11 Hours and Still Not Done

I loved Misfit and Grandmaster Fawn really stuck with me as a character. I've been wanting to try some new techniques and she seemed like the perfect character for some self-indulgent fuck around and find out.

I'm not sure she's done? There does come a point where you have to just put the pencil down, even if you're not 100% happy, but I'm not quiiite there yet. I'll post the timelapse when I'm finished because it is the least logical workflow and absolute chaos.

Character Design:

Y'all. I put waaaay too much thought into this and thankfully Alethea was game to answer my 1001 questions about Maeve, Strae, and Crux culture.

I started with a few references to find the vibe of the character. I wanted her to be a marriage of the uptight Straethen nobility and the etherial island culture of the Maeve. Alethea and I decided that she wears Maeven fashions in her role as a Grandmaster of the Crux as a fuck-you to the racist Straethan nobility (despite the fact that she's technically a Strae noblewoman through her human parent).

It took me a while to find the right kind of hair and jewelry. I started with this intricately braided tight updo, but it looked to severe on her. It felt too much like her trying to fit in with the other noble ladies. (I'll be saving it for Bri, because Bri would absolutely rock it).

Alethea mentioned that the Maeve braid magic and charms into their long hair. It's an island, so they don't bother with tight updos that will fall apart in the humidity. I love the idea of her running around with her scandalously loose hair.

I knew I wanted intricate metalwork, but again, Maeve is an island. It needed to be delicate and light enough to wear in hot weather. Nobody wants thick metal bands while dealing with sand.

I loooved the makeup dots and lip, but Alethea rightly pointed out that it looks like Amadala from Star Wars. Whoops. Does the forehead paint have any meaning? Who knows? Not me! It just looks pretty. Maybe we can scam Alethea into making up some lore? 🤔

Techniques:

My years long love affair with the soft airbrush is coming to an end...sorrows and prayers, people. Sorrows and prayers. It outlasted numerous irl relationships.

I tried hatching with the 6B pencil, and some more textured pencil brushes for painting. Is anybody going to notice? Probably not. But I know! Look at that pretty texture noise on her cheek (that can only be seen at 10000x)! I want to play with harder shading lines and more texture but it's ~ intimidating ~

I've been spending a lot of time studying mary_dimary and fantasyspritestudio. Gerd thy loins because my modernized art nouveau era has finally come!

I'm on my way to a convention this weekend, and when I'm back, I'm back to the smut mines. I've been nipples-deep in LOTR fanfic so you bet you're about to get some hot Legolas/ Thranduil action.