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Kitsune64 — Dionysus and Ampelus
Published: 2010-05-26 01:55:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 12461; Favourites: 152; Downloads: 0
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Description
Well, after Night Terrors , I promised I'd draw something happy for Dio, so I decided to draw him with his first love, Ampelus.Ampelus was a satyr boy, but there are several kinds of beings that got lumped together under the title "satyr" in Greek mythology. Normally, I draw the Pan-esque satyrs, with the goat legs from the waist down, goat ears, and a kinda fluffy tail, but for Ampelus, I decided to go with human legs with donkey ears and tail. And, of course, goat horns, since it's just not a satyr to me without the horns.
Anyways, like in many myths there are several variations on who Ampelus was and what exactly happened there, but they all agree on three things: that he was very handsome, that he was Dio's first love, and that he died a tragic death. For my Dio's backstory, Ampelus was a shepherd near Mt. Nysa, and they officially met after Zeus finally turned Dio back into human form (he spent his adolescence trying to avoid Hera's notice in the form of a goat). Cue puppy love moving on up into First Love and a happy Dio.
This is officially the girliest I've drawn Dio to date. XD I blame the hair.
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Comments: 56
I'm not quite sure what you mean. 
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Wait.. ignore that first respond, it was meant for someone else.
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Yes her. I kinda forgot her name. But the point in my story kinda revolve around a young goddess and her brother who live on mount Olympus. The boy has the same relationship like Ampelus and- oh well you’ll see in the tale I’m not really good at explaining things.
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If someone doesn't mind being (drawn) girly, it's Dionysos
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Love this so much . one of my favorite myths
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*laughs* You'll have to talk to Dio about that.
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I love the plants and animals. I mean, the people are nice, too, but those waterlilies are lovely! And the turtle! And the frog!
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(Pouting) And here I thought my namesake, Princess Ariadne, 's husband was actually faithful to her unlike some of the gods. Humph, men.
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*laughs* Ampelus came loooong before Ariadne was born. He was Dio's first love, and died a tragic death. And, of course, Dionysus wasn't Ariadne's first love, either; she had a serious fling with Theseus before Dionysus.
There are several different accounts of how things went between Dionysus and his wife (in fact, they're kind of a mess, with each ancient writer having their own take on it), but for my version, I like to go with the idea that he was faithful to her while they were married. ^^
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(laughing) I know, I know. I was just kidding. Compared to most immortal lovers (Zeus and Venus to name a few) Dio was perfect: kind, considering, sweet, and faithful (at least he didn't chase after anyone when he was already with someone).
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*laughs* Not usually, no...
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If Dionysos is supposed to be a guy, then what's with the hair, the lips, and the chiton (girl's robe)?
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Di dressed as a girl to stay hidden from Hera because she wanted to kill him he dressed as a girl as a disquise and he was raised by 3 girls solo yeah
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I knew that, I just sorta assumed he stopped dressing that way when he became a god and wasn't in danger anymore
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Greek mythology can be a vast, confusing place. Depending on which myths you follow (there are several variations on Dionysus, himself, and Dionysus's upbringing), he is a canon cross-dresser: in the myth where he is in hiding with his aunt and uncle after his birth, Hermes advised them to raise him as a girl to help hide him from Hera. Just how old he was when Hera found him and drove his aunt and uncle insane is debatable, but at least one source claims that Dionysus "grew to manhood" pretending to be a girl.
Furthermore, as an adult, he is often referred to as an effeminate god, to the point where one of his Macedonian epithets translates to "False Man," and was often closely associated with women (and not in the way most Greek gods were). References to his beauty and his femininity are found throughout his myths.
My character is based on those myths, and while I don't often draw him in a chiton and his hair is often down, this is how I chose to draw him for this particular image.
I can't help you on the lips. Guys have lips, too.
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I know, but it looks like his lips are purple.
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Huh. All I see on my screen is the same shading I have on the rest of him. It's probably just a difference in our screens, unless you're mistaking his teeth for his lips maybe? I suppose those could look like a very light purple...
Rest assured, his lips are not supposed to be purple.
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yeah, i guess it must be a difference in screens.
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Love this myth (I read Nonn s version). Happy to find art on that amazing story.
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It's one of my favorites from mythology.
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It reminds me some cartoons I watched when I was a child. Very warm atmosphere.
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I'm glad it brought up some pleasant memories. ^_^ (hope they're pleasant, anyway!
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I really love this! your backgrounds a wonderful and I love the story!
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Thank you! ^_^ It's a tragic story, but I'm rather fond of it myself.
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I really like this a lot. The figures are coloured beautifully.
The one thing I wish is that it'd have a little less detail around the figures in the background, 'cause it's a little busy. (I've recently been looking at this thread , where it demonstrates how powerful abstracting away detail can be. 
