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Tinselfire β Marten painter
#anthro #chaperone #furry #male #marten #medieval #middleages #mustelid #mustelidae #musteline #painter #renaissance #janvaneyck #beechmarten
Published: 2018-06-14 01:47:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 4385; Favourites: 82; Downloads: 11
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Description
GIMP 2, around eight hours. Referenced from the presumed self-portrait of Jan van Eyck. Practicing painting some arboreal mustelids while waiting for trade update.Went with overwhelming yellow and near-black hoping to simulate poorly aged oil, but ended up overdoing it. Oh, well.
A painter in a European renaissance inhabited by people-shaped animals is bound to be a beech marten. If you do not have it in your blood, you have it in your fur.
The headpiece is a chaperon, basically a tailed hood worn rolled up and upside-down. While it may look peculiar to modern eyes, can tell from personal expercience it is both comfortable and versatile.
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Comments: 50
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Lovely work! Fantastic job on the fur. Very soft-looking and shiny. :} Nice detail on the buttons and teeth too. I can totally imagine him as some kind of high class merchant, perhaps a wandering trader.
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Thank you greatly. Of course there exists no such thing as "magical Photoshop brushes", but your suggestion of a fanned bib brush did absolute wonders to expedite the first base layer of detailed fur. Not certain if it is how it was originally intended, but found it works especially well for smaller species with fine and highly vibrant fur, forming lateral ripples more readily than distinct clumps. Smaller mustelids and rodents in particular - then again I tend to take the simpler route, not scaling the physics of fur to match how the characters are far larger than their base species.
The buttons were a real treat to paint. In the 14th and 15th centuries the fashion actually tended towards plain cloth buttons in a single column rather than toggles, but could not turn aside the opportunity to work in a touch of metallic detail.
Still, it must be remembered that plain felted or flocked buttons in the historical arrangement also have potential for immense detail, if of a different sort: On an otherwise plain arming jacket, columns of fifteen or up to twenty-five buttons were not unheard of; a practically useful, subtle, but nevertheless undeniable display of wealth in an era when every single accessory was the product of skilled craftsmanship.
A trader is an interesting idea. Have for a long time had the concept of a sable trader in the back of my head, drifting to and fro - it may be well about time I take the suggestion and develop him. The idea of a traveller plying a trade where making an exotic impression may be a vital skill could bridge some of the confusion over the elaborate dress for modern audiences. While it looks unwieldy (and it is not - have sewn up and worn it in a bout of experimental archaeology) from what we know this is a style of chaperone not unlike that which van Eyck wore while at the easel. In our age comparable to Pratchett's fedora, or Gurney's wardrobe of felts and caps.
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I also imagine him as a royal engineer. He travels to inspect mines and metalworks, but otherwise stays home and paints.
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Hold my ale, friend.
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Why, thank you. I thought I went a bit overboard with the old varnish look - in the future, will probably include more blue or lavender contrast in the background - but am glad to hear many seem to enjoy it.
The fur here uses some techniques developed by Bobbie Jean Pentecost. If you like it, do give a look and see what the inventor can do as well.
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Thank you <3 It is probably one of my best finished in a single sitting.
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Thank you. The fur was a learning experience to paint, so glad to hear it came out well.
Interestingly mustelids overall have poor red perception, so an actual beech marten might have thought similarly.
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Thank you <3 This was a real treat to paint, so great to hear it was a treat to see as well.
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You are welcome to my artist friend!
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The colors are very complement for each other.Β It really has an effect on the picture, as if it were made with oil paint.
I think very difficult to draw anthropomorphic creatures. You have kept the animal traits very beautifully.
Yeah. ^.^ From personal experience such as archery (castle games, medieval games), also i know there are many things seem strange but be useful.
The people underestimates the tiny things, but if she/he is out of her/his comfort zone... easy to realize, should not.
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Thank you. I have been trying to move into contrasting colour theory in the past year, but I really enjoy painting with yellows and reds. The look of old oil is a real treat to paint, since they sometimes change hues towards orange or light blue if the varnish is bad, so there is a lot of room for artistic license with the colours.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. When I paint from reference, I can never seem to get the eyes to line up - or hopefully, could. Have been practicing a way of referencing recently that was better than the one I used previously, so that just may clear up.
This is my first beech marten. Caught eye of the species by chance: There are only pine martens in Sweden, so in older translated books there is always an editor's notice explaining why the beech marten is listed as "local".
Indeed, a lot of things out of the middle ages seem strange because we do not have a complete picture, or because we are viewing with focus on progress.
It is interesting you would mention archery especially. One of my favourite thoughts on medieval thought comes not from a book on history, but from a graphic novel, Crecy. In it the main character, who is also the narrator and speaks right through the fourth wall, explains elaborately how the English longbow works, how it is produced and how the different components interact - all with the same tone, fervour and attention to industrial detail a modern gun enthusiast would use describing an Armalite rifle. Then he finishes with something along these lines:
Thought we were stupid, didn't you? Well, you were wrong. We have the same intelligence you do. What we don't have is another thousand years of cumulative knowledge.
It feels kind of reassuring people in a thousand years are likely to look back at tube tops, plastic and frappucino and wonder if we were stupid, from Mars, or maybe both. After all, they are probably going to be quite a lot like us.
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This reminds me so much of the Redwall series like wow
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On second thought, I did have some trouble with the eyes, so perhaps this could pass for Ublaz. Except the chaperon being the wrong colour, that is.
Not my favourite villain, but it was a really splendid moment when he reminded Martin II - and Redwall as a setting, for that matter - that martens eat mice.
