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akitku — Rain Dogs
Published: 2014-05-31 12:11:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 4459; Favourites: 140; Downloads: 0
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Description
This picture was the source of so much frustration...This was supposed to be a watercolour. I was really happy with the inked lineart, went to scan it at a local print-shop...and then lost the original! So in the end I had to colour it digitally. And I hate my digital colouring skills...But thanks to some useful tutorials, especially charcoalfeather 's I managed to avoid complete disaster. Perhaps one day I will find the inked sketch and get the chance to actually paint it...My happy group of mercenaries - I have no idea why I always draw them without horses...all that travelling on foot doesn't really make much sense.
Title comes from this song.
But the picture itself was inspired to a large extent by this song .
From left to right you have:
Morholt - Irish/Northumbrian bard-turned thrall-turned mercenary.
Eudoxia – North African, rumoured to be a Vandal descendant.
The Avar – nothing more known. He doesn’t speak.
Bjorn – Norseman, once member of the Varagnian Guard.
Irene – Byzantine(Roman),one-time member of the Imperial Guard, exiled after the usurpation of John Tzimisces.
Terwilla – Ex-Arian priest and Gothic “freedom-fighter”.
Kurshan – Maqyar horseman and archer. The happiest of the happy mercenaries.
Akterion - Hailing from the kingdom of Jerusalem. He's paying off a debt...
Chlodvig – Captain of the mercenaries. Frankish aristocrat.
I wanted to fit in more of them...but already this many characters in one picture was a challenge.
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sketch: ink
colouring: PS CS3
Related content
Comments: 81
Oh yes, Bjorn the Norseman! 
This is a great image, I saw it lots of times in your gallery (especially when seeking references for Morholt and Chlodvig) but only now did I notice the clouds and the glow of the moon - they look so dreamy!
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He comes from Zealand originally. As for the scale part of Irene's armour, it's probably some alloy or maybe horn? Haha, well Chlodvig is tall, but I think I overdid it here. Chlodvig is supposed to be 195, Terwilla 191 and Bjorn 190. But I don't think I got their relative sizes all that well...They should all look pretty much the same hight given as it's only a few cementers of a difference. But it was difficult with so many characters.
Thank you so much for checking it out and commenting! 
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Ah wow he is still very tall! It's impressive that you managed to draw so many characters together and yeah, it would be awesome if you drew them again
You're very welcome
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Oh, I forgot to mention, that Border Reiver song is awesome.
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The mood is perfect isn't it?
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Woah, the energy of it! Good for drawing fighting scenes (which I am terrible at sadly)!
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I know right
Ahh, fight scenes aren't that hard. I'm working on two at once to be honest There's a lot of momentum involved though, you do have to pay attention to make sure it looks like they're moving, not posing.
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Two at once? Great! Can't wait to see them!
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Yeah, I just really hope I can find the motivation to finish, though! I'm really bad when it comes to finishing things. >_>
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OHMYGOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH
OH MY GOSH
OH MY GOSH
*dies from the Dark Ages awesomeness.*
I've seen you around deviantart, can't believe I never checked your stuff out!
Okay lemme just list what I like about this:
• Garb. First thing. You really did your research, huh?
• Weapons, shoes, patterns on the hems, the looseness of Eudoxia's pants. Just little details in general that I'm recognising from reenactment, and that's pretty damn exciting.
• Everyone has a different expression, and you didn't do their faces all at the same angle.
• Kurshan looks like he's laughing at some private joke.
• Grass! How do you grass!
• The swirlies in the clouds.
• The moonlight.
• Water dripping from Bjorn's axe.
• lol Morholt just spacing out in the background being happy.
• And mercenaries! Who doesn't like mercenaries?!
~ Anyways … so yup. I love this. XD Ya might've noticed. Feel free to tell me more about your characters or story!!!!
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Gosh, thank you so much! I'm so happy you like this!
I think the Late-Antique, Early Medieval periods are absolutely my favourites to read about and draw! I'm so happy you like them too! And it's so flattering you think the research is pretty good, with you being a reenactor and all. I'm not. I'm just a philosopher who regrets not having done a BA in medieval or Byzantine history...So I just read as much as I can. I know it's not all perfectly realistic, though in this picture I did try my best! (in some others I do take more artistic liberties - like a sleeveless tunic on one of my lady characters, I wanted to show off her beefy arms 
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I don't like it actually, I love it C:
Ahh then maybe you should go into reenactment! *Wink wink nudge nudge*
Even if you think you're too old to train in battle, there's still other stuff that reenactors do! Learning crafts, camping etc. It teaches you a lot. You get to see how the clothes, armour and weapons move, for one! And you also learn little details like how they ate, the cool tools they used, etc. And best of all, you know how it feels. [EG. Walking down a grass hill in Viking shoes = slip and fall.] Speaking of which, ask me if you have any questions about that kinda stuff! I love an excuse to ramble on.
A sleeveless tunic isn't unrealistic at all ~ people would modify their clothes to suit their needs. Or you can always draw the sleeves ripped off. 
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I'd love to, but I imagine it's a time consuming, and expensive activity and to be honest right now (or over the last three years) I really don't have much of either.
So Viking shoes are slippery huh? Interesting to know!
If you don't mind then I would love to bother you with questions from time to time! Can I note you for advice sometimes?
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Yes to the time consuming 
I don't mind at all! Go ahead
PS. Other notes: maille is very heavy! Mine is 18kg and it's quite small, since I'm very short. XD
Maille gets hot really quickly in direct sunlight in summer - enough to burn bare skin. It gets cold very quickly past sundown.
