{fanart} for Mr. Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by slashweaver

[altocello]

Title: Art for "Mr. Pettigrew Lives for a Day," a Paperlegends 2013 Big Bang story by slashweaver
Artist: altocello
Pairings/characters: Arthur/Merlin, Gaius/Agravaine
Warnings: Art contains spoilers for the fic
Medium: Mixed: ink, coffee, and chalk pastels on white and toned paper. GIMP used to correct for contrast lost when photographing the originals and to add my sig.
Summary: The world-worn Mr Pettigrew has only one ambition in life, and that is to be a gentleman’s gentleman. Having just been summarily dismissed from his current post, down to his last pennies – and with another Great War looming over London – even this modest goal now seems far beyond his reach. At his lowest ebb, he grasps at an opportunity – and suddenly the shabby yet proper old man finds himself awhirl amidst the glamorous immoral world of beautiful nightclub singer Sir Arthur Pendragon.

Notes: I must, again, thank the village of fandom for helping me get these done. I really and truly couldn't do this without you! Firstly, so many thanks are due to slashweaver for providing the inspiration for these pieces; there really are no words, my dear, to express how much I enjoy working with you, and I can only hope that the art begins to show my appreciation. Someday I will get to give you a hug in person; it will be longer and tighter than is appropriate in public, I won't care, and it will only just begin to express how much I have enjoyed working with you. <3 Please always remember that I would draw for you ANY time.

I also owe hugely huge thanks to my beta, amphigoury, and to all my cheerleaders in the #paperlegends chat (you all know who you are :D). Thank you all for being there when I was stuck and needed to be unstuck, especially when I inexplicably, accidentally, drew Bruce Campbell.

And last, but not least, huge thanks are due to the_muppet for doing the incredible and keeping this ship sailing by herself. You are amazing!

Disclaimer: These are non-profit fanworks: no harm intended, no money made.

Chapter Breaks

I chose to draw an art deco style clock showing the time of day of each chapter, since time is such an important facet in this story. I don't think it's giving anything away to say that the entire fic takes place in one day (hence the title!).

There are a lot of these, but I'm just going to include one. It's a Cartier clock, with a sun and ray theme I found repeatedly in my research into art deco, that being the predominant style in the late 1930's.

Illustrations

This first one was drawn with sepia ink on white sketchbook paper and painted with instant coffee.

Fortune's Favor
Gaius holding the card that will change his life.




The next three were all drawn using chalk pastels on toned paper, a smudger, and a kneadable eraser.

Languid
Sir Arthur Pendragon answering the door, just before he realizes it's 5 minutes past ten. In the morning.




Tempted
"Arthur closed his eyes, and offered his beautiful self for a kiss. Merlin watched him, obviously so very tempted…"




Mutual Appreciation
"They considered each other for a long lovely moment. There was no hint of them drawing close together for a kiss or anything like that. But they gifted themselves a moment in which to enjoy their unexpected friendship and mutual appreciation."




And this last one is simply sepia toned India ink on white sketchbook paper. It's intended as a sort of 'Fin' as we fade to black, and will make perfect sense once you've read the story!

An Honest Pair of Socks



Also on
DW | DA | AO3

And you can find the fic at
AO3
or the beautiful site at
Slashcity

Thank you for looking! Comments are loved!

Comments

[loaded-march.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I love these. The expressions that Merlin and Arthur have! There is lovely fine detail in everything, right down to Arthur's ring and the softness in their features. How did you get their eyes to pop out like that? They are so blue! It's gorgeous.

And Gaius! Gaius in a tuxedo with a slightly raised brow and an inscrutable expression! I love it! There isn't enough Gaius in this fandom and you do him so well.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I actually forgot to draw in Arthur's ring the first go around, and had to fix that and retake my final photo, lol. And believe it or not, I actually toned down the blue in their eyes (well, in Merlin's anyway) a bit because it was SO intense. But to answer your question, I used several different colors (not just blue) to give their eyes some variation. I am glad you like it!

Dear Gaius; I love drawing him. Thank you! <3

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Eeeee!! You posted, you posted!! I am sooo excited for you bb!! Everything looks so friggin fantastic!!

You know how much I adore every single one of these, from your fabulous line drawings to those gorgeous pastel masterpieces!! Arthur, Merlin & Gaius are all so damn perfect, I don't even have words for them, just lots and lots of FEELS!!

Congrats bb, you are MAGNIFICENT!!

And your art is pretty damn good too * exaggerated wink*

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Awwwwwww, you! *twists toe in dirt while blushing fiercely and NOT making eye contact and mumbling* ::HUGS:: I am overwhelmed and incapable of a coherent response, lol. Just, THANK YOU. <3

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Absolutely beautiful artwork! I love how you colored Arthur and Merlin's blue eyes. The detail of Arthur's ring is lovely too. Really nice. ♥

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! They both have such beautiful blue eyes; I'm glad you enjoyed my rendition of them! The funny thing about the ring is that I had always meant to draw it, but completely forgot about it later, took a "final" photo of the drawing, and realized as I was correcting the contrast that I needed to go back and put the ring on his finger, lol.

