Canon ART: The Final Duel

[mijan]

I started sketching this on the way home from Sectus, on the airplane. It was an interesting challenge, especially when we hit turbulance, and I was too stubborn to pause. But when I got home, I didn't edit it right away, and the graphite became a bit too stuck on the paper, and manual edits became a bit more difficult. So, I've attempted to edit through photoshop on my laptop. (No art tablet - not even a mouse. Just a touch-pad.) So, here goes nothing. *sigh* Please tell me it doesn't suck.

Title: The Final Duel (Creative, huh?)
Rating: PG, I think.
Genre: Canon
Medium: Mechanical Pencil
Artist's Notes: I had a bit of trouble with the position of Harry's left arm and hand, but I did some extremely painstaking edits with photoshop, and I think I'm happier with it now. Better angle. Also, my crappy scanner is too small to get the whole image, so it cut off the bottom inch of the page, including my signature and the equivalent of a foot of Voldy's back. *shrugs* Gotta love technology.

Comments

[sulky-rhino.livejournal.com]

That's really good! I think Harry's arm looks good, because I understood that he was circling Voldemort even before I read your notes. :) I love Voldemort's fingers too. They look creepy. :D And there are house-elves in the pic too!! :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yay house elves!

And I'm glad that it was obvious that he was circling. I had one hell of a time figuring out how to make that apparent, instead of it just looking as if he were walking, or standing funny.

I also made some edits, including to his hand. How does it look now?

[sulky-rhino.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that looks even better! :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY! I feel accomplished, or something. *grins and wags tail*

[thepinkrabbit.livejournal.com]

I like it very much^^ I can almost feel the tension *shudders*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like! I made some edits, too. What do you think?

[miraba.livejournal.com]

The position of his legs relative to his torso are enough to show that he's circling.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's the "I'm circling you for a better shot" pose - I see it LARPing sometimes. I like how you don't see Voldemort's face, it's creepier that way.

Yay, centaurs and house-elves!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Ah good, you know the pose! I know I messed up the hand a bit, but I think I can fix that. Hmmm...

Hi, by the way! *hugs*

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

Good show of movement, there. The arm looks okay... It's difficult to get poses like that to come off the way you'd like. The last time I tried to draw Draco, I had the duel scene from movie CoS in my head, with the wand poised almost Tai Chi -style above his head. It was a bitch to get it right, and I was a bit rusty as well. My fingers were cramping up by the time I was satisfied.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'm not the world's best post-artist, but I'm usually really good with hands. (See icon for details.) That's why this frustrated me so much. I made some more edits. How does it look now?

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

That looks like a more natural pose, with his palm flat and horizontal.

*gives you a cookie*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY COOKIE! *eats* I love cookies.

And... cool icon. *grins*

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

It read Gay Werewolves and the Ex-Convicts Who Love Them originally (when I got it from Marauder) but then I made a bunch of alternate headlines like Face of Dumbledore Appears in Muggle's Pudding, Lavender Brown Defends Tryst with Centaur, and Harry Potter Defeats Dark Lord; Goes to Walt Disney World. This one, however, is my favorite.

[evanelric.livejournal.com]

I think the arm looks fine, but the positioning of the hand is a little odd... It's at a strange angle or something. Although I do love the house elves and centaurs among the spectators! *thumbs up*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I tried to work out some edits on the hand using photoshop. I can't wait to get my Waacom tablet back. I did all the edits using the touch-pad on my laptop. NOT easy. Does it look any better?

[evanelric.livejournal.com]

You win so hard for having done that on a touchpad. This looks much better than before. *hugs*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY! I win at something! *wins*

*hugs back*

[fleurdeliser.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Very, very cool. I love that we can see the faces of everyone.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I couldn't picture just showing Harry and Voldemort. To me, one of the coolest parts of the scene is that everyone is watching, and the final confrontation is laid bare in front of everyone. :D

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

That's really awesome! In fact, I think that's one of the best pieces I've ever seen of yours. :-D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thanks, Emma! I also did a few edits. How does it look now?

[football-girl.livejournal.com]

Ooh. I like this quite a lot, actually. The hand is a little too painfully straight, but I don't think that's a big problem. :P I really love the shading, and the fact that you actually complied with the book on the lengths of Harry's hair. For some reason, people like to forget that particular detail. :P I also really love the house elf on the left with a chair. :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*grins* Long-hair!Harry used to be such a fanon thing, and now it's canon. Wierd, yes?

And I did some edits on the hand. Take a look. Is it any better? The edits were done on Photoshop, but the only thing I have is the touch-pad on my laptop. No mouse. Definitely no tablet. Did I do okay? Better?

[football-girl.livejournal.com]

Much better. :D It's flawless now. I love it!!! :D

[scarlet-malfoy.livejournal.com]

I love it.. Harry looks amazing. Seriously, this is great. And I LOVE the house elf swinging a chair in the background, lol. I love everyone's expressions in the background. And Voldie is left-handed!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*grins* I have a thing for leftie!Voldy. Don't know why. It's not established in canon either way, right?

And... yay house elves!

And... I fixed Harry's left hand, speaking of left hands. Does it look any better now?

[scarlet-malfoy.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes it does! It looks beautious ♥

Are any of the background peoples supposed to be anybody specific?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Some of them are sorta specific, yes. Ron and Hermione are towards the middle. Percy Weasley is behind them, a bit to the right. Sprout is to the right of Harry, McGonagall is to the left of Harry, and Neville is to the left of McGonagall (facing them). There are a few others who could be certain people, but I want to leave some of it to imagination. :D

[gredandfeorge.livejournal.com]

You rule so much omg.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I still say you're better. *fangirls*

I fixed Harry's left hand, and made a few more adjustments. How does it look now?

[georgeodowd.livejournal.com]

That's fantastic! I love Harry's face, and the general atmosphere.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Thankee! I also made some edits, including Harry's hand. How does it look now?

[georgeodowd.livejournal.com]

Even more fantastic :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY! I feel better now. The hand was bothering me. :D

[kawaiililme.livejournal.com]

Ooo I really like this! It has a very natural feel to it, and it's done well so that the action seems like it's going on right now.

[pinkelephant42.livejournal.com]

This is lovely. The detail is nice, and you've captured the tense mood. I really like Voldemort's hands.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Wheee! Thank you!

And I think Voldy's hands were one of the best details in the whole thing - I'm glad you noticed!