[artwork] "A noblewoman from the Heian period (Japan)", G

[lineae]

Title: "A noblewoman from the Heian period (Japan)"
by Eve Le Dez (lineae)
Character: a Nipponese noblewoman
Rating: G
Disclaimer: No harm meant, no money made. My muses come and go as they like - they just kindly allow me to draw them from time to time. ;) Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

Comments

[bimo]

Wow, this is amazing!

I think what impresses me most is the balance between vividness and delicacy that you have achieved in this picture. The bright colours are truly an eye catcher, but the longer I'm looking at it, the more I'm getting fascinated by the more subtle notes, like the way the trees in the background are mirroring the way that trees are done in many Japanese paintings. The elegance and plasticity of the noblewoman's hands is particularly striking. I only wish I had your skill and experience with shading. :-)

[lineae]

Wheeee! Thank you for this fantastic comment! *^_^*

I'm afraid I can't take any credit for the colours ~ noblewomen back then really dressed like that, in many-layered bright silks. And the make-up does the rest...
But I'm happy that you think the background looks like a Japanese painting, which was my intention. I just wasn't sure I'd really managed to pull it off.

And the sepia outlines really work well for the pale bits (like face and hands) - at least, much better than the stark black outlines I used before! And those pens come with thinner points as well - I'll be able to draw lines that are 0.03mm wide now! [/art geek]
Everything else is practice. And practice. Oh, and a bit of practice, too! ;)

[mrs_norrington]

Fantastic. :) It's beautiful and the close up allows me to appreciate it even more.

[lineae]

Thank you! :)
I used to wonder why I bothered with close ups ~ I guess the answer is, I would want them and there still are people who appreciate them. :)

[oloriel]

Aside from the eyebrows (which, if she were really fashionable, would be shaved off and painted on higher on the forehead), very lovely. (Well, actually it's lovely with the "normal" eyebrows.) The kimono layers are wonderful!

I love your clear-cut outlines and colour fields, btw!

[lineae]

Heh, thank you for that explanation... I noticed that the women seemed to all look like perpetually surprised dolls ~ I didn't think of shaved-off eyebrows. Putting the eyebrows higher on her forehead would have looked odd, though - so I'm glad that the Japan specialist doesn't mind my artistic license. ;)
I really enjoyed working on that, and using all those bright but rarely used colours ~ and I think I'll never manage to get completely rid of the clean outlines... Waterproof ink is just too good an invention to let it go to waste. And it's very helpful to have clean outlines when you tend to get carried away while holding a paintbrush. *g*

[oloriel]

*snrks* The Japanese did the darndest things in the Heian age. (Well they still do, only it's different darndest things now.) My all-time favourite is the superstition about how a house will not burn down as long as there's a chest full of porn literature kept in it. I KID YOU NOT.

[delaese]

Gorgeous. Utterly gorgeous!!

[hms_dauntless]

What an elegant rainbow of colours ! I particularly like how the woman and the tree in the background complete each other. A great artwork. :)