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rachaelm5 — Shadowgorge 02: Worldbreaker, Worldmaker

Published: 2014-05-21 23:04:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 5092; Favourites: 334; Downloads: 0
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Description Edit:  I went over the whole picture with a matte spray varnish.  The super-shiny effect of the original varnish really was too much for this picture - I was losing track of the dragon!  Now I think it works quite a bit better.  At least, it's a little easier to differentiate between the rocks and the dragon's body.  

My friend at work is as much a rockaholic as I am.  He has a twelve-pound tumbler, so he is able to polish some pretty big slabs and chunks - lately he's been keen on petrified wood.  In the process of tumbling, a lot of little pieces break off.  He wasn't sure what to do with them, but didn't want to throw the little pebbles away, so he asked me if I could make use of them.  

Why yes, I can *always* make use of rocks in my art projects.  I tried very hard not to drool over his offering.

I stared at the bag of rocks for about five minutes, and then an image of Shadowgorge, complete with a twirling mass of those lovely petrified wood pebbles, popped into my head.  

The background is watercolor and India ink.  The main image (moons, stars, mountains, and dragon) I made with Prismacolor pencils.  I adhered the rocks to the picture with about half a cup of acrylic gloss varnish.  It is SUPER SHINY.  Also, there are some random bits of gravel and a couple of goldstones.  

I made this piece primarily for a city-wide art exhibit/competition that will be happening later this summer; it's the arts version of the Corporate Challenge.  I'm one of a very small number of people who has the audacity to submit fantasy art to this show on a regular basis.  


Original art: sold.  Exclusive commercial usage rights also reserved by the purchaser.  

Matted prints (shipping in US/Canada included):
5x7 inches for $10
8x10 inches for $15
11x14 inches for $30
16x20 inches for $50



Pencil drawing (that I will eventually have available as lineart to color):




Others in this series:

        
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Comments: 97

rachaelm5 In reply to ??? [2015-11-19 23:20:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!  It's one of my personal favorites.  Lots of work, but lots of fun, too.  

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DreamingSentinel [2015-07-18 22:06:54 +0000 UTC]

You have some truly beautiful designs!

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rachaelm5 In reply to DreamingSentinel [2015-07-19 01:40:07 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!  I must give a great deal of credit to the tropical fish and butterflies that inspire me.  

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DreamingSentinel In reply to rachaelm5 [2015-07-19 06:26:35 +0000 UTC]

Nature is very beautiful also

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sonjagatetodreamsart [2015-07-17 07:34:17 +0000 UTC]

great artworks and drawings in your gallery !

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rachaelm5 In reply to sonjagatetodreamsart [2015-07-17 21:27:42 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!

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Megacosmichroma [2015-06-19 14:19:40 +0000 UTC]

This is awesome! Its fantastic to see the evolution of your creations This has probably got to be my favorite

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rachaelm5 In reply to Megacosmichroma [2015-06-20 21:50:33 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!  

This guy is one of my favorites, too.  I'm inordinately fond of his wing design.  

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Megacosmichroma In reply to rachaelm5 [2015-06-24 03:30:32 +0000 UTC]

I really like the wings in particular too

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artmikah [2014-10-14 17:38:26 +0000 UTC]

jaw droppingly beautiful, great job!

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rachaelm5 In reply to artmikah [2014-10-14 22:48:29 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!  I'm very proud of this one.  

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SexyBubbleGumGirl [2014-07-31 01:29:03 +0000 UTC]

So awesome

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rachaelm5 In reply to SexyBubbleGumGirl [2014-07-31 11:54:04 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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MadeWithLove8 [2014-07-03 19:20:05 +0000 UTC]

So very beautiful!  I love the vibrant patterns on the dragon, his skin especially!  It is reminiscent of a python's pattern.  And I think that pattern really helped the muscle structure on the dragon stand out as well!  And the wings... wow!  So, if the dragon wasn't enough, you added the rocks, which seems to give the whole piece a sense of movement!  Nice work!   

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rachaelm5 In reply to MadeWithLove8 [2014-07-04 00:45:35 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!  

Those wings were fun to color.  I love working with all of the different textures and shapes.  Though the first version of this dragon had wings based on the fins of a tropical fish, this second picture went more like a Lava Light.  

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MadeWithLove8 In reply to rachaelm5 [2014-07-04 00:58:31 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome!  I bet they were fun!  Yes, I see the lava light in them now

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pdevinney [2014-06-07 03:28:32 +0000 UTC]

Im.press.ive. I love your work. Eye candy.