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Thank you. ^_^
I understand what you're saying. I did want it to be a fairly detailed background, in part because I need the practice and in part because I'd been drooling over the work of James Gurney for the better part of a month by the time I did this.
Thanks for the link! I'll be sure to check it out. ^_^
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^_^
I'm curious whether there are any other pictures of this Ampelus character floating around? Looks cool.
... Oh, and I have mentioned I really like your character interactions and moods, right? (This is no exception. :3 )
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*laughs* Thank you. I appreciate it. ^_^
Annnd just uploaded Ampelus's character sheet (to use the term loosely) from just before I did this pic. I'd completely forgotten that I hadn't uploaded it yet.
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I didn't know there were several kinds of satyrs. You learnt me somethin. 
and yes, Dio is very girly. I thought he was a she until I read the description. Ampelus does look handsome. I like the intricate background. The colors are very soft and subdued, slightly pastel which gives a romantic pretty feel to the image.
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Glad to be of service!
Thanks for mentioning the colors. I'm still adjusting to a new laptop, so I was kinda worried about that.
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nice satyr, epic background and I never knew Dionysus often could be caught wearing a chiton before.
... and now I'm probs gonna be researching greek clothing for the rest of the day
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Thank you. ^_^
*laughs* I don't know how often he crossdressed, but it is mentioned by a few sources (Seneca the Younger, for example). Just how old he was when his aunt and uncle were driven nuts varies, but at least one source claims he "grew to manhood" pretending to be a girl, so yeah, he was pretty comfortable with it.
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woweee!!!!!!!! That looks absolutely amazing!!!!
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Awesome! Love it! Anything else I can say?
I take it you are now feeling better after that medical stuff? I was wondering why we didn't at least here why you didn't have a page done till the week after. I was about to call the cops!
Me: Kitsune 64 is missing! We must find her!
Cops: Who?
Me: Kitsune 64! *Weeping tears*
Cops: Who is this person?
Me: Someone I know from online! I don't know where she lives! I haven't heard from her in two weeks!
Cops: Okay... we have a nice padded room over here just for you...
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*laughs* Thanks. And yeah, definitely feeling better. Sorry about going all MIA on ya - I honestly wasn't expecting the anesthesia to wipe me out for the better part of a week.
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Still would have liked to have known that a friend was going into surgery at least...
Oh well. You are fine and everything went good. All that matters in the end.
I tend to recovered very quickly from anesthesia. I always wake up a little sooner than they seem to expect, and when I'm awake, I'm awake. They always seem to think that I don't know what happens, but I remember. I remember once, right after waking up, I went to get changed, I locked the door. I always do as I'm rather shy. The nurses weren't happy with me about that... but I was fine by that point. More than fine.
And... how do you do backgrounds like that!?! You always inspire me, and make me want to do more with my own art.
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I direct you to my blog , my friend. It's probably the best place to keep tabs on me (and yep, did indeed mention the surgery there
*laughs* I'm still working on getting backgrounds the way I want them. They're improving, I think, but they're not quite there yet. For the most part, I look at the artists who inspire me and try to figure out how they do things. You can find a lot of them in the Just Plain Awesome section of my favorites.
If you want a fantastic book full of inspiration, check out James Gurney's Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist . He is a phenomenal illustrator, and flipping through the pages definitely makes me want to work harder to develop my skills.
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I'll have to hound you there then, though I don't have reliable internet to really do so like a crazy fan.
Your backgrounds are much better than my feeble attempts. I liked this one's background. I think it came out very nicely.
Those are some awesome pictures there! If we keep working on our art, we can get to that level too, right? Just takes time, motivation, and determination.
I'll have to check that book out then. I'm always open to more art references and guides. You never know what you are going to get out of those books. Even after owning one for years, you should still gleam something out from between the covers sometimes.
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First off, love the picture and the general feel of it all together.
Second... if you want him to look more like a guy you could try taking the cloth off one shoulder. Most of the male clothing I've seen from that time period went with the cloth only going over one shoulder, both shoulders was usually reserved for women. Also, if part of his chest is showing because of the absent cloth on one side, then it's hard to call him a girl because the boobs are gone.
Just a thought.
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Thank you, and thanks for the suggestions! ^_^
With Dio, the girliness is intentional - one of his epithets ("Pseudanor," or "false man") was a nod to his effeminate nature. He was known for being very attractive in a feminine way and was a canon crossdresser. The latter probably had something to do with the fact that his aunt and uncle raised him as a girl to try and hide him from Hera. Of course, she eventually tracked him down and drove them insane - then it was Goatville for Dio!
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Oh, ok. I really should go back and re-read the mythology, but this gives me a reason to do it anyway.
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