Tag Archives: illustration

the quiet power of sazed, from mistborn

sazed from mistborn

The Lord Ruler in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series ruled with a literal cloud of depression over his subjects. He tempered emotion through allomancy, a type of magic, and he hunted anything that would disrupt the status quo. In his eyes, all ska were the same, all noblemen served one purpose, and all rebellions were nothing but minor annoyances.

Vin and her crew tried to fight the Final Empire with armies and espionage. But a more subtle, and possibly more important, way of fighting the Lord Ruler was to celebrate uniqueness. To stand out, to aggressively be yourself in a place that hampered joy and hope, was a victory all its own.

Sazed, one of my favorites in Vin’s crew, contributed to the crew’s plan the best way he could–as a servant. Sazed is a Terrisman, the most valued servants in the Final Empire. He is calm and patient. He is smart and kind. And he knew himself well enough to know that when he wanted to fight the Lord Ruler, he could best contribute by using his unique strengths.

Crew leader Kelsier wanted to be the Hero with a capital H–the one in the forefront of the action, a visible leader. But Sazed was just as much a hero by being himself in a place that tried to squash his heritage, joy, and individuality. Kelsier fought the Lord Ruler in front of everyone in a town square; Sazed fought him by translating the text of something the Lord Ruler tried to keep hidden. Without Sazed’s quiet thoughtfulness, the crew would fail wether they had a great leader or not.

Sazed honored his people, and all people, by remembering for them, as a Keeper. The Keepers searched for memories of other cultures, languages, religions, and any knowledge they could find, and kept the memories stored away until the Final Empire fell and people would need them once again. Sazed was always willing to teach and share his knowledge, and he often tried to match religions to the people he knew, to find a religion that fit their personality.

Sazed knew the truth–he knew many truths. He knew that one religion does not fit all, and that by fighting for individuality, he was toppling the Final Empire one unique memory at a time.

I drew Sazed in his formal robes, which he would wear accompanying Vin to a ball. All Terrismen wear similar robes to indicate their status, and their colorful embroidery sounds like a delight amid the gray depression of the mist. My drawing is ink and watercolor in my sketchbook. I might go back in and add more color to it later, but I sort of like the idea of keeping it colorless except for his colorful Terrismen robes.

weddington way october style challenge

Bright bridesmaid

I love talking about weddings. I am definitely the friend to turn to if you want to talk flower arrangements or bridesmaid dresses, or seating charts, or veils, or just about anything else. Maybe because the weddings I have been involved in have all been chill and wonderful, and maybe because I have never been married, but wedding planning has yet to send a shiver down my spine. I am stoked, always, to talk about your wedding. Especially if it’s discussing what someone is wearing.

So when Weddington Way invited me to participate in their October Style Challenge, I was all in. Designing my own bridesmaid look? Sounds like a blast. You can see their current bridesmaid collection here.

weddington way bridesmaid dress

I started with the Alfred Sung D462 bridesmaid dress in French Gray. I love gray, and I wear it all the time. I love how versatile it is–you can basically dress it up any way you want. And I usually want to set it off with something bright.

In my (fake) wedding, the bride likes classic–with a twist. Her colors are gray and yellow. Her bridesmaids are wearing gray with beautiful bright jewelry and accessories. But their make up and nails are a simple pale pink.

raes day sweddington way bridesmaid illustration

neverwhere by neil gaiman

rae's days neverwhere illustration

When I was little, I played a game with a friend of mine who was a very talented artist. We would design a house for her iguana (his name was Mikey) and draw rooms on different sheets of paper. She and I would hatch different designs, and she would turn our ideas into pictures. We’d end up with pages and pages of rooms and hallways that we could move and reshuffle to make a mansion-sized house of cards. In Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (Kindle here), Door’s family’s entryway to everywhere reminds me of this game. When Door enters this room, she sees images of all the rooms her family has access to as part of their home. No matter how far away these rooms are, Door’s family can open the door and walk in.

Door’s family can open doors, and this game opened our imagination. (Essentially, I guess, that’s the same thing.) When you’re little and playing pretend, the world is full of possibilities. But as Richard Mayhew finds out, the adult world can often leave you feeling trapped–trapped in a loveless relationship, a dead-end job, or without a home and on the street.

When Richard stops to help Door, he opens his heart and mind once more to new possibilities–but like any new opportunity, it begins with Richard facing extreme difficulty and unimaginable torment.

Because after Richard recognizes Door as a person, one who happens to need help, he is thrust from his world in London Above and into her world of London Below (which are, pretty much, exactly what they sound like). As a result, no one in London Above notices Richard is even there. His ex-fiancee draws a blank, his desk at work is gone, and his home is sold right out from under him despite his cries of protests. (Is there anything more demoralizing than being completely ignored?)

So Richard heads to London Below, where he finds the rest of those who slipped through the cracks. Like Croup and Vandemar, two peas in a murderous pod, or Hunter, the beautiful guard focused wholly on her prey. (I’d have to watch my back, but I feel like I’d like to meet almost everyone in London Below.) Richard does his best to find his way, but this world is completely new to him and he doesn’t understand what everyone else seems to inherently know.

