SPN Reverse Bang 2022 #2 - KING of SPADES - Artpost
My second art contribution to this year's SPN Reverse Bang. A big thank you to the moderators for organizing this great challenge. The joy was great when maaldas claimed my original cover KING of SPADES and wrote a turbulent, action-packed story full of passion, revenge and gambling for it. I haven't followed such an exciting poker game since 007 Casino Royale. Thank you, maaldas, for choosing my art and dreaming up this wonderful story, which in turn inspired me to create more art.
Warning: spoilers in art!
Art Title: KING of SPADES
Prompt Number: R1006
Artist: aomasade [AomaSade on AO3]
Fic Title: KING of SPADES
Author: maaldas [maaldas on AO3]
Fandom/Genre: SPN/RPS
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles
Rating: R
Word Count: ~17,000
Warnings: Gun violence, blood
Summary: Jensen’s prowes in gambling earns him the nickname King of Spades and attracts the attention of Jared Padalecki, dangerous casino owner and mob boss. Jared vows that Jensen will be his but Jensen has more tricks up his sleeve in order to avoid one Jared Padalecki.
Masterpost on SPN Reverse Bang Challenge
Art Link: AO3
Fic Link: LJ | AO3
Click on the pictures for view in original size.
Jensen in casino with Jared in background
Jared wins in the casino with a royal flush
Jared’s heart royal flush
Jared with gun in casino in Monte Carlo
Jared injured with gun in casino in Monte Carlo
Supernatural Reverse Bang 2022 #2 - Original prompt - R1006
Art Description: Jensen leads a vendetta against the casinos of this world. He wins hands down at the card table with the suit of spades and gives away the winnings to local gambling addiction counseling centers. This has earned him the nickname King of Spades.
When Jensen enters the Padalecki casino in Vegas, Jared's eyes light up possessively. This handsome prickly man will be his, even though he seems to hate casino owners. The game begins and the sparks fly as Jared steps up to the gaming table and into Jensen's life. Because this time, the ace of hearts will beat the king of spades.
But Jensen still has a few trump cards up his sleeve, and if nothing else helps, an extended trip to Europe seems like a good alternative to escape the dangerous man. It's just too bad that Jared's power and the influence of his casino empire reach all the way there. (Modern AU)
I already had the idea for KING of SPADES last year. But I didn't realize it because I couldn't draw. And playing cards with manips from Jensen and Jared didn't appeal to me. With Procreate this year, I discovered my passion for drawing and revisited the playing card idea for SPN Reverse Bang 2022. For this, I came up with a story about Jensen, a poker player, who rips off the casinos of the world for revenge. Which playing card would represent him best? Which colors should I choose. I quickly decided on the king of spades, green and gold.
First I sketched my ideas and tried color combinations as well as backgrounds. But the card looked most beautiful on its own. Only colored with a touch of cream white, so that it visually stands out against the white background of the browser.
Then I drew the king of spades Jensen in pompous clothes. Ermine fur and precious stones complete the noble look. As a symbol of rulership he carries a scepter. The colors blue and green stand for gentleness, balance and harmony. Jensen is not a fighter. He prefers to avoid conflicts.
Where there is a King Jensen, there must be a King Jared. The King of Hearts did not fit Jared's character as Mob Boss. The Black Cross King embodies him much better.
Jared holds a sword in his hand. He wears a dark red cape, his tunic is black. These colors stand for passion, danger, elegance, power and dominance. The black cross as well as the weapon symbolize fight and death. Jared is a dangerous man, whom Jensen instinctively tries to avoid.
In addition to Jensen's colors of green and gold and Jared's dark red and black, the two playing colors of red and black naturally also flow into the artwork and contribute to the unified overall concept. The playing cards are outlined and framed in black. The card backs have a red pattern.
I also needed symbols for the cards. Hearts, spades and diamonds are nicely curved. The cross is cuddly. This makes the cards look more cheerful.
Chapter headings and dividers should be connected to the story. So what was a better fit than playing cards. Again, I tried a lot of things. Instead of symbols and picture cards, I added one large letter per playing card. The backs of the cards are blanks. Everything in the playing colors red and black. Finished were the chapter headings.
For the dividers, I chose five playing cards lined up (5-card hand in poker) with backs, different values, and the same symbols and playing colors. So again and again a different "hand" like in the poker game. According to the two chapter headings, the dividers are only with spades and hearts.
It was exciting to experience live how maaldas continued the story word by word. Google Docs makes it possible. I really admire authors who can easily pull words and sentences out of their sleeves. Anyway, I was able to gather and implement many ideas while reading the updates. One scene in particular stuck with me. Jensen is sitting at the game table and Jared is secretly watching him from behind before he sits down at the game table.
Then when maaldas also described Jared's clothing (dark blue suit, turquoise shirt with open collar), I had to get out my drawing pencil. Jared and Jensen in suits are just eye candy. I really like the SPN episodes where Dean and Sam are in suits and tuxedos. So for Jensen, I chose a black tuxedo with a dark bow tie and white shirt. Jared's shirt is open enough to show his chest hair.
In a picture with a casino poker table, no chips should be missing. I drew four different colored chips and stacked them into towers of different heights. Jensen just threw all his chips into the pot. Jared's chip stacks grow with every win.
At first I wanted to draw Jared with the purple suede jacket he had worn in Tokyo. But he just looked better in an anthracite suit with a silver gun. Jared looks deep into Jensen's eyes after the shooting. Upright, shot and covered in blood, his hair disheveled from the fight. This is the moment I wanted to capture. I created two variations. One is Jared standing with his gun in the casino in Monte Carlo. In the second image, Jared is wounded and bloody, with a corpse and pool of blood in the background.
In addition, there is Jared's heart royal flush, with which he defeats Jensen for the first time. For the illustration, I drew symbolic court cards. The color selection was more difficult. But the J2's helped. The green and red of their two playing card capes fit beautifully with the overall concept of all the artwork. United colors - metaphorically already a little preview of the end of the story?
I created or edited the works of art with Procreate.
I hope you enjoyed my art post.
