reallycorking and mudblood428's Fanart Collab Extravaganza, Part Deux
mudblood428's Testimonial:
It began as a comment. It became an inside joke. And it ended up being a creative opportunity unlike any I'd ever had before. *cue the epic soundtrack*
I gave up trying to find the actual origin point of this wild idea, but suffice it to say that this snail-mail collaborative effort was put into action in August of 2006 [ETA: I stand corrected - seems this idea was cooking all the way back in June!]. From the start of my LJ correspondence with reallycorking, I had felt I'd found a kindred spirit in fanart - someone who shared my love of canon, gushed over things like backgrounds and colors and pairings, and who approached fanart with a no-holds-barred kind of optimism. So when talk of doing something together in natural media started getting less "what if we did something" and more "when are we gonna start this thing?", I was downright thrilled. There was much key mashing involved. Neither of us had ever taken on a project like this.
We both agreed on doing a canon scene, and after going through a series of possible scenes, we wanted to do something that no other fanartists in our acquaintance had tried yet: the argument between Ron and Ginny in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Being immersed in my graduate thesis, Cork was kind enough to kick things off. She expertly put her pencil to the paper to provide a sketch, choosing to "surprise me" with the paper and so forth. When I got her rough sketch, I was dying, I was so excited. Because to top it off, she sent me a lovely letter with a snarky pen-sketch of Snape on the bottom. (I have since realized that I accidentally left the letter and said sketch in my apartment in Washington, DC, and am kicking myself, because it was pretty dern cute).
Now that it was in my hands, I wasn't sure what I should do, so I basically tackled it with the goal of a fusion of our styles in mind. I think it's safe to say that both RC and I have signature techniques - our characters and backgrounds bear the trademark of who interpreted them - and for my part the objective was to retain the identities of the artists involved in a way that was complimentary. So when it came my turn to handle the picture, I added the bare bones of a background, and deepened the lines of RC's sketch, putting a tiny stamp on Harry's and Ron's eyes - something that more or less said "Mudblood was here". RC had the idea of a tapestry, so I hung one on the wall and invited her to go nuts with what to put in it. :)
When I returned it, I drew "OWL POST" in large letters on the envelope, stuck a little note explaining what I'd done (complete with a pen sketch of Hermione passing out over a stack of books, as I was still finishing up the Thesis of Doom), and sent it off.
This is pretty much how every exchange happened from that point on. Eventually, I would add ink to the picture (a process that is the most stressful thing on earth because it's permanent, and for which you should NOT prep with a cup of caffeinated coffee), and begin coloring in patches. After RC added the color to the curtain and some fire to the stone torch, I went to work on Ginny's hair and the lady in the tapestry, which Cork had sketched in the previous leg. All the while, exchanging sketches and doodles to the amusement of us both.
Snippet of a letter from RC. We were pretty dern excited. :D
I see now how difficult it is to articulate my hand in the project. The truth is that, looking back at the progression of this picture from a sketch to a finished scene, it's actually quite hard to remember precisely where RC's lines stop and mine begin. I think it's a sign that she rubbed off on me - I can say with all certainty that after this project, I feel as though a bit of Reallycorking has become infused in my art. As I mentioned to her over the phone prior to this post, "Did my Harry always have such messy hair?" It's definitely a good thing - I have even more respect for her now, which, considering how much I esteemed RC going into this thing, is a sign of her artistic caliber and the truly lovely person she is in real life. I feel so honored and lucky to have worked on this picture with her, and I'll bet that had something to do with the fact that we spent a grand total of four five months[!] working on it. I was sad to see it end (albeit by the end I had started having nightmares of doing something horrible to ruin the picture - like accidentally running it over with my car or spilling something on it. Again. Must lay off the Rappaccinos.).
Anyway, below are a number of the doodles she sent to me while we took turns with the picture. I'm so flippin' chuffed over the fact that I own them.
For the vision impaired (like me): "Rumor has it: Is it true? Sources say that Mudblood428 and Reallycorking are nearly fini..."
Is that amusing, or what?!
