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This is my Art Master Post for soundofthesurf's amazing fic, 'The Greatest Show On Earth', written for the first Take That Slash Annual Big Bang! So, to everyone on my flist - sorry, it's Take That related, but hopefully you might enjoy the art anyway. XD
Title: The Greatest Show On Earth
Author: soundofthesurf
Link to Fic: The Greatest Show On Earth
Artpost contains: 2 covers, a close-up, 3 sketches, and a little bit about why I chose certain elements that I did.
So first of all, a temporary message - I'm so so very sorry, but the cover art for Part 1 isn't finished yet. Real life got massively and painfully in the way, and you may have noticed my fic yesterday was very late as well. I did try to finish the art before posting it, but there's still a lot to get finished on it and I'd rather give you all a good piece of work late than a shoddy rush job.
For now, please accept this small preview of the finished thing:
Cover - Part 1
+++++
Cover - Part 2
Here's a close-up of Mark, so you can see some of the details:
+++++
When I first started working on the artwork for the story, I began by scribbling out some small doodles. Here are thre of them - the rest eventually made it into the two final pieces of artwork.
Firebreather Howard
Bandleader Gary
Mark being his usual generally adorable self.
+++++
I really hope you liked the artwork! I'm going to chat on a little bit now about why I chose certain symbols and stuff that I did in the two covers, because I'm sad like that. So if you haven't read Monika's fabulous story here,
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SECTION CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS.
Please come back here only AFTER you've read the story or I'll be heartbroken for spoiling you!
Cover 1
Coming soon!
Cover 2
So, first of all - this one is a complete 180 in terms of mood compared to Cover 1! Or at least, I hope it is.
The colour scheme is informed by the circus at the end of the story - purple, black, and white/silver, and I stuck a little bit of orange in there for contrast and lighting. I feel like the colours Monika chose really emphasises the sombre mood of the cover and of that middle section of the story as a whole, as well as the much more grown-up feel the new, revived circus takes on at the end of the story. The silver lanterns are how I imagined the lanterns described in the new circus' performance to look. There's four of them here, one each for the four characters we can see at first on the cover.
Actually, all of the characters are here on the cover again, even if you don't notice them at first. Mark, Gary, Jason and Robbie are very obvious and grab your attention first. They're all visibly older here than on Cover 1. Mark is still a magician, whilst Robbie's outfit is now a more grown-up ringmaster's uniform instead of his old clown outfit. I tried to thread quite a heavy amount of grey through Jason's hair as the story describes, but I'm not sure if you can see it of whether the lighting I used has ended up obscuring it. Gary is still pining away like he is on Cover 1, but for obviously different reasons now.
If you look at the foot of the cover though, there are Howard and Dawn falling. They're deliberately very ghost-like - whether that's because it's a memory of the others', or because they're neither quite the same afterwards and so it could be looked on as a sort of 'death', is up to you. As opposed to the others, who are still up with the lights, they are down at the bottom in the darker area of the picture.
If you take a look at Mark, hopefully you'll see each of the cards he's holding nice and clearly. Each of the cards represents a different character/characters or event:
Six of Hearts: Mark, Robbie, Gary, Dawn, Howard, and Jason. There are six characters involved in relationships in this story, hence, six hearts.
Five of Diamonds: The boys. Each of them have their own unique skills and talents that they bring to the circus and shine with.
Ace of Spades: The night of the fall. The Ace of Spades is also known as the Death Card, and represents both the literal and figurative deaths that occur on that night: Skippy's death, Howard and Dawn's careers being cut tragically short, and the 'death' of the circus' first incarnation.
Queen of Hearts: Dawn, being both a love interest and a willing protector of Jason and Howard's secret relationship. You'll notice that on Cover 1 (when I post it!) that this is also the card she's sitting inside on that cover.
Five of Clubs: The boys again, only this time, one symbol (Howard's) is covered by Dawn's card. This is also meant to represent the fall.
Ace of Diamonds: Mark. This is also the card he's sitting inside of Cover 1, and symbolises how he becomes a successful star on his own after the events of the fall.
Jack of Diamonds: Robbie. Again, this is his Cover 1 card, and mixes his star quality (diamond) with his instability and 'peculiar' tendencies.
Two of Hearts: Howard and Jason specifically, and love in general.
