The Archives; 1996 & 1997
May. 13th, 2006 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenmillionI fear slim pickings from 1996; I was busy being in love, and getting a degree, and art in general was a weak second hobby after the sadly neglected EMG. I'm also scratching my head and considering that probably I'm missing another sketchbook in this slot.
This was the illustration for a story in Moonlight Masquerade.
Same story, second... er... art.
I particularly liked the border... I adore doing those dreamy/surreal story-telling panels. There was a final illustration about the same configuration as the one above, but it gave away too much of the story, as I recall, and they decided not to run it. Reminder to anyone looking into freelance illustrating - don't give away endings! Editors hate that, and you can end up wasting a lot of time on the cool moment in the tale, just to find out that - doh! - you were spending time on the wrong thing entirely. Cardinal rule! Don't give away the ending! Even if that is the coolest, most awesomely visual moment of the story...
This was, I believe, one of the first four pieces to go up in my Elfwood gallery. Certainly it was my most popular piece for a long while there.
1996 is so dreadfully short, as is '97, that you get two for the price of one...
This was roughly based off of my friend Naomi; she was a dancer.
Serious shame moment here - this was the first image I offered as a print. I can't remember if anyone actually bought it... prints were a dead loss the first catalog they showed up in, which is good, because my idea of a fine art print at that point was a crappy copy from the xerox shop. I got so many requests for them that I had to bring them back, but by that point I was doing my own, and achieving decent qualilty.
This is not the first snow-unicorn I ever drew, it is only the second. I can't find the first; it was only ever in linework, a furry, prancing sort of unicorn - I think it had it's teeth bared. I offered it as a card for a short time. I distinctly remember inking this one while killing time visiting my grandmother. I didn't color it for some time, so the color may be 1998, in truth. Still one of my most popular cards, I really want to do a do-over of this one.
This was the illustration for a story in Moonlight Masquerade.
Same story, second... er... art.
I particularly liked the border... I adore doing those dreamy/surreal story-telling panels. There was a final illustration about the same configuration as the one above, but it gave away too much of the story, as I recall, and they decided not to run it. Reminder to anyone looking into freelance illustrating - don't give away endings! Editors hate that, and you can end up wasting a lot of time on the cool moment in the tale, just to find out that - doh! - you were spending time on the wrong thing entirely. Cardinal rule! Don't give away the ending! Even if that is the coolest, most awesomely visual moment of the story...
This was, I believe, one of the first four pieces to go up in my Elfwood gallery. Certainly it was my most popular piece for a long while there.
1996 is so dreadfully short, as is '97, that you get two for the price of one...
This was roughly based off of my friend Naomi; she was a dancer.
Serious shame moment here - this was the first image I offered as a print. I can't remember if anyone actually bought it... prints were a dead loss the first catalog they showed up in, which is good, because my idea of a fine art print at that point was a crappy copy from the xerox shop. I got so many requests for them that I had to bring them back, but by that point I was doing my own, and achieving decent qualilty.
This is not the first snow-unicorn I ever drew, it is only the second. I can't find the first; it was only ever in linework, a furry, prancing sort of unicorn - I think it had it's teeth bared. I offered it as a card for a short time. I distinctly remember inking this one while killing time visiting my grandmother. I didn't color it for some time, so the color may be 1998, in truth. Still one of my most popular cards, I really want to do a do-over of this one.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 09:33 am (UTC)I dug the concept as soon as I saw them in your gallery, Ellen.
I could never understand why all unicorns (and most pegasi) *must* look like Arabian horses
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Date: 2006-05-14 02:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 03:16 pm (UTC)I like the little footprints in the snow on the snow unicorn one. When we got snow in AZ I'd always go out and take a walk in it and follow tracks. :)