed to the stable. Black nickered in his stall as Torrin swung the door open. Roanus, on the opposite side, thrust his nose over the gate for a rub. Torrin smiled and gave him a scratch, then picked up a pitchfork and went to the hay pile at the back of the barn.
All his life his dreams had been vague and meaningless. Except for the nightmare of his family’s murder, he almost never remembered his dreams.
He tossed hay to Black then went back for another load for Rowan’s big gray stallion. With the horses fed and busy eating, Torrin went to their tack and gave it a cursory check. The dream flashed through his mind – the woman’s face, his worry about frightening her away and the overwhelming need to know who she was and why he felt so strongly that he knew her.
He shook his head. That was love, wasn’t it?
Isn’t that how he felt about Rowan during that first encounter with her in the Wilds? Even if he couldn’t admit it to himself at the time, he’d loved her from that first moment, but didn’t he also have a feeling of knowing her?
Torrin exhaled in exasperation.
It was just a dream.
Torrin Remembering, Drawing Production Notes:
I spent a long time on Torrin's armor and the leather scaling to make him solid a real against the fantasy background. I kept the scrolls and back ground white graphically delineated, rather than shaded – this added to the feel of abstractness in the background and the graphic design style of the scrolls. Torrin, set against this contrast feels more grounded and serious, which is big part of his personality.
Pencils I used: H, B and 2B.
Prismacolor pencil crayons: White.
The paper I am working on is is Toned Grey Strathmore Mixed Media with a vellum surface. 184 lbs.
Size is 9 x 12 inches.
This drawing comes mostly from my imagination with research on armor texture and styles.
Drawing time was approximately 12 hours.
Copyrights: ©Kindrie Grove Studios Inc.
All art work and illustrations by Kindrie Grove.
All written content and characters related to The Stone Guardians Books by Kindrie Grove. All rights reserved.
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