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Description
"Life is not always a fairy tale, 'tis true, but that does not mean that 'happily ever after' ceased to exist. Magic is real; if only you just let it be." ~Damien McCartney

FULLVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!! I promise it's worth it!!! And if you want to see the nitty-gritty intimate close up ya gotta download ppls!!!!!! thanks!!!!!

At long last....I have created...life!!!!
phew.....man....I can't believe it's finally done!

Last year, =MadMouseMedia proposed The Great Calendar Project. First-come-first-serve the first twelve artists signed up were each allowed a month of their choosing of those available [faster you got in better your choices were of course] and the conjoined pieces were then made into a calendar by herself. It was a glorious project and I was enthralled to be a part of it! I'm proud to have the calendar hanging in my upstairs hallway right now. Gorgeous artwork and such a wonderful variety. When Jenifer proposed TGCP [The Great Calendar Project] again this year with the hopes it will remain an annual thing, I was beyond excited and immediately hopped on board again. And once more I was lucky and snagged April--my birthday month . Last year I'd drawn this image here as a pencil lineart with every intention of entering it as my submission that year, colored. But due to time limitations it was never finished. Instead I submitted Damien instead. Which actually turned out as a nice addition to the calendar and his color scheme, mood, and imagery all just seemed to flow better with the rest of the images entered better than this piece would have in any case so I was content. But with the opportunity to enter TGCP once more again this year, I knew I already had a head start having the lineart of my piece done. So now I could finish my original entry! The elf-dragon pic.

I started this last year...and it took a LOT to get me to actually sit down and jump in. The image highly intimidated me. I'd shaded the original lineart to try to get some lighting ideas and whatnot. I'd had advice from the lovely *Lluhnij on various ideas on how to approach the subject. In the end it just took knowing that it was going to take forever and a spot of boredom and bravado for me to start tinkering with it. See the thing is I've never had any classes in computer coloring...and I honestly have no real clue what I'm doing. I just point, click, and hope It took tips and advice and encouragement/"o.o WOW!"s from everyone I showed the WIPs to along the way as they came to make it through. I especially thank Mouse, Elena, and Sherry for the random tips/advice you passed along on varying techniques. And thank you Cari for taking a look at the pines in the beginning to help me decide if they were to be hated or left as they were lol. You guys really helped this come together And I guess for having no clue what I'm doing it certainly turned out perdy good ey? heh..... I know it's got some issues and whatnot but I'm content with it and I claim it done! At long last! *happysigh*

So I give to you : The Great Calendar Project 2009 April
A male elf and a male dragon take a stroll through their beloved forest.

Enjoy

WIP Animated "Tour"
WIP1
WIP2
WIP3
WIP4
WIP5
WIP6
WIP7
WIP8
WIP9

Pencil lineart colored in Paint Shop Pro 7
Estimated Time Taken: lord only knows, roughly 30 or so hours?
The dragon has 3 layers alone to himself, the elf 2, the grass 3, and the plants in "foreground" "backrows" and "middle ground" have 2-4 each...each WIP update is an update varying from 1-2 hours to 2-4 hours each in between.

image © me, Valerie Barry

ps. The Great Calendar Project will be available for purchase. Keep watching =MadMouseMedia 's journal for updates on information or contact her directly through note or email if you have questions.

Description
"Life is not always a fairy tale, 'tis true, but that does not mean that 'happily ever after' ceased to exist. Magic is real; if only you just let it be." ~Damien McCartney

FULLVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!! I promise it's worth it!!! And if you want to see the nitty-gritty intimate close up ya gotta download ppls!!!!!! thanks!!!!!

At long last....I have created...life!!!!
phew.....man....I can't believe it's finally done!

Last year, =MadMouseMedia proposed The Great Calendar Project. First-come-first-serve the first twelve artists signed up were each allowed a month of their choosing of those available [faster you got in better your choices were of course] and the conjoined pieces were then made into a calendar by herself. It was a glorious project and I was enthralled to be a part of it! I'm proud to have the calendar hanging in my upstairs hallway right now. Gorgeous artwork and such a wonderful variety. When Jenifer proposed TGCP [The Great Calendar Project] again this year with the hopes it will remain an annual thing, I was beyond excited and immediately hopped on board again. And once more I was lucky and snagged April--my birthday month . Last year I'd drawn this image here as a pencil lineart with every intention of entering it as my submission that year, colored. But due to time limitations it was never finished. Instead I submitted Damien instead. Which actually turned out as a nice addition to the calendar and his color scheme, mood, and imagery all just seemed to flow better with the rest of the images entered better than this piece would have in any case so I was content. But with the opportunity to enter TGCP once more again this year, I knew I already had a head start having the lineart of my piece done. So now I could finish my original entry! The elf-dragon pic.

I started this last year...and it took a LOT to get me to actually sit down and jump in. The image highly intimidated me. I'd shaded the original lineart to try to get some lighting ideas and whatnot. I'd had advice from the lovely *Lluhnij on various ideas on how to approach the subject. In the end it just took knowing that it was going to take forever and a spot of boredom and bravado for me to start tinkering with it. See the thing is I've never had any classes in computer coloring...and I honestly have no real clue what I'm doing. I just point, click, and hope It took tips and advice and encouragement/"o.o WOW!"s from everyone I showed the WIPs to along the way as they came to make it through. I especially thank Mouse, Elena, and Sherry for the random tips/advice you passed along on varying techniques. And thank you Cari for taking a look at the pines in the beginning to help me decide if they were to be hated or left as they were lol. You guys really helped this come together And I guess for having no clue what I'm doing it certainly turned out perdy good ey? heh..... I know it's got some issues and whatnot but I'm content with it and I claim it done! At long last! *happysigh*

So I give to you : The Great Calendar Project 2009 April
A male elf and a male dragon take a stroll through their beloved forest.

Enjoy

WIP Animated "Tour"
WIP1
WIP2
WIP3
WIP4
WIP5
WIP6
WIP7
WIP8
WIP9

Pencil lineart colored in Paint Shop Pro 7
Estimated Time Taken: lord only knows, roughly 30 or so hours?
The dragon has 3 layers alone to himself, the elf 2, the grass 3, and the plants in "foreground" "backrows" and "middle ground" have 2-4 each...each WIP update is an update varying from 1-2 hours to 2-4 hours each in between.

image © me, Valerie Barry

ps. The Great Calendar Project will be available for purchase. Keep watching =MadMouseMedia 's journal for updates on information or contact her directly through note or email if you have questions.