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Thank you. I actually had very little experience with Redwall before joining Deviantart, but I like what I have seen so far of Fangorn's illustrations - Grath Longfletch and Romsca are especially well rendered.
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Awesome colors ! I especially love how you drew the chaperon
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Thank you. I am trying to move towards naturalism, so had some doubts about using true black and yellow glow to simulate aging and varnish. Very glad to hear it worked out.
The chaperon was an absolute treat to paint, and since it is so flexible, it works quite naturally on anthros as well. A bit of the inspiration was semiotic - in Swedish, the brim of the chaperon is called a "wreath", and SouthpawLynx posted an interesting "furgonomic" solution last Autumn, with a wreath worn lopsided over the ear.
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Really nice -- The airless and jewel-like quality of Northern Renaissance painting comes through very clearly here.
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Thank you. I must admit I am not as familiar with the style and concepts of the Northern renaissance as I should be - out of van Eyck's entire body of work, I only recognise his presumed portrait - but never too old to learn something new.
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Thank you <3 I went with some exxaggerated colours to make it look like how old oil and varnish give a lot of glow and contrast as it ages (for example, Rembrandt's the Night Watch takes place in the middle of the day), so very glad to hear it looks lifelike especially.
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Thank you. It was a real treat to paint, so it warms the heart to hear.
No flowers in this one, though. Your reply on the forum got me thinking, so been experimenting with ways to include overlay lighting in brushes before worrying about random effects like rotation. The results are looking... well, not quite as I imagined, but they certainly are results.
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I think every artwork needs to be treated as one of a kind and that means that a flow in an artwork is not edged in rock.
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I love it, but of course I would. The chaperone is of an elaborate kind that was particularly popular with the Dutch and the chaperone stayed at the height of fashion for much longer in the Netherlands. I've nearly finished sewing a new 15th C outfit and this is some nice motivation.
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Thank you. I figured, but am no less glad to hear -.o
I was inspired after I saw a modern "reimagining" of the Bocksten Man by Margareta Krantz, rendered in orange and golden brown, and with a tam replacing the gugel - worn unmistakably inspired by a chaperon. My knowledge of van Eyck's larger body of work is limited, but his presumed portrait immediately came to mind. Had some thoughts about kolisky forming guilds monopolizing high-grade brush supply, so a beech marten seemed a fitting choice (in Sweden, kolinsky brushes are branded as "marten-hair").
The chaperon was a real treat to paint. The rest was a treat too, of course - the new fur base brushes are working perfectly - but the chaperon especially. I am rather partial to the gugel-type without the permanent "wreath", so took some liberties to make that type work worn in this style, though: The liripipe must be 7-10 meters long, but then again that matches the extravagant buttoning with wire designs, studs and gold thread. Whoever this marten's patron is, he is richer than the pope himself.
On a historical note: There is a gap in the composition on the bottom left because I planned to have him smoking a churchwarden, but once I had the lineart done it struck me the plan had gone awry - tobacco in Europe before 1492? Not so likely.
If you can get a good shot, please do show the outfit when complete. Would be curious to see.
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I am rather partial to the gugel-type without the permanent "wreath" as well since it is a more practical article of clothing. You wear the gugel up as a chaperone to get it off your neck when it is warm or wear it properly to protect against the elements. The permanent wreath or torse was the product of pure fashion, when the trend started to calm down, people were wearing the gugel-type again, because it was more practical.
I really like this piece and wish I could buy it and hang it on my wall.
The outfit is nearly done, I just have to make the many cloth buttons that would fasten it and finish the lining of the hood.
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Come to think of it, it could be possible to both have the cake and eat it. Some of my older designs...
... wear chaperons with a diagonally checked lining, giving the appearance of a torse when the face is turned inside out over the wound liripipe.
Have not seen any historical examples of this, but when a piece of clothing was fashionable for over a hundred years, there is bound to have been a lot of experiments.
Come to think of it, perhaps time for some experimental archeology on my end as well.
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I bet there was more patterned chaperones. There is a funny theory by some art historians that painters avoided the hassle of painting a chaperone with patterns because of all the folds and wrinkles, so all the art has mostly solid chaperones and most examples didnt survive in archaeology.
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I'm loving the colour scheme here. ^_^
The lighting's great and the headpiece is amazing as well. XD
You always manage to find something new for me to see and the chaperone is something I hadn't heard of in quite a long time.Β
It feels like the renaissanceΒ just came by.
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Thank you. I am trying to move closer to naturalism and had some doubts about using an exxaggerated colour scheme, so very glad to hear it works out.
The chaperon is one of my favourite pieces of medieval clothing. Some of the later versions with huge wreaths are a bit too fragile and impractical for my taste, but the basic version is just fantastic - it fits with anything.
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It all suits you well. ^_^
I was wondering, also, do you take requests/commissions?
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Both yes and no.
I take on commissions locally from time to time, when I can be paid in cash, but I currently have no means to transfer money online (I am uncertain about points transfer), so am currently closed. I will make an announcement when I open.
I do not usually take requests as my schedule is quite tight, but when it is not, I ask openly.
I may do trades, but at most one at a time, and currently have one ongoing.
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I see.Β
Are you able to use, or are familiar with Paypal?
It's fairly easy to set up.
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Hmm.
Do you know if it is possible to set up PayPal under a business name only?
As you can probably tell from how I am wearing a wig and heavy makeup in my profile picture, I am quite shy when it comes to privacy.
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Iβm not actually sure.
I know you need at least an e-mail and bank account.
You can have it sent straight there and it does conversions across different currencies.
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Looking things up with... well, I think he can be called an expert.
I have some technical obstacles to opening a business as well - some of the redtape associated with being long-term unemployed in Sweden - but in time, perhaps we shall see.
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