Finally, one year after its release, I managed to complete fan arts of all the female main characters in the new Young-Adult series created by Cassandra Clare. Chain of Gold is the first installment in the new trilogy entitled "The Last Hours" set in Edwardian London and, as I have been a huge fan of the original trilogy (The Infernal Devices) for long as I remember, the pandemic and forced national lock-down turned out to be a great opportunity to experiment with digital art.
I was 14/15-teen-ish the first time I delved into digital art (yes, an OG Deviantart-er right here) and one of the few things I have to thank for last year's national Italian severe lock-down is that it allowed me to take up digital painting, as an escape therapy, for the first time after almost ten years. For as much as I love digital painting, I must be honest and admit that nothing compares to the feeling of a 3B pencil on a rough-200 grams-acid-free paper, but digital art makes it easier for me to explore coloring and lightning in a way that I am too lazy to experience on traditional paper (with a side-risk of ruining my pencil sketches). Enough with the talking, roll the illustrations!
Characters' Silhouettes
The Process
I always start with traditional sketches first. The feeling of drawing on a smooth acid-free ivory- tinted paper can never replace digital sketching. Once I'm satisfied with the result and final design, I take a picture of the sketch and start working it on Procreate. Sometimes, I go back and forth between the two instruments: paper and digital, digital and paper, by printing out the newest sketch version and re-work it again with traditional tools. Shapes, proportions, and even the feeling of the artwork comes more natural to me on paper, I still don't know why.
following up:
some sketches and studies -> clean lineart -> finished piece
Cordelia Carstairs
Lucie Ella Herondale
Grace Blackthorn
Anna Lightwood
Ariadne Bridgestock
Short Afterword
Characters I would redraw because I don't like the first attempt anymore: Lucie Herondale and Grace Blackthorn. They were the first two drawn from the series and, aside from the mistake on Lucie's dress- historical accuracy (based on a dress dated late 1910s rather than 1903), my style has changed over time and I now imagine Grace's features slightly differently from my first design.
paper, tape, and dried flowers design were made by (c) Ruby and Heart Studio and purchased via CreativeMarket
Characters (c) Cassandra Clare
if you liked and would love to see more of my art find me at:
@bgzart on Instagram
@destinedtobemine on Tumblr, typing in the search box #my art
thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed! feel free to tell me what you think
