Two sketches; Gaius and Merlin

[altocello]

Before I go off on holiday, I thought I'd post these sketches. Apologies for the poor lighting, it's a very grey day here, and I don't have a scanner.

The first one is really being posted for slashweaver, who I thought might like to see some of what went on behind the production of the "Gaius as Taurus" piece. Hope you like it! <3


Click the pics to make them bigger and see the artist notes.

Comments

[bluexyellow1.livejournal.com]

I like the sketches. That's a pretty realistic picture of Gaius up there!

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them! I had been trying to draw Gaius using GIMP with very poor results, and to my surprise and gratification that sketch only took about an hour with paper and pencil. I just can't replicate the gestures I use for drawing with a mouse very well!

[gfeather.livejournal.com]

Awesome art.

And this violist LOVES your icon!!!

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Nice to find another string instrument player! <3 And this cellist thinks your icon is very pretty :D

[the-little-owl.livejournal.com]

Nice sketches. I wish you good luck with the Merlin project, and I like your Gaius, too.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, for both the wishes and the compliment!

[giselleslash.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that one of Gaius in particular is really well done and Merlin's eye is gorgeous.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed them!

[yue_ix]

Gaius's face is so hard to do; I really liked what you did on the Taurus piece, and to see your initial study here. You did great in recreating it, even if you couldn't use this one.

I love Merlin's glare there, the eye like this really stands out. What medium are you using? Colour pencils?

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had really been frustrated with my efforts to draw Gaius, and was in minor panic about how my Zodiac piece was going to come out. Then this just.... happened... one night. It wasn't quite what I was going for, but it was still definitely Gaius. And I felt much better!

I used a mix of plain old graphite pencil and watercolor pencils for Merlin's magic glare. I'm playing with the idea of using only those colors in this battle scene (Merlin's eyes, Excalibur's engraving in gold, everything else in grey/black and white. Glad it works for you too! :D

[slashweaver.livejournal.com]

Eeeee! And I only just saw this, cos of your later post with more wonderful Gaius! Sorry, hon - my life has not been my own lately.

Thank you so so much for sharing this lovely sketch. It's fascinating to see your WIP, and I really appreciate you posting it.

You do such great work! The Merlin one is great, too, and the whole notion of it being part of a battle scene is awesome. I hope that works out for you! But in the meantime, anyone who loves Gaius as much as you so obviously do - well, I love you just as much as that, too. ♥

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are so welcome! I was wondering how RL was treating you, as we hadn't heard anything in a while. Hopefully you'll regain some control of things soon!

Happy to share the happiness, if you know what I mean. :D There is so much love in this fandom; it's why I joined LJ, and I love being able to pay it forward!