Drawing Atuan (Cont.): Creative Platypus

-
As I'm continuing to play with my Prismacolor brush-tip markers, my next experiment has been with layering. I'm used to working with whiteboard markers, and they do not mix without fouling up one or both markers. The Prismacolors, on the other hand, layer nicely without rubbing off on one another. Placing more or less pressure on the marker also changes the opacity. Goodness, I'm scared of markers! They don't allow for mistakes. After talking with several of my students, however, I've come to realize that I fear my tools and that has to change. I don't fear the paints when I'm working with miniatures (Warhammer, 40K, LotR) and that's why I'm able to achieve some actual competency with them. Now it's time to gain that confidence for the rest of the visual arts.

So here's today's picture: the Priestess Thar from Ursula K. Le Guin's The Tombs of Atuan. Thar is one of the sympathetic characters in the work. We get the idea that serving as a priestess has not broken her spirit so much as tempered it. She is a fitting foil for her opposite number, the embittered and power-hungry Kossil.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Platypus Reads Part XXVII

-
Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
Read more