fiddery | [merlin/arthur] i'm alive + artytalky (Reply)

I haven't ventured into the Merlin LJ fandom yet, so this post probably isn't relevant to a lot of you, haha!

I drew a picture that somewhat-unexpectedly is getting a lot of notes/reblogs on tumblr... I've been clicking on the reblogs and enjoying the responses in the tags of the reblog posts. Though if I never bothered to check, I wouldn't have seen any of the comments, ahhhh, this hearkens back to the issue of commenting.

Anyways I'll post the picture first and then some tl;dr about drawing

Title: i'm alive
Artist:

chrssc (Chrissie)
Character/Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Media: Digital - Photoshop
Rating: G (but P for PAINFUL SHARDS IN YOUR HEART ANGST)
Warning: ambiguity & open to interpretation

Summary: post 5x13

original post on tumblr (different commentary there, though LOL)

I have drawn maybe 384972348x versions of finale-inspired pictures. The ending still resonates in my mind months after it's been aired. I think that ideally my "perfect" canon is the Merlin series compliant for the first 3 series, and then some kind of alternate S4/S5 (where hopefully Lancelot is alive *crosses fingers*, and Merlin actually gets to practice magic openly in Camelot). I like S4/S5 as well in the sense that I can make do with what we've been given... I guess I like to explore all my options?

In a way, I'm glad that 5x13 gave me the ending that I maybe didn't want, but because of that, my brain just can't let go of these two. These characters' stories are still not over for me.

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tl;dr talk about mood and lighting:

Maybe I've already talked about this, haha. I like to think that I'm aware of my strengths in drawing and my weaknesses in drawing, and that I know what I can and like to draw, etc. For fanart (and my pairs, especially)... or all of my drawings, I like to draw mood/atmosphere, more than characters being emotional. Characters could be doing something ordinary or thinking about the most mundane thoughts, but in certain kind of lighting the atmosphere could be completely different (ie, cloudy/rainy grey-ish colors could suggest melancholy, a sunset with backlighted characters can suggest intimacy, etc etc.)

This is an interesting post about mood and lighting from a photographer.

"Mood and atmosphere are not subjects in themselves. Rather, they can create a context that helps us tell an expressive story about our subjects… Because they can stir emotional responses, atmosphere and mood are the intangibles that can make an enormous difference in terms of meaning."

In writing, mood and atmosphere is something that already exists, but in drawings, it's something that has to be purposely thought about. It's easy to draw characters just standing in white space, and yes, that can look good too. But I believe that mood/atmosphere is the thing that makes people go from "ooh, pretty picture!" to "gosh I really want to know the story behind this".

This is something that's somehow grown important to me because I've always enjoyed atmosphere in architecture and spatial design (wiki article). Peter Zumthor is forever one of my favorite designers, and his philosophy on sensory qualities in building spaces is still so beautiful to me. Even though I'm probably not going to return to pursuing architecture, I'm still glad to have learned these things.

Anyways, this tl;dr talk. I enjoy thinking about what I like in drawings to remind myself of what my own art goals are. ~~or maybe I'm just procrastinating on drawing~~