HOME | DD

temiel โ€” Unraveling where we went wrong

Published: 2010-02-13 23:21:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 3173; Favourites: 78; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description Night lift up the shades
Let in the brilliant light of morning
But steady there now
For I am weak and starving for mercy
Sleep has left me alone
To carry the weight of unraveling where we went wrong
It's all I can do to hang on
To keep me from falling
Into old familiar shoes

How stupid could I be
A simpleton could see
That you're no good for me
But you're the only one I see...
~Sarah McLachlan, "Stupid"

Another Urban-Arcana-era picture, from the aftermath of Trean and Zarael's whirlwind relationship. After they fought each other and Trean emerged victorious, she couldn't bear to kill him, so she arranged for Orethiel (whom you might remember from the Astral Arcana prologue as the UEE's elected queen), a skilled mage, to put him into a magical stasis. Because of his importance as a figurehead in the Shadowkind community and to foster the budding relationship between Shadow and humanity, Trean and Orethiel decided not to reveal the truth of Zarael's betrayal, telling everyone he'd been martyred in battle. As he was presumed "dead", Trean ended up inheriting most of his estate, including ownership of his home in downtown Boston, this building (which actually does exist, I was just there today!): [link]

So this is Trean moving all of her stuff into her new place (which should explain the bare shelves and boxes), angsting and beating herself up about the whole sordid affair, and Orethiel granting some much-needed solace. It occurred to me that even though Orethiel was a major character in Urban Arcana, I've never actually FINISHED a picture of her. So here you go. (If you're curious about the bindi-thing on her forehead, it's a cultural thing; her elven subrace on the other side of Shadow often wore such things, and after she crossed over she adopted the tradition.)

Pen and PS. It's ABSURD how long this took. Backgrounds, man.
Related content
Comments: 90

temiel In reply to ??? [2010-03-08 18:47:32 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you so much! (And for the fave too.) This background... weirdly enough, it's VERY simple, but it took so much longer than it should have. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COLOR BACKGROUNDS QUICKLY. Drawing it wasn't a problem, but COLORING...

I'm glad the emotion comes across too, that's something I was really trying hard to convey. The background and scene was totally playing second fiddle to the characters and their interaction... the picture just needed more grounding in an actual place to support that, you know?

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Estic In reply to ??? [2010-03-08 17:57:11 +0000 UTC]

Oops! I meant Trean, not Rian, haha, sorry!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

DrearyThoughts [2010-03-07 11:29:10 +0000 UTC]

Awww makes me feel all dark and dismal You captured her emotions of a failed relationship wonderfully; that's the exact expression I think of in situations like that.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to DrearyThoughts [2010-03-07 13:12:41 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thank you! I'm glad you think it looks right, I was trying to get across at least a certain degree of emotional authenticity.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

DrearyThoughts In reply to temiel [2010-03-07 13:20:01 +0000 UTC]

You totally hit it spot on

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Adielle [2010-03-07 04:04:55 +0000 UTC]

This is gorgeous, hon! I love the detail and its wonderful seeing you do more backgrounds. I love these full illustrations from you (although I am partial to your romantic bedroom scenes). Lovely work as always. <3

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Adielle [2010-03-07 04:39:22 +0000 UTC]

Ah, thank you! Even though this might look nice, I have to admit I really hated doing it by the end and just wanted to be finished with it (which is why the walls look a little slapdash). Doing the lines wasn't a problem... COLORING everything, on the other hand...

What I AM trying to do is put some more solid backgrounds that are more than just "implied background shading". If I keep doing stuff like that, I might eventually get used to them enough that I can be bothered to do another like this. I'm really glad you like it.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

TheDevilsBlush [2010-03-02 07:38:31 +0000 UTC]

curse you and your ability to draw backgrounds!!

This is amazing!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to TheDevilsBlush [2010-03-02 12:46:20 +0000 UTC]

Ah, thank you!! I don't really have THAT much of an ability to draw backgrounds, this one nearly made me hate the whole concept of them. COLORING A FULL BACKGROUND IS SO TIME-CONSUMING.