So yeah, on a final note, I'm very proud of how this picture came out. This was SO much fun, and I can't wait for another opportunity to do this again. But mostly, I'm grateful for the friend I gained in the experience. :)
reallycorking's Testimonial:
I've known V online for almost a year now, and I remember how thoroughly enchanted I was with her and her art from the very beginning. I quickly found that we had many things in common, both in fandom and in real life--more than once I have called her something along the lines of "my fanarting soul-sister," as cheesy as that sounds. ;)
V is well-known for her skill with a colored pencil, and when we found out that we share a strong brand loyalty to Prismacolors, ( Only the most awesome pencils EVAR. ~Comment by V, photo by RC) we squeefully started bouncing around the idea of a collaboration. Since neither of us have ever done anything of the sort, it took a couple of months to actually get the thing off the ground. We discussed all the particulars such as subject (we almost immediately decided on canon art), paper type and size, how we would send this thing back and forth, etc. In August when V was heavily involved in Thesis of Doom stress and preparing to go to Lumos, and I was depressed about all I was missing out on by not going to Lumos, we finally agreed to get it started. Since I was the one pouting at home, the task of "starting it off" fell on my shoulders. So I cut down a smooth white piece of ink paper to 11x14 inches, and got started on our chosen canon scene.
I sent sent the first draft off to V, holding my breath a bit in hopes that she would actually like it. When I got an envelope back a few weeks later with "Owl Post" written accross the front (accompanied by talon marks) I might have literally bounced up and down in the middle of the post office. The first couple of exchanges were a bit nerve-wracking, as I (and probably V, as well) was nervous about whether I was drawing too much or two little, or if we were giving each other enough creative space...basically whether or not we were doing the thing right. Of course the answer would be, there is no right way! Things happened the way they happened, and I couldn't be more pleased about it.
Feeding off one another was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process--
I was concerned that it looked too "me" and told V to do as much as she could on her side to make it look like hers as well. Sure enough, I pulled the paper out of that Owl Post and it was V's Harry looking back at me. :D Yet the longer we worked, the more things became intertwined and the lines blurred. I adopted some of V's techniques (using that indigo colored pencil much more than I used to...and on the phone: "I totally draw your robes now!"), and now it's difficult to remember what parts I drew and what parts V drew.
As the months progressed, we consistently passed envelopes back and forth halfway across the U.S., and each time we sent each other letters, notes, and amusing sketches along with the art. I began to worry that the US postal service would lose it one of those times, or something otherwise catostraphic would happen. V said it well here:
.
Shortly thereafter, I did do something stupid, and unknowingly SAT on the drawing (which was on my bed) for about 5 minutes. Yet still it lived on, with minimal wrinklage.
I now have a stack of letters, drawings, and illustrated photo mailers from V, and a finished drawing that we are immensely proud of. Our process was so exciting and challenging, and overall such a rewarding experience--one that I can't wait to repeat. I echo V, most of all I'm grateful for the friend I have gained from all of this.
******************
It began as a comment. It became an inside joke. And it ended up being a creative opportunity unlike any I'd ever had before. *cue the epic soundtrack*
I gave up trying to find the actual origin point of this wild idea, but suffice it to say that this snail-mail collaborative effort was put into action in August of 2006 [ETA: I stand corrected - seems this idea was cooking all the way back in June!]. From the start of my LJ correspondence with reallycorking, I had felt I'd found a kindred spirit in fanart - someone who shared my love of canon, gushed over things like backgrounds and colors and pairings, and who approached fanart with a no-holds-barred kind of optimism. So when talk of doing something together in natural media started getting less "what if we did something" and more "when are we gonna start this thing?", I was downright thrilled. There was much key mashing involved. Neither of us had ever taken on a project like this.
We both agreed on doing a canon scene, and after going through a series of possible scenes, we wanted to do something that no other fanartists in our acquaintance had tried yet: the argument between Ron and Ginny in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Being immersed in my graduate thesis, Cork was kind enough to kick things off. She expertly put her pencil to the paper to provide a sketch, choosing to "surprise me" with the paper and so forth. When I got her rough sketch, I was dying, I was so excited. Because to top it off, she sent me a lovely letter with a snarky pen-sketch of Snape on the bottom. (I have since realized that I accidentally left the letter and said sketch in my apartment in Washington, DC, and am kicking myself, because it was pretty dern cute).
Now that it was in my hands, I wasn't sure what I should do, so I basically tackled it with the goal of a fusion of our styles in mind. I think it's safe to say that both RC and I have signature techniques - our characters and backgrounds bear the trademark of who interpreted them - and for my part the objective was to retain the identities of the artists involved in a way that was complimentary. So when it came my turn to handle the picture, I added the bare bones of a background, and deepened the lines of RC's sketch, putting a tiny stamp on Harry's and Ron's eyes - something that more or less said "Mudblood was here". RC had the idea of a tapestry, so I hung one on the wall and invited her to go nuts with what to put in it. :)
When I returned it, I drew "OWL POST" in large letters on the envelope, stuck a little note explaining what I'd done (complete with a pen sketch of Hermione passing out over a stack of books, as I was still finishing up the Thesis of Doom), and sent it off.
