Happy Holidays, conjure_lass!

[goe-mod.livejournal.com]

Title: A Game of Fate
Gift for: conjure_lass
Gift from: eldanis
Artist's note: Dear conjure_lass, as soon as I saw your prompt, I knew it was the one I wanted to do, and I'm so glad the mods gave in to my begging for it!  I was so enamored with the mental image of Crowley as you described him (even from so few words), seen through Aziraphale's eyes, that I wanted to see if I could capture it on paper.  It's not *quite* as lovely as my imagining of it (such is the frustration of art), but it's close; in my mind's eye it started as what comprises the cropped 'detail', then grew on paper to include the other figures and Aziraphale himself.  I hope you like it!

Comments

[conjure-lass.livejournal.com]

O.O!!!!!

O.O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!! OH. MY. GOSH.

;askjd;lkalskdj;glaj;sljdg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I have no words for...WOW. I have NO WORDS for how much I LOVE THIS. NONE AT ALL. It's...it's EXACTLY the sort of thing I was imagining! *SQUEES* I wish you could see my face. OH WOW. And it's in PENCIL. That's...I want to hang this up.

I love how all we see is Aziraphale's BACK. I love his HAIR. IT'S PERFECT! And OMGOSH Crowley's expression! AND HIS CLOTHES! The waistcoat is...I'm in love with his waist. And his hair looking so disheveled and messy and THE RUFFLED CUFFS.

What's that he's holding in his left hand? Not the one holding the shot, but the other one?

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Mystery Artist! I could NOT BE HAPPIER.

(edited to use an appropriate icon and to say that I JUST NOTICED HIS SHADOWY WINGS! You put so much effort into this and i'm just OUTDONE by it.)

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

I think he's holding a cup to shake the dice with in the other hand.

[conjure-lass.livejournal.com]

DUUUHHH. *smacks self* I should have known that. I was overcome with fangirlish glee, i'm afraid. *laughs*

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

lol I don't blame you!! It took me a while too anyway.

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Aaaaa you're so welcome! I'm soooooooo glad you like it so much!! *dances around gleefully*

Seriously, I wasn't joking: I really did picture this as soon as I read your prompt, this 'vision' of Crowley - the curve of his body, the tilt of his head, the line of his jaw... his beauty seen through Aziraphale's eyes. (Ahem, I think I'm more than a little besotted with Crowley, and it shows.)

I'm also so happy you asked for -late- 1700s, because that meant I could ditch panniers in favor of greek silhouettes, and wigs in favor of artfully disheveled hair. XD What a very fortunate result of high taxes on powder! Makes me wonder if either of the boys ever wore a wig, for fashion's sake? I rather suspect Aziraphale might have, and then kept it up far longer than fashion dictated... probably until Crowley saw to it that his collection got conveniently mouse-eaten or something. ^^;;

Also, pure_trance was correct in identifying the object in his left hand as a dice cup... though I suppose I could have been clearer about it! I see a few things about this that I'd fix now, given the chance, but overall I'm still very pleased with it. And I'd be happy to mail you a print of it after reveals, if you'd like? (Even though I suspect there's not much mystery as to my identity, eheh.)

Anyway, thank you for such a very lovely response comment! Makes all the work completely worth it. <33333333

[conjure-lass.livejournal.com]

I admit I might know who you are. *giggle* But we'll wait for the reveal and then HELL YES I would LOVE a print to hang on my wall!! And for you to join my flist so I can keep tabs on you! *IS SO EXCITED* I was discussing with my friends how I was going to get a nice copy of this to put up anyway, so your offer has just saved me the trouble! *DIES*

Yeeeeeah, I specifically asked for the late 1700's for that exact reason. The clothes of the early 1700's were...not my favorites in history, let me put it that way. And i've never been much a fan of powdery wigs. Crowley was certainly responsible for the tax that did those things in! *giggle*

Seriously though, this piece was MASTERFUL. Absolutely lovely. I can tell you, without doubt, that it was everything and more than I was expecting. The Good Omens fandom always comes through when it comes to really great artists and writers. *giggle*

...and I have the biggest crush on Crowley. It's why I did my fic this year from his POV. *laughs*

[aviss.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous! I don't know what to say, this is such a beautiful piece, and the shading makes it look so soft and perfect.

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

This is so amazingly beautiful! The details are amazing, and it all looks so soft with the pencil shading.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

This. Is PERFECT. Even if it wasn't GO it's beautiful.

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, thank you! That's such a high compliment. o/////o

[argyleheir.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely stunning! Bravo!

[quantumlobster.livejournal.com]

This is amazing!!! I love your pencil work.

And the way you use light! And Crowley's face, and everything!!

Sorry for the incoherence :)

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

YAY, incoherence! <3 Aaaa, thank you for such a lovely comment!

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Aaaaa thank you! And the answer is: very carefully, and with clever sneaky photoshop post-processing~ ;)

[mybrokenlocket.livejournal.com]

This is gorgeous! I love the feel of looking over Aziraphale's shoulder. Crowley is so clearly the center of the scene, but the way Aziraphale is standing, holding his mask- it's so clear that he's feeling some strong emotions. I agree wholeheartedly with the commenter above who said it would still be amazing even if the viewer had no familiarity with GO. You've really captured a moment brilliantly.

