Art: Maidinn [Eagle of the Ninth]

[motetus]

Art for the third round of the ninth_eagle fanmedia challenge! I must admit I was severely lacking in inspiration for this round (I think having lots of Things With Deadlines and panicking about finishing everything in time tends to sap it), hence this extremely uncreative drawing of a post-book, late teenage Cottia... and some pottery. I rather like how the lighting and skin colours came out, but everything below Cottia's neck is more heavily referenced than I prefer, which I thought I should point out before you all admire the pretty lighting on those folds. Ah well, perhaps the final prompts will give me delightfully ridiculous ideas!

Comments

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is gorgeous! I love the expression on her face.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Hee, thought you'd approve of the subject! Thank you! I have no idea why she's looking like that thought.

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

It's probably Marcus' fault, whatever it is.

[island-of-reil.livejournal.com]

My first guess was that she's about to disrobe, and that, off-"stage" to the left, is Marcus.

Or, possibly, Esca. :D

(And, yes, it's a gorgeous drawing, and I agree with carmarthen that there is nowhere near enough Cottia art.)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Or both of them? :D Striptease in the kitchen!

And thank you!

[wagnetic.livejournal.com]

Beautiful, like always. I'm so glad we have you in the fandom to make such pretty art! :)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

What a lovely thing to hear, thank you! I'm very glad to be in such an awesome fandom, even if I have been rubbish at following what other people have been doing for the challenge (too many Things With Deadlines, not enough spare time!).

[riventhorn.livejournal.com]

I must confess that I was hoping someone would do a Cottia-related piece with that prompt. I love this rendition of her and the lighting is perfect. It looks like early morning to me, and like she's just woken up.

I think you have passed the test, although you will probably never want to eat garum again. ;)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Haha, glad you didn't get disappointed, then! I hope more people write Cottia fic for the challenge, because Cottia = <3 <3 <3

Actually, now you've mentioned garum I'm craving something with lots of delicious salty fish sauce...

[alby-mangroves.livejournal.com]

She's glorious! Wonderful drapery and the look on her face is just fantastic. Kind of defiant, aloof and noble but cheeky and like she's about to do something sneaky!! <3

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I do love drawing Cottia, although still haven't figured out how to draw female mouths, argh.

[ninja-orange.livejournal.com]

so gorgeous~!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Eee, pretty Cottia picture! I love the shading, particularly in her hair, and the light smattering of freckles on her cheeks.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think I am getting closer and closer to how I picture Cottia's hair - now if I could just get those curls looking slightly less neat...

[sineala.livejournal.com]

Yay!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Cheers!

[bauble]

Very pretty! I like the lighting. :)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The lighting is what saved it, I think.

[carmarthen.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, I ADORE the lighting, it does seem very early morning; and she's beautiful and her expression and ahhhhhhh SO MUCH LOVE never enough Cottia art. I'm sorry, Tumblr is a bad influence on my feedback style.

(And the draperies are excellent; is it really bad to be heavily referenced?)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I am rather pleased with how the lighting turned out. And I totally agree - there needs to be much more Cottia art... along with art of EVERYONE ELSE.

No, not bad to rely heavily on references if you want! But I usually try to avoid using a single one too much, by not adding or changing a significant amount, because I feel like it doesn't push or challenge me.

[fififolle]

That's so very pretty!! But I won't tell Cottia *g*

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! Yes, best keep that quiet - Marcus will be quite disappointed that he's not the prettiest.

[fififolle]

LOL!

Awesome icon :D

[the-little-owl.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely Cottia! She should be a prompt picture: seeing her, I was wondering at once what she was doing there in a dress that might be a nightgown and for what she would need the bowl and jug.

BTW, I'm watching the first series of Rome. While some of it is entertaining, I can't help wondering if this heap of falsified history comes right from Caesar's propaganda department. On the other hand, even in his own retelling of the civil war Caesar comes across more active and ambitious than in this series. And why did they cast such an old man as Cato? He was 5 years younger than Caesar.
*scratches feathery head*

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thanks! If anyone thinks it good enough to inspire them, then I would be delighted!

Nooooo, trust me on this, Owl: if you watch historical drama expecting it to be historically accurate, you are always going to be disappointed! The trick is to not care too much about things like character ages and events being changed by the writers - if you want 100% accuracy, that's what a non-fiction book is for. Also, I adore Rome's Caesar - it took a few episodes for me to start liking him but now I can't see anyone else as him. He's got all that cunning and self-assurance, and the breathtaking arrogance that leads to his downfall.

[the-little-owl.livejournal.com]

if you watch historical drama expecting it to be historically accurate, you are always going to be disappointed!

But in Caesar's case, if the drama was historically accurate it would be even more thrilling than the stuff HBO shows us! I'm a bit disappointed, because from my non-fiction books I expected Caesar to be a more witty and spirited person than he's portrayed in the series.
A fictional portrayal of Caesar, which I really like, by the way, is the one in John Maddox Roberts's SPQR detective novels. I wish someone would make a TV series from these books! (But preferrably not HBO with their love for gore, but perhaps the BBC team who produce Sherlock.)

[lemondilemma.livejournal.com]

She's beautiful and the look on her face suggests she's lost none of her self-possession and strength of character as she's got older :)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I think those traits of Cottia's would probably increase as she gets older - I totally see her as the head of the OT3 household. :D

[phonemonkey.livejournal.com]

Absolutely beautiful.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[sneaqui.livejournal.com]

Oh this is lovely! I love the warmth you've created with the colors. The way the colors in her hair and skin match the colors of her surroundings so she kinda blends in. The almost purple color in her hair. Beautiful~~

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Ooh, I am very glad you spotted the purple, I was a little concerned I'd drowned everything in orange (which, bizarrely, is a colour I usually avoid dressing in/decorating with, but when drawing it's downright impossible to part me from it!).

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Aw, I am so very flattered! I cannot complain about anyone being influenced by this if it means more Cottia fanworks!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I love her expression! It definitely has a story to it, this image - what is she looking at? What is she up to, so early in the morning, and why the slight nervousness as she holds a fold of her dress in her hands? Intriguing!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I am quite pleased with how I got her face (lips aside - I always struggle with the shape and I think they should have been lighter and pinker), she's definitely looking much more Cottia-ish to me than any other drawing of her I've done.

Obviously she is up early because Marcus, Esca and Cub are all making appalling snoring noises. :D