This is pretty much how every exchange happened from that point on. Eventually, I would add ink to the picture (a process that is the most stressful thing on earth because it's permanent, and for which you should NOT prep with a cup of caffeinated coffee), and begin coloring in patches. After RC added the color to the curtain and some fire to the stone torch, I went to work on Ginny's hair and the lady in the tapestry, which Cork had sketched in the previous leg. All the while, exchanging sketches and doodles to the amusement of us both.
Snippet of a letter from RC. We were pretty dern excited. :D
I see now how difficult it is to articulate my hand in the project. The truth is that, looking back at the progression of this picture from a sketch to a finished scene, it's actually quite hard to remember precisely where RC's lines stop and mine begin. I think it's a sign that she rubbed off on me - I can say with all certainty that after this project, I feel as though a bit of Reallycorking has become infused in my art. As I mentioned to her over the phone prior to this post, "Did my Harry always have such messy hair?" It's definitely a good thing - I have even more respect for her now, which, considering how much I esteemed RC going into this thing, is a sign of her artistic caliber and the truly lovely person she is in real life. I feel so honored and lucky to have worked on this picture with her, and I'll bet that had something to do with the fact that we spent a grand total of four five months[!] working on it. I was sad to see it end (albeit by the end I had started having nightmares of doing something horrible to ruin the picture - like accidentally running it over with my car or spilling something on it. Again. Must lay off the Rappaccinos.).
Anyway, below are a number of the doodles she sent to me while we took turns with the picture. I'm so flippin' chuffed over the fact that I own them.
For the vision impaired (like me): "Rumor has it: Is it true? Sources say that Mudblood428 and Reallycorking are nearly fini..."
Is that amusing, or what?!
So yeah, on a final note, I'm very proud of how this picture came out. This was SO much fun, and I can't wait for another opportunity to do this again. But mostly, I'm grateful for the friend I gained in the experience. :)
reallycorking's Testimonial:
I've known V online for almost a year now, and I remember how thoroughly enchanted I was with her and her art from the very beginning. I quickly found that we had many things in common, both in fandom and in real life--more than once I have called her something along the lines of "my fanarting soul-sister," as cheesy as that sounds. ;)
V is well-known for her skill with a colored pencil, and when we found out that we share a strong brand loyalty to Prismacolors, ( Only the most awesome pencils EVAR. ~Comment by V, photo by RC) we squeefully started bouncing around the idea of a collaboration. Since neither of us have ever done anything of the sort, it took a couple of months to actually get the thing off the ground. We discussed all the particulars such as subject (we almost immediately decided on canon art), paper type and size, how we would send this thing back and forth, etc. In August when V was heavily involved in Thesis of Doom stress and preparing to go to Lumos, and I was depressed about all I was missing out on by not going to Lumos, we finally agreed to get it started. Since I was the one pouting at home, the task of "starting it off" fell on my shoulders. So I cut down a smooth white piece of ink paper to 11x14 inches, and got started on our chosen canon scene.
I sent sent the first draft off to V, holding my breath a bit in hopes that she would actually like it. When I got an envelope back a few weeks later with "Owl Post" written accross the front (accompanied by talon marks) I might have literally bounced up and down in the middle of the post office. The first couple of exchanges were a bit nerve-wracking, as I (and probably V, as well) was nervous about whether I was drawing too much or two little, or if we were giving each other enough creative space...basically whether or not we were doing the thing right. Of course the answer would be, there is no right way! Things happened the way they happened, and I couldn't be more pleased about it.
Feeding off one another was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process--
I was concerned that it looked too "me" and told V to do as much as she could on her side to make it look like hers as well. Sure enough, I pulled the paper out of that Owl Post and it was V's Harry looking back at me. :D Yet the longer we worked, the more things became intertwined and the lines blurred. I adopted some of V's techniques (using that indigo colored pencil much more than I used to...and on the phone: "I totally draw your robes now!"), and now it's difficult to remember what parts I drew and what parts V drew.
As the months progressed, we consistently passed envelopes back and forth halfway across the U.S., and each time we sent each other letters, notes, and amusing sketches along with the art. I began to worry that the US postal service would lose it one of those times, or something otherwise catostraphic would happen. V said it well here:
.
Shortly thereafter, I did do something stupid, and unknowingly SAT on the drawing (which was on my bed) for about 5 minutes. Yet still it lived on, with minimal wrinklage.
I now have a stack of letters, drawings, and illustrated photo mailers from V, and a finished drawing that we are immensely proud of. Our process was so exciting and challenging, and overall such a rewarding experience--one that I can't wait to repeat. I echo V, most of all I'm grateful for the friend I have gained from all of this.
******************