King of Clubs: Nigel, hence his position hiding behind the Howard and Jason card. The King of Clubs also represents his position as 'king' of the circus in its first incarnation - however, that role is taken from him after his crimes, hence it being obscured now by the Two of Hearts; love conquering all.
Title: The Greatest Show On Earth
Author: soundofthesurf
Link to Fic: The Greatest Show On Earth
Artpost contains: 2 covers, a close-up, 3 sketches, and a little bit about why I chose certain elements that I did.
So first of all, a temporary message - I'm so so very sorry, but the cover art for Part 1 isn't finished yet. Real life got massively and painfully in the way, and you may have noticed my fic yesterday was very late as well. I did try to finish the art before posting it, but there's still a lot to get finished on it and I'd rather give you all a good piece of work late than a shoddy rush job.
For now, please accept this small preview of the finished thing:
Cover - Part 1
+++++
Cover - Part 2
Here's a close-up of Mark, so you can see some of the details:
+++++
When I first started working on the artwork for the story, I began by scribbling out some small doodles. Here are thre of them - the rest eventually made it into the two final pieces of artwork.
Firebreather Howard
Bandleader Gary
Mark being his usual generally adorable self.
+++++
I really hope you liked the artwork! I'm going to chat on a little bit now about why I chose certain symbols and stuff that I did in the two covers, because I'm sad like that. So if you haven't read Monika's fabulous story here,
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SECTION CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS.
Please come back here only AFTER you've read the story or I'll be heartbroken for spoiling you!
Cover 1
Coming soon!
Cover 2
So, first of all - this one is a complete 180 in terms of mood compared to Cover 1! Or at least, I hope it is.
The colour scheme is informed by the circus at the end of the story - purple, black, and white/silver, and I stuck a little bit of orange in there for contrast and lighting. I feel like the colours Monika chose really emphasises the sombre mood of the cover and of that middle section of the story as a whole, as well as the much more grown-up feel the new, revived circus takes on at the end of the story. The silver lanterns are how I imagined the lanterns described in the new circus' performance to look. There's four of them here, one each for the four characters we can see at first on the cover.
Actually, all of the characters are here on the cover again, even if you don't notice them at first. Mark, Gary, Jason and Robbie are very obvious and grab your attention first. They're all visibly older here than on Cover 1. Mark is still a magician, whilst Robbie's outfit is now a more grown-up ringmaster's uniform instead of his old clown outfit. I tried to thread quite a heavy amount of grey through Jason's hair as the story describes, but I'm not sure if you can see it of whether the lighting I used has ended up obscuring it. Gary is still pining away like he is on Cover 1, but for obviously different reasons now.
If you look at the foot of the cover though, there are Howard and Dawn falling. They're deliberately very ghost-like - whether that's because it's a memory of the others', or because they're neither quite the same afterwards and so it could be looked on as a sort of 'death', is up to you. As opposed to the others, who are still up with the lights, they are down at the bottom in the darker area of the picture.
If you take a look at Mark, hopefully you'll see each of the cards he's holding nice and clearly. Each of the cards represents a different character/characters or event:
Six of Hearts: Mark, Robbie, Gary, Dawn, Howard, and Jason. There are six characters involved in relationships in this story, hence, six hearts.
Five of Diamonds: The boys. Each of them have their own unique skills and talents that they bring to the circus and shine with.
Ace of Spades: The night of the fall. The Ace of Spades is also known as the Death Card, and represents both the literal and figurative deaths that occur on that night: Skippy's death, Howard and Dawn's careers being cut tragically short, and the 'death' of the circus' first incarnation.
Queen of Hearts: Dawn, being both a love interest and a willing protector of Jason and Howard's secret relationship. You'll notice that on Cover 1 (when I post it!) that this is also the card she's sitting inside on that cover.
Five of Clubs: The boys again, only this time, one symbol (Howard's) is covered by Dawn's card. This is also meant to represent the fall.
Ace of Diamonds: Mark. This is also the card he's sitting inside of Cover 1, and symbolises how he becomes a successful star on his own after the events of the fall.
Jack of Diamonds: Robbie. Again, this is his Cover 1 card, and mixes his star quality (diamond) with his instability and 'peculiar' tendencies.
Two of Hearts: Howard and Jason specifically, and love in general.
King of Clubs: Nigel, hence his position hiding behind the Howard and Jason card. The King of Clubs also represents his position as 'king' of the circus in its first incarnation - however, that role is taken from him after his crimes, hence it being obscured now by the Two of Hearts; love conquering all.