Everyone, at some point or another, has felt like Richard Mayhew. We’ve all felt ignored and abandoned, and hopelessly lost.

But Richard has the gift of recognizing the humanness in others (even if, in London Below, they aren’t all exactly human). To recognize another person, to say, “I see you, and I respect you, and I accept you,“ is the greatest gift we can give and sometimes the hardest thing to do. But respect saves lives (and souls), and this is what keeps Richard safe through his journey in the underworld of London.

Richard has a gift, but he let it get buried in the everyday nothings of everyday life that can weigh us all down. Lucky for him, and for those who pick up Neverwhere, Door opens his imagination once again to fun–and funny!–adventures.

Illustration is pen and ink; links are affiliate. 

illustration of melody from without a summer

illustration of melody from without a summer by mary robinette kowal

I am working my way backwards through Mary Robinette Kowal’s glamourist histories about one of my favorite literary couples, Jane and Vincent. (I started with the latest book in the series by happenstance, and I’m just going with it.) In Without a Summer (Kindle here), Jane and Vincent travel with Jane’s younger sister Melody to London to work (Jane and Vincent) and to find eligible bachelors (Melody). It is full of smart relationship drama that is true to the flawed but honest characters, which I totally love.

By honest, I don’t necessarily mean truth-telling. I mean that these characters are fully formed, believable, and make decisions that makes sense for who they are. This, in turn, makes every plot twist believable and the drama earned. (And for those averse to romance, there’s political and courtroom theatrics, along with a revolt brewing in the streets that was just as interesting and fun.)

It was a pleasure for me to spend more time with Melody in this book–her charm and beauty worked just as much on me as any man she met in London. It was also a pleasure to learn more about manners and clothes in the Recency Era, which Jane and Melody needed to use to their advantage if they were ever going to find Melody a good match.

In one particular outing, Melody was an icy blond vision in blue as she went ice skating at a party of the Prince Regent himself. Melody often donned a blue pelisse (sort of a coat for your dress) that set off her eyes, and with her hat and muff to guard against the cold, she was a vision.

My illustration is pen and markers, and my video slideshow shows a bit of my coloring process.

I can’t wait to keep reading about this family! Other posts on this series:

(I choose to write about this book on my own, though the links are affiliate.)

what i wore sketch

sketch of what i wore

An illustration of what I wore to work last week. Pen and marker. Shoes and necklace from Target. I can’t remember the source for the dress, but I think it was either Kohl’s or Macy’s.

Happy Friday! I thought we’d never get here.

illustration of characters from twin peaks

illustration of waitress from Twin Peaks

My final fashion illustration class was this week, and we displayed our final projects. We had to create five different figures, and I based mine off of Twin Peaks. (I’ve talked a little bit before about the great costumes in that show.) It is visually stunning, and using it as inspiration for my drawings allowed me to explore that world a little differently than I had before.

I focused a lot on using colors inspired by the show–so a lot of greens and browns. I love the quirkiness of the characters, so I made sure to include Dr. Jacoby’s glasses and, of course, the log lady’s log. All my illustrations are in pen and markers. (Markers are so fun–who knew! Like a giant, fancy coloring book.)

illustration of audrey from twin peaksillustration of dr. jacoby from twin peaksillustration of the log lady from twin peaksillustration of audrey from twin peaks

I will definitely keep drawing and practicing–I’m a little sad the class is over! You can see my other posts about this class here and here.

hurricane what? (also, screen printing)

It’s impossible to write/think/breathe without first talking about Hurricane Sandy. I can’t stop looking at pictures of flooded streets and damaged houses, and I really hope people are getting the shelter and help they need. I am one of the few who is doing well at home, with the power on. I am very grateful, and very lucky.

Last week, before I even started thinking about hurricanes, I took this really fun class on low-tech screen printing at Brooklyn Brainery.

 

 

Obvs, I printed an ampersand. It’s a bold simple design and you know I love type (and I already made a stencil of it for another project.)

Low-tech screen printing was VERY low tech. Which is great! I can def do it at home with just a few more cheap tools. We used:

  • Mesh fabric
  • An embroidery hoop
  • Clear plastic overhead paper to make a stencil
  • Something to cut out your stencil
  • Ink

And that was it! To get started we made a design onto our sheet of plastic (there is an official name for it, but I forget what it is).

After we cut it out, we stretched our mess fabric over our embroidery hoop to make a screen. Then, we taped our stencil to the screen. Using cardboard for a squeegee, we smoothed ink over our stencil and printed our design! That’s all it takes. Super fun, and now that I have a stencil I can make all the ampersand prints I want.

I did some tests on printer paper, and then printed on a tote bag. I can’t wait to try more designs! And if I’m stuck in my house for the next few days, which it looks like I will be, I can think of a TON of designs to try. Got any suggestions?

Also, if you, too, are stuck in Brooklyn, let me know. Let’s hang out. And if you need a shower and some internet, please let me know and come on over.