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rachaelm5 In reply to pdevinney [2014-06-07 19:04:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you; I'm glad you enjoy the work.  

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oakendragon [2014-06-05 00:42:03 +0000 UTC]

I love the pattern on the wings and especially how the stones were incorporated into the image.  It gives a real sense of movement.  Great job!  

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rachaelm5 In reply to oakendragon [2014-06-05 00:55:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!

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Woodswallow [2014-06-03 12:04:11 +0000 UTC]

The pattern of the wings is insane

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rachaelm5 In reply to Woodswallow [2014-06-03 21:28:15 +0000 UTC]

It's based on the fin decoration of a particular little fish, and on my Lava Lamp...    Thanks!

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Woodswallow In reply to rachaelm5 [2014-06-03 21:47:29 +0000 UTC]

Awesome inspiration

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Everch [2014-06-01 15:27:17 +0000 UTC]

Oh, that's tumbled petrified wood? Interesting. I never thought of petrified wood as a gemstone before. I thought it looked like red jasper or tiger-eye before I read the description. Which ones are the goldstones?

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rachaelm5 In reply to Everch [2014-06-01 18:34:20 +0000 UTC]

It really depends on the wood samples.  My friend has some large pieces that have absolutely exquisite patterns and colors - reds, whites, purples, blacks, oranges, even blues and crystal-clear bits.  When cut and polished just right, they make superb centerpieces for jewelry design.  The minerals that seeped into this particular batch of bits are exactly the same minerals that occur with jaspers and agates.  Before my friend told me that the samples were petrified wood, I had guessed that they were jaspers and agates as well.  

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Everch In reply to rachaelm5 [2014-06-13 05:27:33 +0000 UTC]

I just looked up what colors petrified wood can be and I was surprised at how many there are. I learned that copper-based minerals produce sea foam green petrified wood and the pink and blue agate-looking ones are very interesting. Have you been to the National Museum of Natural History? They have an incredible Hall of Geology. I saw the most extraordinary and beautiful gems and minerals there. All shapes and colors. I love geology!

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rachaelm5 In reply to Everch [2014-06-13 21:46:53 +0000 UTC]

I have not been to the National Museum of Natural History in a very, very long time.  I think that's on the family's vacation agenda for one of the years in the near future, though.  I would love to see the current rock and mineral collection they have, as well as all of the famous gemstones.  

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Bender18 [2014-05-31 20:08:43 +0000 UTC]

this is too good for my eyes

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rachaelm5 In reply to Bender18 [2014-05-31 20:34:07 +0000 UTC]

LOL - Thank you.

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Jaeger15 [2014-05-31 17:28:55 +0000 UTC]

Amazing work. I love how you worked the little pebbles into the design.

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rachaelm5 In reply to Jaeger15 [2014-05-31 17:54:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.  

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Jaeger15 In reply to rachaelm5 [2014-05-31 22:13:52 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome.

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ElZahir1989 [2014-05-25 23:19:09 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow. Those textures... just amazing!

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rachaelm5 In reply to ElZahir1989 [2014-05-26 10:46:15 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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cooley [2014-05-24 19:37:01 +0000 UTC]

WOW.

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rachaelm5 In reply to cooley [2014-05-25 14:16:52 +0000 UTC]

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VedranR [2014-05-23 11:46:15 +0000 UTC]

The coloring is little to dark don't you think.

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rachaelm5 In reply to VedranR [2014-05-23 17:05:05 +0000 UTC]

...No, not really.

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Silivrene [2014-05-23 11:21:39 +0000 UTC]

Amazing !!!!!  

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rachaelm5 In reply to Silivrene [2014-05-23 17:04:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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CarusimaHikura [2014-05-23 05:13:12 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely brilliant!

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rachaelm5 In reply to CarusimaHikura [2014-05-23 17:04:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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TheDraconian [2014-05-22 23:43:03 +0000 UTC]

Those colours astounded me somewhat. Inspiring!

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rachaelm5 In reply to TheDraconian [2014-05-23 00:27:22 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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TheDraconian In reply to rachaelm5 [2014-05-23 20:17:40 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome.

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is-kill [2014-05-22 22:27:02 +0000 UTC]

WHOA! Those feathers, those crests, those stones! EXCELLENT!

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rachaelm5 In reply to is-kill [2014-05-22 22:34:01 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very  much!

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RyukiGrayDragon [2014-05-22 20:05:27 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely beautiful!

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rachaelm5 In reply to RyukiGrayDragon [2014-05-22 21:44:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Anavi-Ivy [2014-05-22 16:41:57 +0000 UTC]

so beautiful!

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