fanart (still a WIP), a freshly hatched Iskierka

[ratcreature]

Fandom: Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik
Characters/Pairings: Iskierka
Media used: only pencil so far
Rating/warnings: G, none
Notes/comments: I seem to be on a dragon kick lately. But I like Iskierka. I hope she looks enough like a baby while still fitting the description that they look just like smaller versions of the big ones. But making the head long and lean like I normally do for dragons to make them look ferocious didn't work for me for a baby dragon. The hatching pose took a ridiculous amount of time to get right. Maybe I'll do a real process post once it is inked and colored, showing excerpts from all the steps that were like tooth pulling, like the dozen thumbnails and head design sketches, and failed attempts. OTOH that would be kind of embarrassing, now it looks like I sat down and just did a pencil drawing as a process step...
Preview:

Comments

[brownbetty]

Well, it's certainly the case for mammals that out snouts get bigger as we mature, so maybe that's how it is for reptiles too?

She looks all "Yay!" and kinda icky! Which seems right for Iskierka, to me.

[ratcreature]

I thought she must be still slimy if the egg just broke open, so I'm glad that comes across. And yeah, I think small dragons could be cute like like that. I mean small birds are cute and fluffy with big eyes, no? and dinosaurs are kind of like birds... also, when you google for images like "baby turtles", those look kind of cute, baby iguanas not so much, but well, artistic license, I say. *G*

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Aww, she's adorable! And the mischievous look on her face suits Iskierka's character very well.

[ratcreature]

Thank you, it's great to hear her personality comes across.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Aww. Hatchling! Heh, this makes me want to read the scene in the book again. "I want my name to be Iskierka like that girl was singing about, now hurry up and put my harness on so I can eat!" You're so very talented.

[ratcreature]

Thank you!

[cofax7]

Oooooh, that is neat. I can't wait to see the later steps!

[ratcreature]

Thank you, I hope it'll turn out well. I'm planning to us acrylic glazes and I'm still very new to that medium (hence the scanning of the inbetween stages -- doing stuff without an undo button is scary *g*). But my rats chewed the cable of my tablet through and I can't replace it right now, so inking and coloring digitally is out atm...

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

I love that she came out looking tricky and adorable from the get-go.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, her personality seemed to be pretty developed and a force to be reckoned with right away, not least thanks to Temeraire's tutelage... *g*

I'm glad you like it.

fanart (still a WIP), a freshly hatched Iskierka

[maxinemayer.livejournal.com]

I like this baby dragon! Very impressively newly-hatched yet with personality! Such great detail, too! Thank you for sharing!
Love, max

Re: fanart (still a WIP), a freshly hatched Iskierka

[ratcreature]

Thanks! In the book she had a very forceful personality right away, so I'm glad that comes through.

[pentapus.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I love the detail and the spikes! Around the head especially. Very, very cool. I actually think I will like the pencils of this better than the ink.

[ratcreature]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I'm still trying to find the balance for indicating scales, without leaving either too much blank or going overboard with too many textures. Sometimes ink is more unforgiving than the "fuzzier" pencil, but I generally like the effect of clean lineart, especially when I color a drawing.