Character Sketch - Joscelin Verreuil - Protect and Serve

8x10 inches, HB and 6B graphite pencils on paper.

The young man standing in the shadows behind me bowed in the traditional manner of the Cassiline Brotherhood, hands crossed before him at chest level.  Warm sunlight gleamed on the steel of his vambraces and the chain-mail that gauntleted the backs of his hands.  His twin daggers hung low on his belt and the cruciform hilt of his sword, always worn at the back, rose above his shoulders.  He straightened and met my eyes.

"Phèdre nó Delaunay," he said formally, "I am Joscelin Verreuil of the Cassiline Brotherhood.  It is my privilege to attend."

He neither looked nor sounded as though he meant it...

- Phedre meets Joscelin for the first time in Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey.

This was a sketch prize for reaching 1000 Likes on this project's Facebook fan page.  I was so happy to get the chance to draw Joscelin Verreuil, who does not have near enough fan art of him, considering what a BAMF he is in the books.

EDIT:  I've also created some wallpapers customized for your desktop, laptops, and phones here, plus a sweet, sweet high res version where you can oggle all the details on Joscelin!  My little way of saying thanks for being an awesome fandom.;)

Fan Art Feature: Jessica Cox aka. Zeldyn

If you haven’t seen the amazing and inspiring Kushiel’s Legacy fan art by Jessica Cox, you are missing out! 

See the full sized images at the Kushiel Concepts tumblr post.

 

Her work has long inspired me to move forward with my own interpretations of these beloved characters from the series. I especially love her take on Melisande and Favrielle. They are simply as my mind pictured them!

You can see more of Jessica’s artwork at her blog.

Kushiel Concepts Pinterest Inspiration Board

I’ve been busy with my other projects, but no worries. I haven’t forgotten this one! I’m constantly adding inspiring images that make me think of the Kushiel’s Legacy series over at Pinterest with plans to use them for this project.

Be sure to give it a Follow, if you’d like to keep up!

http://www.pinterest.com/angelicshadow/kushiels-legacy/

New Kushiel's Legacy Ebook Covers

Have you seen the new covers for the Kushiel’s Legacy ebooks (UK versions)? So simple and elegant! Read more about them here.

Kushiel's Dart - Portrait Sketches - Young Phèdre, Hyacinthe, and Dowayne Miriam

It's been a little while since I posted last.  Life keeps throwing surprise punches at me, but I'm back at the drawing desk again with some warm up sketches inspired by re-reading Kushiel's Dart!  Consider these 'getting to know you' sort of sketches while I figure out the look for each character as I go along.

HB and 6B graphite drawing pencil on 60 lb paper.

Phèdre definitely has shades of Eva Green, who I once saw in a fan casting call for the series and thought her quite fitting for the role of Phèdre.  I tried to give her French features as Terre d'Ange is the quintessential fantasy France.  I think I'm close to that mind's eye image I have of her here in her first sketch, but I'll keep plugging along and seeing how she develops in future sketches!

Hyacinthe is a bit goofy.  Smiles have always been so difficult for me to draw!  I tried to keep in mind his ethnic features as well, considering the Tsingano are very close culturally to the Rom (Gypsy).

As for Dowayne, I'm rather happy with her!  She reminds a bit of Susan Sarandon, despite the fact I did not think of this visual connection until after the fact. I find this quite fitting, however, considering her propensity for playing the part of iron-willed gracefully aged women.

I expect I'll keep sketching characters as I read along!

On a parting note, notice on the top of the blog there are tabs for page sections now!  You can check out the Art List to see what other illustrations I have planned or see the Gallery for other Kushiel-related art I've already finished.

I'm having so much fun with this side project and  I hope you all will enjoy the journey with me!

Kushiel's Dart Art Prints

For those who enjoyed my latest Kushiel's Dart cover piece, Jacqueline was kind enough to give her blessing on selling prints.  I may have to stop selling them should the TV/movie options ever be sold, but that's an instance where I would be more than happy to oblige doing so!

"Kushiel's Dart", digital painting.
Prints available at my Storenvy shop!

I am offering a more affordable photographic print option as well as a limited edition stretched canvas option.  I produce the former myself with my own Epson Artisan printer.  With the latter, I order from a giclee canvas printing source, which I hand stretch across a wood frame.  Both come signed by the artist directly from the artist.

I hope you all will enjoy this offering!  Meanwhile, I am preparing art for show at both Dragon*Con and Illuxcon (where you can see this piece on display), so I may go dormant here for a little while.

It's usually when I say this that my distractable muse finds me doodling the most!

Sketch Diary: Kushiel's Dart Cover Part 3

After designing Phedre's marque and Kushiel, this painting has finally arrived at finished!  It's been a long, long journey and there was a definite turning point in the middle where this image changed completely, much to my surprise.

What was the turning point?  The biggest one was a change in color scheme inspired by Giancola's beautiful cover for Kushiel's Dart.  I decided mine was too similar and wanted to strike out on my own by experimenting with the color scheme, swapping the strong reds and whites for jewel tone garnet and pale blues.  The difference was like night and day!  Check out this process video to see how the painting morphed into what it is today:

The finished art:

Kushiel's Dart by =AngelaSasser on deviantART
Prints available at my Storenvy shop.

You can also view a step-by-step with detailed notes at WiPnation.

What did I learn?

- Keep it simple!  If I were to start over, I would make this even more simple, since I got very carried away by all the details.  Clear figures and composition with a hint of narrative to tease the mystery are better than jam packed images that tell you everything.

- Master copies are the best medicine if you're ever stuck on a piece!

- Don't be afraid to 'murder your darlings'. I changed this image SO many times by the end that I pretty much destroyed it - ALL in service of making a more successful piece.

What's next?

Inspiration begets inspiration!  I'd love to return to the carving of Kushiel and brush up the design, as well as try my hand at the rest of Elua's companions in the same window carving style.

Considering how much I learned from this exercise, I'd really love to try my hand at rendering other covers in the series.  I've been wanting to re-read the books and this would be the perfect excuse.  I'm sure character sketches and other art will sprout up along the way.  I hope you'll stay tuned!

Go to Part 1

Back to Part 2