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Interesting about it getting cold, I wouldn't have thought of that, but I guess it makes perfect sense. How heavy would you say all your equipment is? I mean with the helmet, weapons, shield etc?
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Eeessh I've never actually weighed all my stuff before! Well hauberk is 18 which I know; everyone says my helm is heavy, I think it'd be around 5; seax is probably 2; shield might be … 6? (I'm just comparing them to my weightlifting equipment. )
So in total I'd estimate around 30kg. But most people would have more than one weapon, and a larger shield, so the average would be 40kg. I'm an intermediate beginner so I don't have as much stuff yet!
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being mercenaries they're always short of money, horses are expensive to bye and feed. Anyway it's a good picture, despite being digitally coloured.
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Thanks so much! Yeah, digital colouring is so much more difficult for me, so I'm really happy with how this one came out!
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lol, maybe they temporarily lost their horses... you know one of those nights where a few of them had a bit too much fun while the others were prepping for a quest...
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Haha, yeah maybe! The joys of camp-fires and cheap alcohol.
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This is so cool! I love all the different backgrounds and designs.
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They're all pretty culturally diverse I guess...
I'm really glad you like them, thank you!
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Nice-You've done a lot of research and have a knowledge and feel for the period.
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I'm very glad you think so. Thank you!
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I love the Varangian! The details and color on their armor is superb! but why is the character on the far left (Mortholt?) walks bare-feet
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Thank you so much! I'm very glad you like them!
Ah, well the reason he often goes around barefoot is because he likes to keep up this image of a "poor and modest" minstrel. He generally proudly flaunts his ragamuffin look whenever he can.
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Your digital drawings have gotten so good! At first glance i was sure it's a watercolour!
I see you've givent them mercenaries superhero proportions
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You really think so? Thank you! I'm not too happy with my digital painting skills to be honest, so it's really reassuring to hear that!
Superhuman, haha, I hope they're not too cliché/annoying! I'd love to do a picture like that at some point, but I don't think I have the skill. Drawing dynamic poses is really difficult - I wish I was as good as you are!
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I really do. The texture you put, the colours, the raindrops (rainlines?), it all works together so well! I gather digital drawings like that must be more time-consuming than watercolours, or am i wrong?
I won't stop pestering you about the dynamic posing. I have a feeling your talent to convey mood will make action-filled scenes a delight to look at. (And i'm no expert on dynamism, really. If it wasn't for google images and my trusty mirror, i'd be dead in the water)
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Actually, it didn't take as long as I feared it would - mostly because much of the shading was already done in pencil/ink. When I do a picture digitally from scratch it takes ages.
I have been sketching some more dynamic stuff as practice - but it is nowhere good enough yet. I did watch some Bruce Lee clips for inspiration though, I think you mentioned that Ragu's awesome moves were partially inspired by him? Or did I remember wrong?
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I know what you mean with full-digital drawings taking ages. For me the problem is that (a) you never see the full picture and (b) moving the canvass around is very problematic (at least in the ancient photoshop 7.0 and gimp, the only programs i have at my disposal) . But i think your technique of making a traditional sketch and colouring it digitally is a great way to get around these issues.
Most chinese and hongkongese action movies are good for dynamic scenes - i used Jet Li, but i bet Bruce Lee will do just as well. There's also a nice show called 'the human weapon' in which two guys from the US travel the world and learn different martial arts. They show various moves with 3d rendering and slow motion, it's fantastic for reference
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Amazing! The detail you've put into each figure is very impressive, I love how each has their own distinctive costume and the personalities and stories you've given them. The Avar sounds so interesting, as do all of them! I loved to know more!
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Thanks so much! 
The Avar suffers from some kind of personality/psychological disorder, perhaps something on the Autism spectrum (though I wouldn't be too definitive here). His verbal and non-verbal coommunication skills are severely impaired. It's not that he can't speak. He can, but he speaks strangely (simple sentences, problems with the use of pronouns, lack of varied intonation). He generally feels very uncomfortable when speaking and tends to avoid it completely. He finds it very difficult to understand non-literal language, for example figurative speech, metaphors, jokes etc. He doesn't understand people very well at all (theory of mind deficiency) and dislikes severely when people try to touch him. He joins the mercenaries after Chlodvig (the captain) bails him out from a prison in Trier where he landed due to some misunderstandings and the fact he was completely unable to explain what happened.
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You're welcome
The Avar is fascinating, he may not say much but he's got an incredible story, even if he can't really tell us about it! Your characters are so thought out and interesting! The more I learn, the more I want to find out
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This is awesome! The arms and armour looks quite accurate, but it's all really pretty too! Which is a rare combination.
I really like Chlodvig (glad you don't write the name in a modernized way). What's strange though is the time periods - they're all pretty mixed aren't they?
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I'm glad you think so! Thank you! About the name, yeah I don't like the modernized Clovis, though to be fair, we probably have no idea how the name should be spelled/pronounced anyway...
Yes, they come from different backgrounds, both geographically and in terms of the periods they come from. Chlodvig and Terwilla are the earliest (6th century) while Akterion is the latest (12th century).
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Hmm...I guess that's true. But however it was spelled/pronounced, it definitely wasn't Clovis!
By the way, if your character is a Frank, why doesn't he have long hair?
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Happy mercenaries! 
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Haha, yeah most of them are pretty happy people. Apart from Bjorn and the Avar.
Oh, hugs can be good! And he isn't even covered in armour like the rest of them.
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Well, y'know, can't win 'em all. SOMEONE's got to be dark and brooding after all!
YAY HUGS! I'm a total sucker for a pair of pointy-toed boots.
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