Hannibal art!

[motetus]

(the one with the elephants and the disagreements with Romans, not the one who likes to eat people)

The most excellent pronker alerted me to this and I figured it may also be of interest to one or two of you: Darkness Over Cannae, which looks like what will eventually be a heavily illustrated novel about Hannibal and the Battle of Cannae and oh my god, where do I send every penny I have in return for a copy? The art is incredible and has all the things I love - there are battles and elephants and Alpine crossings and angry Roman senators and damn, Hannibal looks pretty dashing. You can also find a few more sketches on her main art blog, including the most adorable earlier version of Hannibal. I do not care if the writing ends up being the worst ever (although I very much hope it won't be!), I just want all the gorgeous historical art, yes please.


In my own arting news, I have decided to ignore all the wookies, dinosaurs, fluffy domestic nudity, and wolves staring longingly at cupcakes in my WIP folder for a few minutes while I whip up a quick thing of The Shining Company's Luned and Gelert looking pensive and windswept for riventhorn's Sutcliff Comment Fest... except whoops, this isn't looking like a quick thing at all. Well done, self! Yet again you are demonstrating why it's a really good thing that you went into science instead of trying to pay for food and the mortgage with art. Expect something for the fest in... oh, maybe about 4 months if I work hard?

Comments

[riventhorn.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I will happily wait four months for this!

I often have that happen with comment fics or fills for kink memes. Suddenly you realize you're on the brink of a 15k+ monster when you thought it was only going to be 2k tops.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Oh god no, now I've given myself a deadline! Did I say 4 months? That was a typo. I meant 14. Yes, bloody things that are supposed to be short and ending up being nothing like, tell me when you discover the magical way to tame them and rein them in. But usually it means I'm really enjoying how the drawing's turning out, so that's good?

*FURIOUS SCRIBBLING*

[the-little-owl.livejournal.com]

I spent the whole evening on the Hannibal site(s), and found the step-by-step explanation most useful of how the artist coloured the Alpes scene. And the hoot is: the lady, who made this, lives in the neighbour county and teaches workshops in a city which is an hour by car from here. If I hadn't so many plans for this summer already, I'd love to take one of these classes, because so far I don't have a clue how to use watercolours properly - without the plumes and blotches, and I can't think ahead in layers very well. But I love illustrations made with ink and watercolours (or their digital equivalent) for their airiness.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Oh man, you have to go! I actually came across her a while ago and really like her watercolour tutorials, but instructions online aren't anywhere near as helpful as having someone there in person to see what you're doing. And yeah, I have the same trouble with watercolours too - I love the effect they give and the gorgeous but subtle colours, but digital has taught me to work in a way that's completely wrong for watercolour! Planning ahead, working light to dark, working in a limited number of colour layers... what are these things???

[the-little-owl.livejournal.com]

For an exhibition in summer I want to draw a picture with Gauls and intended to colour it with either ink or watercolour. If I manage, I'll show the result on LJ, too. But for the time being, I only have a plan, no sketch yet at all.

[pronker]

Woohoo, you - I am glad the site dazzled as much as it did me - and 4 months from now, Motetus-Glory Shall Appear!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Yes! Appear in a blaze of light and wonder, accompanied by the wails of "why do I make myself draw shitloads of grass over and over again?" it will.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I for one am excited about pensive and windswept Luned and Gelert, whenever it should appear!

The wolves staring longingly at cupcakes also capture my interest. How did the wolves stumble upon the cupcakes?

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Hopefully before the Swap! Oh god please, let me finish this in a timely manner, I want to stop weeping whenever I open up my WIP folder.

Well, the wolf is in a quaint tearoom (yeah, that piece, which is currently a half dozen sketches of things I find amusing but have no idea how to stitch together), which is a terrible place for a wolf to be in, really. They don't know how to behave, and it's probably not something the health inspector is going to approve of.

[sineala.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to the Hannibal site -- this is relevant to my interests, as they say.

Looking forward to seeing what you end up with for the Comment Fest. Also wolves and cupcakes!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Heh, you were the first person I thought of when I saw all that art. I am glad you like it!

You shouldn't give wolves cupcakes, the sugar makes them all hyperactive.

[carmarthen.livejournal.com]

...WANT.

Both Hannibal comic and Luned and Gelert. I should go look at the comment fest when I'm not dying of stress...

[motetus.livejournal.com]

That Hannibal artist is going to have my money thrown at her so quickly the moment she starts accepting orders. It looks like so much work and love has gone into those watercolours, and oh man, the detail in the bigger ones, I am drooling everywhere.

I hope the stress levels die down quickly! :)

[fififolle]

Wow, they look like they've been working up to that project practically their whole life! Very nice art :D
It's such a shame that it's so hard to make a good living from art :(
But I'm so glad people like you work at it so hard for recreation(?!) because people like me benefit *g* Good luck with the project!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

It's gorgeous, isn't it? I do love the first Asterix-like drawing she did when she was 13, and actually, I think I'd also pay for a book full of those adorable illustrations (and more happy, stomping elephants!).

I'm trying to remember what I was drawing aged 13... probably horsies and naked people. It's so nice to realise I've grown up and have moved on to better things... oh. Wait.

[fififolle]

Heee!

[weekend.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to the Hannibal site -- I know the artist from the Silmarillion fandom, and her work is gorgeous. And I love that Hannibal is so much one of her passions that she has a jar of dust from the battlefield of Cannae!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've come across this artist before and I'm astounded by her skill with watercolours, especially when my watercolour attempts always end in disaster and on one occasion, mistaking my mug of mug of dirty paint water for my mug of tea. I can't wait for this project to be completed so I can ogle all the hot Carthaginians...