I'm really glad you like it though. :3

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Hieyizar [2010-02-24 22:03:24 +0000 UTC]

The background is splendid!
I love the composition and all details you've put in this illustration, I also like so much their expressions **

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Hieyizar [2010-02-24 22:04:29 +0000 UTC]

Augh, thank you. It was SO hard to keep up the momentum with this one, I hate doing scenes with backgrounds. I'm really glad you like it!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

JubeiSpiegel [2010-02-21 01:44:43 +0000 UTC]

Love is rough, she needs a hug and maybe some good cookie dough ice cream.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to JubeiSpiegel [2010-02-21 16:54:24 +0000 UTC]

Yes... it certainly can be rough, especially if your ex was doing some real deal breakers like attempting genocide. Hugs and ice cream heal all wounds, though... or at least put enough salve on to make it okay temporarily.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

SilverRS [2010-02-19 12:46:56 +0000 UTC]

Excelent composition and colors

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to SilverRS [2010-02-19 13:22:33 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thanks so much! This was a hard one, all that background...

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

TracyLeeQuinn [2010-02-18 04:10:27 +0000 UTC]

Holy Interiors Molly!!
Really amazing job on this one! i Think this is one of my new faves of yours. Seriously, you did such a fantastic job on the atmosphere here!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to TracyLeeQuinn [2010-02-18 04:15:34 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thanks so much!! I'm really glad you think it came out all right, you know how much I loooooove backgrounds and perspective...

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

AmaDenchArt [2010-02-16 22:13:41 +0000 UTC]

Wow you really put effort in this one! Specially the background! It's sooo detailed! I love how the characters are interacting, also ^^

Awesome *O* and another must-fave!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to AmaDenchArt [2010-02-16 22:19:29 +0000 UTC]

AFFFF YESSSSS. It took soooo loooong... I'm glad I'm finally done with it. But I'm even more glad you like it! Thank you much.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

samohsai [2010-02-16 00:00:46 +0000 UTC]

HO MAN you should be crowed queen of details and patience! ;3; This is beautiful and i feel sad for the characters just looking at them ;A;

AH MAN, THE DAY I'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE THINGS LIKE YOU DO, I'LL DIE HAPPY.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to samohsai [2010-02-16 12:28:44 +0000 UTC]

Urgh, not really. This whole thing... I've actually been working on it for about a month on-and-off because I never had the patience to actually do it up from start to finish in a full sitting. XP Plus, the more I colored, the more I realized how little there actually is in the scene. I'm really glad you like the end result, though, and I'm totally flattered. ONE DAY you too shall take on the mantle of masochism!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Nochiel [2010-02-15 12:35:20 +0000 UTC]

Background and colors is amazing!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Nochiel [2010-02-15 14:08:34 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!! Backgrounds and color schemes are two really weak points for me, so I guess it doesn't hurt to work on one. Glad you like it!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Sighter [2010-02-15 03:53:45 +0000 UTC]

Yays! Backgrounds!



Adds all sorts of details and stuffs. I like it. Although, the perspective in the furniture in the background somehow isn't looking right to me. The side feels... off...

Oh well. I could be wrong. Or a lot wrong.

But I love backgrounds, especially effective ones that tell us about the characters. The room tells us about the age and antique feel of the room. The boxes hint at moving from one place to another. Its got that nice Elven feel. Even if parts of the piece seem to fail, the emergent quality of the piece as a whole shines through.

I love the about of detailing, its nice accents and depths...



Me likey.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Sighter [2010-02-15 15:17:42 +0000 UTC]

Yes, it's definitely not without its problems. I totally made up all the perspective, and while I think the stuff sitting on the floor looks good, the higher-up parts kind of lose it, like you said. The bookshelf is slightly problematic because from where we're viewing it, you'd think it should be flush against the wall, but I actually wanted to draw it at a slight angle... but maybe the way it's actually sitting, the corner would be embedded IN the wall. Also, don't even get me started on the bricks and how THEY'RE SLANTED. They're parallel to each other, sure, BUT NOT TO THE FLOOR ARGH BARGH

I'm really glad you like it in spite of the obvious problems. Seriously, thanks. I'm never confident about my backgrounds (with good reason, obviously ). They're my perpetual bane. I hope I can do a better one next time AND shave down the amount of time it takes in one fell swoop.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

Sighter In reply to temiel [2010-02-18 08:43:58 +0000 UTC]



Backgrounds take time to develop and stuffs. But yah only it better at it with practice anyhow! I didn't think it was too bad. The only thing that seemed to throw me off was the bookshelf in the back. The rest of it felt 'right' within your style.