[reni-m.livejournal.com]

Wowowowowow. I love how soft the portraits of Merlin and Arthur are. It's like the 'romantic' lovelight filter they use on old TV shows/movies. So lovely.
Great work, cello!

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Reni! That's pretty much EXACTLY what I was after! \o/ The chalk makes that soft look so very easy to do, not like the watercolor pencils. I love working with it!

[zairaalbereo.livejournal.com]

OMG Cello!!! *falls down and dies*

I've seen a bit of these in progress, but now that they are finished... so incredibly gorgeous, you talented, wonderful fiend! The pieces of Arthur and Merlin are simply beautiful. Like from a dream. But what really gets me is how incredibly well you captured Gaius and his expression (and actually Agravaine too, even though we only get a hint of him from this perspective). I'm stunned bb. Simply stunned.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, Zaira! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

I love drawing Gaius, I really don't do it enough. He's got such an interesting face; there's a lot of his life scribed there for us to read. And it was really lovely to get to draw Agravaine like this even if it was just from the side; gently amused, a bit world weary, but loving.

(And no dying allowed, OK? Here, have a pillow. :D)

[geekslave.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the expressions on both of Merlin and Arthur's faces. The blue of their eyes is so perfect and love Arthur's ring.

Stacey

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Stacey! *hugs* The expressions are so much of the story, I'm glad you like them! And the eyes and the ring really seem to have captured a lot of people's attention. <3

[amphigoury.livejournal.com]

CELLO! I'm so glad to see these finally go live! They look fantastic!

It was an honour to be there for you from the first sketch to the final signature.

[rocknvaughn.livejournal.com]

*sporfles over Amph's "Art Beta" icon...*

[amphigoury.livejournal.com]

LOL, you know Bradley was beta'ing Colin's work.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha, yes! He totally was! Have to say, our Colin is gifted in many ways, but drawing is not one of them, lol. S'ok, Bradley's got his back. :D

[altocello.livejournal.com]

LOL, YES.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

AMPH!! I'm so glad to finally be allowed to let them free! It's been so long since I first started on them; I feel bad that my artist notes are so vague, but you know how it is, the details get fuzzy after a while unless I write it all down, lol. Thank you so much for all of the hand holding and talking down from the woe, angst, and ledges that appeared along the way as I tried to get these to do what I wanted. It was an honour to have you there! {{{hugs}}}

[rocknvaughn.livejournal.com]

Ack! Where's the "Adore" button?!?

*rapes the Adore button*

That coffee one was amazing! Who knew you could paint with coffee? Not me!

The Arthur and especially the Merlin ones....ADFLFJDSFDSH!
My mind is mush, but I love them so, SO much! The Merlin one is so deliciously detailed and the longing is SO clear on Merlin's face. Bravo!

And the Gaius and Agravaine one? Brilliant. They look so true to life!

I can't wait to read this story, but alas, it will have to go on my "marked for later" list until my beta work is done!

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Awwwww, thank you Rockn!

Coffee. I love painting with coffee. Though what I use is really, really, REALLY strong, barely any water added to it, instant espresso. Because I'm impatient and can't be bothered to do a million watercolor layers, lol. I have a couple of other coffee pieces too, if you want to look. Lemme know and I'll link you. :D

I'm so glad the expressions and details spoke to you! And I totally understand about waiting to read the story, I'm doing a lot of that right now as I'm still busy with other PL things at the moment. :D :D But I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the story when you get there! {{{hugs}}}

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you so very much!

The sock idea glomped my brain one night after I'd finished everything else and it literally was too good to pass up! Such a simple thing, but it means so much, and that's one of my favorite lines. :D

I am so happy to hear that the illustrations complemented the fic so well for you, it's one of the best compliments they can get, as that is what they were meant to do. <3

[destina.livejournal.com]

Absolutely stunning. Art deco happens to be my favorite design style in all the world, and I have a clock that's very similar to the one you've drawn. So much love. And so much gorgeous expressiveness in the art.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! And Huzzah for love for the clock! The research for this story was a lot of fun, what with the art deco and the evening wear. :D

[xthursdaynextx.livejournal.com]

These are fantastic! Merlin looks like him, but so very 1930s at the same time, I don't know how you managed that but it's amazing. The likeness of Gaius is very good too, and the expression on Arthur's face.

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! The big difference in Merlin is the hair style (well, the clothes too, lol); let's hear it for the photos from that Great Gatsby-esque photoshoot Colin did for The Lady magazine, those were enormously helpful. :D The drawing of Arthur was all about that open, alluring expression; I'm so glad it spoke to you! And Gaius is a favorite of mine to draw; I'm pleased you feel I captured him. <3

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

These are lovely - the expressions and the detail are fantastic =)

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, I'm glad the expressions and the details spoke to you! :D

And thanks again for being at the helm of Paperlegends and making it all work, oh Captain of Captains! It's always been a highlight of my fandom calendar, both as a reader and as a creator. *hugs*

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much ♥

[phoenixacid.livejournal.com]

The end results is amazing! I had the privilege of watching you finish your Merlin piece - it's even more gorgeous in the end! :)

Great detail and colours, lovely!

[altocello.livejournal.com]

Late reply is late, sorry! Thank you so much, Huey!