[seablue-eyes.livejournal.com]

*GASP*

I can't stop staring. It's so beautiful, so detailed! It's such a wonderful, intriguing piece. You, dear mystery artist, have some serious talent!

[b-c-draygon.livejournal.com]

This is just so, so beautiful. Your skill with a pencil is incredible! I love the play of light and shadow, and the almost ghostly shadow-figures of the other people in the room. It feels as if they've just faded in comparison to Crowley, especially because of the level of detail on him, which makes it feel even more like we're seeing this through Aziraphale's eyes. Love it!

Also, his hands! I really love his hands. And his jawline, mmm. And, well, everything. :)

I also really love Aziraphale's back and his hair and his pose - it really looks as if he's just been stopped short by the sight of Crowley there. Brilliant!

Love this piece, it is just delightful. conjure_lass is very lucky indeed! :D

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

You've hit on all the things I hoped would come across about this, from the other figures receding, to Crowley's jawline, heheh (I may have A Thing for nice jawlines, um.). Thank you so much! o/////o

[rroselavy.livejournal.com]

*_____* Gorgeous! Fantastic! I love the shading and how you handled the light!

[quantum-witch.livejournal.com]

Breath-taking. Fully understand Aziraphale's captivation.

[lady-aileas.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness! The shadow wings and the light halo around Crowley... it's so gorgeous! And I am seriously in love with the hair... all of it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_silverfox/]

Beautiful!

[savagewoman.livejournal.com]

Stunning work. The whole picture is absolutely enchanting.

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

One disadvantage of being a secret Santa artist is being recognizable. But I was hoping you'd do one and this prompt made a treat for all of us!

This is one of the more ambitious pieces of yours I've seen and you carry it off with drama and style. The range of tones is especially velvety and subtly graduated.

The Regency setting (and downright incendiary period fashions!)and hinted decadence of the party in the carnival masks and gaming, Crowley's isolated unconsciously seductive posed with Azi standing at a remove from it all observing even entranced, the light and shadow giving Crowley the appearance of the wings and halo he once had, yet the bird mask emphasizing the demonic all create a sense of narrative.

As a fan of story illustration, I've always loved that aspect of your art and it's showcased here.

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Eheheh yes, I rather suspected there might not be much mystery about my identity. ^^;;;; But I tell myself it's a good thing to be recognizable, as an artist, right?

I'm just going to sit here and blush happily at the rest of your comment, from ambitiousness to narrative quality (which I feel I struggle with illustratively), and all the things in-between. Comments like yours help me feel I'm doing something right and (albeit slowly) improving from year to year of this exchange, apart from pretty much making my day. Thank you SO much for your very lovely response! <33333

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

Oops! Knew I'd forget. You are so very subtle! I love that Crowley threw "SNAKE EYES"!

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Oh yay, I was hoping someone would notice that! Of course, rolling snake eyes is usually a bad thing... but I'm sure, this being Crowley, that the rules of this particular game are in his favor. ;)

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

Fantastic :)

[edna-blackadder.livejournal.com]

Oh, WOW. I am not an artist, so I never know how to properly comment on art pieces, but rest assured there is nothing about this drawing that I do not absolutely adore. Your skill is unbelievable. I love the shading. Crowley's pose is so very Crowley; and we don't need to see Aziraphale's face to know what he must be thinking. I love everything from the dice to the coat to the masks to the others in the background. ::applauds::

[sticktothestory.livejournal.com]

This is amazing, Secret Author! I love the detail that went into this, the perfect curves of their silhouettes, the ripples of the fabric (especially Aziraphale's coat, and the table cloth).

[sticktothestory.livejournal.com]

*Secret Artist, obviously.

[sirius-luva.livejournal.com]

... oh my gods. Hnnngh. This is GORGEOUS! *FLAIL* Aziraphale's hair, everyone's masks and clothes, and oh, Crowley. Crowley's silhouette, his halo of light and the graceful curve of his body and the tilt of his head and his hair and jawline and hands... basically, everything about him is gorgeous and sexy and amazing. No wonder Aziraphale is mesmerised. And I love Aziraphale's hair, and the beautiful way you render fabrics.

And Crowley's clothes! I have a huge huge weakness for the clothes of this period AND for masks, and Crowley pulls it all off perfectly and this hits my buttons so perfectly; I must confess to being a little bit envious of conjure_lass, and I think I might print this out.

[hsavinien.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that's gorgeous. I love the textures! Mmm, Crowley in masque and cravat! The jawlines!

[bulldogscram.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. *jaw drop* Absolutely stunning. What medium did you use if you don't mind me asking? I *love* the way minimalist detail you've used for everyone else AAAAAAH. Also stunning. Did I mention stunning?

[secret-kracken.livejournal.com]

Didn't see your comment until just now -- sorry! But gosh, thank you so much! *blushes like crazy*

And I don't mind a bit to share info about it: I did it with graphite, specifically a type of pencil called an 'ebony' pencil (the brand is Sanford), which is darker than regular graphite without being too soft. I used regular ol' cardstock with a bit of texture to it, and to really push the blacks I blended with a tortillon - it pushes the pigment into the grain of the paper in a really lovely way. Then I spiffed it all up a bit more (levels and such) in photoshop, and I'll confess the gold tone of the light values is a post-processing trick too (if you use photoshop and are curious, I'll happily go on about that, but otherwise I don't want to bore you with shop-talk).

/rambles far longer than you probably wanted XD;;;