I love backgrounds. I try to do them as well, but sometimes it feels like too much work. Art demands so much time! The more details one can cram in there the better. At least that's what I'm trying to do now with my comics at the moment.

I'll see your trouble with perspective and raise you a problem with getting coloring done right.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Sighter [2010-02-18 14:41:31 +0000 UTC]

SOME DAY!! SOME DAY I shall become as facile with backgrounds as I am with figures. But that day, alas, is not today.

I definitely agree that most of the time they feel like too much work. I often figure, if I can get the "message" or theme of a piece across (like all those pointless couple drawings... ) without cluttering up a whole scene, why bother? But sometimes the background really is necessary, and adds a lot, and the whole picture wouldn't succeed without it. I've got a few others in my head at the moment that are DEFINITELY like that. AND I WILL DO THEM!!!

...someday.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

Sighter In reply to temiel [2010-02-20 06:20:54 +0000 UTC]

I feel the same exhaustion.

Some days, the images in one's head gets too be too much of a target to try and aim for.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Makio-Kuta [2010-02-15 03:46:13 +0000 UTC]

I love that little coffee table! <3 Great details and I really like the emotion that's in this picture. Something looks a little off about Trean, her body looks oddly short. o.o it could just be the angle of the pose? I'm not sure.
You really need to do backgrounds more often. They suit your characters and style so well, and just complete the entire mood and look. n.n

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Makio-Kuta [2010-02-15 15:23:07 +0000 UTC]

Which one, the one with the teacups on, or the one with the marble top? I really like them both myself, though I think I might prefer the marble one. I think the weirdness you're seeing is just the pose-- she's REALLY hunched over. She's very thin, so she can hunch to great effect. In the rough, though, I did draw the whole body at her proper height, so I'm pretty sure it's just the effect of that front leg covering up the lower part of her torso. Not 100% sure, of course, though.

As to whether I'm going to do backgrounds more often-- this one took SO much out of me, I keep wanting to say I just don't want to bother, but I know that's not true at all and I'm really just burned out from this one. Sooner or later I'm going to want to do another, and it's going to take forever and a day too, and I'm going to go back to hating them again. Maybe if I go through that cycle enough times, I'll get used to it! Either way, I'm really glad you like it. It definitely took a crapton of effort, so thank you much.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

Makio-Kuta In reply to temiel [2010-02-16 06:31:14 +0000 UTC]

The one with the teacups. It's just adorable. xD

I looked at it again today and now I have no issues with her pose. So maybe my eyes were simply buggy last night. o.o

I understand what you're saying about backgrounds. They're especially annoying when you don't have a clue what you want to do with them. I find though, if I have a set idea, I don't mind spending hours tinkering away at it. lol It's those times where I don't have a clue what I want to do that things tend to start to anger me. xD

I look forward to all the future backgrounds to come that slowly help you break down your dislike for them n.n

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Makio-Kuta [2010-02-16 12:12:09 +0000 UTC]

Urrrrgnh, SOMEDAY!! See, for me it wasn't the lines that were a pain in the ass, it was just the coloring. THE COLORING ARGH. I'm not even sure what it was, it was just time-consuming and monotonous. I think the next time I attempt a background I'll try and keep the coloring a little less... "full", I guess.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

Alois-Noette [2010-02-15 03:38:07 +0000 UTC]

OMG background! And so much detail in it, too!

And I love Orethiel's face.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to Alois-Noette [2010-02-15 15:38:47 +0000 UTC]

OMG I KNOW RIGHT? I'm glad you like it. Backgrounds are SUCH a pain in the butt.

Yeah, Orethiel has a really nice face when I imagine her in my head... sometimes she comes out looking right, sometimes she doesn't. I draw her so rarely that her on-paper design has virtually no consistency. -__- I've been working on a picture of her in her queen outfit for a while, but that's not really going anywhere at the moment.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

sionra [2010-02-14 22:17:17 +0000 UTC]

I think the background is amazing! Every detail makes her consider. Tapestry on the wall, empty glass and cups! Boxes with duct tape!
Very good work!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to sionra [2010-02-15 15:50:13 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thanks so much!! I was really pleased with how the tapestry came out in particular, I was afraid I'd make it look too much like a painting. I'm so glad you like the whole effect!!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

rosalbarts [2010-02-14 21:40:33 +0000 UTC]

Ooh really amazing work! The background is so detailed!! And beautiful scene, even if it's sad... I imagine Trean's suffering after Zarael's betrayal...

