I got a bone to pick with you · 10:41pm Dec 3rd, 2016
Hello everyone or every pony, whichever you prefer, after so long not posting any new blog, for which I had originally planned to do this a bi monthly event to my followers, I have finally managed to get out of my funk long enough to post this blog. My hope is that I can really make these poses a regular thing so that I can get into the habit of integrating more with my followers to get more input for my work (good or bad). So without any further ado’s, let’s moving on to the description.
http://amalgamzaku.deviantart.com/art/Stubborn-Old-Bones-cover-art-WiseFireCraker-631115510
This is the cover art for Stubborn Old Bones by WiseFireCracker on FimFiction. I had finished this piece on September 4 at the tail end of the summer break as a parting gift to the author, for which I greatly appreciate his work on his other stories. I normally request the author to wait until the next chapter it published before show off the new cover art and the next chapter could only be published this week end.
The story is about an old man on his deathbed waiting for the arrival of death finally coming to visit him. But upon being visited by a mysterious being called Ma'am: which apparently she isn't Death “himself” that comes to calm him. She grants him one final wish before his life is finally snuff out, and moves on. But instead of just wish for closure in his life, the grumpy old man asks to get a do over on life, mush to the beings vexation of his “demand”, rather than request, she grants his wish to him. But, the wish isn't granted in a way that the old man expect for his do over on life, and find himself at the outskirts of a farming community in Equestria in the body of a 16th year old pony.
This was probably the fastest cover art that I have ever done, at only about sixteen hours of work in two days, without compromising on any the details, and even with the corrections that the authors asked me to do on Ma'am that I had originally portrayed as Death, and changed her into a more fairy figure. To explain to all non-French speakers Death is referred to as feminine in the French language and is not normally described like the Grim Reaper-esk like in the taro cards.
This was actually a lot of fun for me to do this work for one in a long time i didn't hesitate to dive into the work without my usual trepidation that I usually have before building up the nerves to go thought with it in one shot; It was liberating for me to see that that I am finally starting get over my usual anxieties that usually pervades in most things that I do in life. I am finally starting to take more self-assuredness to myself and maybe I will finally be able to face challenges with anticipation again instead of dread.
Unlike my usual working process that I do, I actuality started creating the background instead of starting with the characters, which help me a lot on determining the light and dark sources for my shadings. Bones was a straightforward guy to create having done so many ponies characters for a year now, making him look like he is rolling was somewhat difficult for me. Doing the scarecrow was also a lot of fun to do, but I didn't want it to look like the one in the show so I decided to change the colors for that. Doing Ma'am in a human/fairy form was a complete amazement for me as I didn't know that I could so intuitively draw realistically human characters so well, without using any visual reference to work with. the key for me was keeping in consideration the light source and the defused lighting, that really was a moral buster for me in my self-esteem in my art that I can now better draw what I can visualize in my mind.
Drawing the fields was a bit tediousness at times but it went so well. The only real complaint that I have was how I painted the clouds, which I feel that I could have done a better job at it, in making it look more intangible.
I hope you all enjoy this post.
Your abilities in lighting has taken a tremendous leap forward.
4327654 Thanks The Psychopath it's always good to talk to you.
Cover artwork has turned your art muscles up to the power! looking at how much you've really improved, its amazing.
4327667 Thank you TheStratovarian for your words of encouragements. I hope to keep on improving in my work and maybe make a like with my art.
4327679 I enjoy seeing your art for covers, and heck, you've nailed a style that immediately id's you in the good way. And i'm hoping more folks do take you up for commission work on them.
4327684 thanks, we can only hope.