J2 Reverse Bang 2021 #3 - Tiger's Eye - Artpost
My third prompt for this year's J2 Reverse Bang. When the original cover "TIGER" was claimed by the talented kelios, the joy was great. She wrote the splashy, sweeping love story "Tiger's Eye" to go with the cover, set in a modern world ruled by powerful tiger shifters. Designing more artwork for this great story was a lot of fun.
Warning: Spoilers and tigers in art!
Art Title: TIGER
Prompt Number: 20
Artist: aomasade [AomaSade on AO3]
Fic Title: Tiger's Eye
Author: kelios [kelios on AO3]
Fandom/Genre: SPN/RPS, Romance
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 19,441
Warnings: Were-creatures, were-tigers, secrets, angst, non-con drug use, misunderstandings, happy ending
Summary: Were-creatures rule the world--stronger, faster, powerful. And Were-tigers are the most powerful of all, ruled by the Padalecki Clan from their home in Dallas, Texas.
Jared Padalecki has always gotten everything and everyone he's wanted, and what he wants now is Jensen Ackles, the adopted son of the prominent human politician Alan Ackles. Jensen has a bright future of his own, and no intention of becoming just another notch on Jared's belt, despite his growing attraction to the young were-tiger.
Can Jared convince Jensen that his intentions are good in spite of the family secrets that threaten to tear them apart?
Masterpost on J2 Reverse Bang Challenge
Art: AO3
Fic: AO3
Click on the pictures for view in original size.
J2 Reverse Bang 2021 #3 - Original prompt - Prompt 20
Short description of art: As a child, Jensen had to watch his mother being torn apart by shifters. He rejects his animal side and lives as a human. Unfortunately, as the adopted son of the human minister Ackles, he keeps coming into contact with the ruling Padalecki tiger shifters at receptions and work meetings. Jared, the son of the supreme tiger has his eye on Jensen. Jensen's prickly nature and rejection pique his interest. Jared checks Jensen's background, finds out his secret and triggers his first transformation. Jensen is angry and hurt. He will never forgive this betrayal. But Jared wants him and doesn't give up.
I had dreamed of this story and spun it on and on in my mind. What would a cover for it look like? I always loved this picture of Jared, his serious look. And it fit wonderfully for my cover. He embodied the tiger shifter perfectly. His eyes, his sternness, his dominance. For the background, I chose a tiger head as a hint to the content of the story. Green and black suited Jared so well that I chose those colors. I also added Jared's tattoo crown and Dean's mark of Cain as SPN and J2 references. To give the cover its full impact, I designed the title in the same colors so it would blend in and not dominate.
Kelios asked for two chapter headings featuring Jared and Jensen, since the action is told alternately from the point of view of these two characters. The story is set in a modern metropolis in the dazzling world of the rich and powerful.
So I chose the skyline of a modern metropolis with skyscrapers and skyscrapers in the color black. The gray silhouette behind refines the view. Green, like on the cover, are the tigers and the lettering. The 3D outline of the font conveys glamor and glitter.
For the dividers I repeated the theme skyline with the colors black and green. Added paw prints with sharp claws and tiger heads.
I designed the tiger background of the cover and banner here as a mural or wall mosaic. Maybe it is in Jared's office or in the ballroom of the family residence. Who knows.
Jensen in front of the tiger background shouldn't be missing. So I designed a second cover of Jensen with a black shirt and subtle green crown embroidery.
In the story, Jensen collects newspaper clippings from the crime and investigation at the time to the present day. Newspapers at the time reported extensively on the gruesome murder by tiger shifters. Jensen remembers only fragmentarily, but gets horrible flashbacks. To depict his horror at the bloody deed and the sensational reporting, I colored the claws and claw marks red.
On the chapter headings, the tigers Jared and Jensen are alone. What better way to fit a love story with a happy ending than to have the two lovers stride into the future together. Against the backdrop of the skyline, the two tigers walk side by side into their life together.
I created or edited the works of art with GIMP.
I hope you enjoyed my art post.