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to rosalbarts [2010-02-14 21:44:07 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thank you!! That background just about killed me. I'm really glad you like it, though! I really wanted to do a Vulnerable Trean picture, since she's usually so tough and stoic and unassailable, but this whole ordeal really hit her hard, so I wanted her to really look emotional in a way she usually doesn't.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

ppgrainbow [2010-02-14 20:37:28 +0000 UTC]

This is such a wonderful drawing! I really like how you did the clothing that they're wearing as well as their hair. The posing on these characters came out really good too.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to ppgrainbow [2010-02-14 21:07:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! Glad you like it. I'd say it was fun to do, but honestly it was more work than anything else. -__- I do like the end result, though!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

ppgrainbow In reply to temiel [2010-02-14 21:11:10 +0000 UTC]

I do too! She looks wonderful!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

shideh [2010-02-14 18:08:12 +0000 UTC]

It's great to see it finished! Lovely colours!

Agh, I feel Trean's pain TT_TT

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to shideh [2010-02-14 21:18:42 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thanks! I was thinking of your palette when I was coloring it. I don't know how much of that influence actually came through, but it was great to have something to think about (if not emulate exactly).

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

ElisaMelis [2010-02-14 17:52:15 +0000 UTC]

awesome care fo details.. i really love the bg and the colours, i like so much the expression of them too!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to ElisaMelis [2010-02-14 21:24:08 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thanks so much! This one was so hard to do, backgrounds are SUCH a pain for me to do. I'm really glad you like it, considering how much of the perspective is just totally made up!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

ElisaMelis In reply to temiel [2010-02-14 21:29:42 +0000 UTC]

background are so difficult for me too..รง__รง above all for the prospective.. so i perfectly understand you, but i really like this, si very good!! and i love the decoration too!

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 0

loki-lou [2010-02-14 16:48:19 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow, what a nice house to inherit ;A; I adore old buildings like that, but I'm surprised she could live in his house after the whole ordeal, what with the memories and all. I really LOVE this background and the foreground :3 The detailing on the chair is beautiful.

I'm happy to see a picture of Orethiel, but poor Trean T_T I imagine they are pretty close, like sisters, their poses (which I also love) sure convey that. *V* I really like Orethiel's design, she's so pretty.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to loki-lou [2010-02-14 21:39:50 +0000 UTC]

Yes... I do believe she had to give it at least a little time before settling in, and during that time I'm fairly certain she had the place blessed and re-blessed and exorcised, JUST IN CASE. You never know when and where the ex might've been summoning demons. Really, though, it's too nice a place NOT to live in if you're going to be stuck owning it anyway. "Well, your relationship just crashed and burned in the most spectacular way imaginable, but here's your consolation prize! Enjoy your new vast fortune!"

Trean and Orethiel are indeed VERY close. They originated in the same world, actually, and when Orethiel discovered there was another elf from her own turf kickin' around somewhere, she made it her mission to track Trean down and befriend her. Eventually I think they came to consider each other like kin, so the idea of them being "like sisters" is right on the mark.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

loki-lou In reply to temiel [2010-02-15 16:42:58 +0000 UTC]

Its a lovely house, but I'm sure, given the right conditions, it could be quite creepy. It probably wouldn't take too much imagination to see things in the shadows (like cynical ex-boy friends). Is this where Farael grows up?

Oh and I hope we see more of Orethiel. *v*

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1

temiel In reply to loki-lou [2010-02-15 16:51:12 +0000 UTC]

You're DEFINITELY right about that. I think she tried for a while to avoid the bedroom she shared with him... but she was never really alone when she lived there, since at this time she was also raising her baby dragon (and even if she didn't want to live there right away, there's a HUGE amount of space in one of those antechambers so practicality would dictate it'd be a good place for Little Red). I suspect she probably had a habit of walking around the place armed to the gills for a while, though. Of course, less than a year later she got involved with Donovan, so I think he spent a lot of time there with her and managed to lessen a lot of the sadder memories.

It is in fact where Farael (and all her children) grew up. By that time, she'd left her mark on it pretty indelibly, so there wasn't much lingering bad karma.

๐Ÿ‘: 0 โฉ: 1


| Next =>