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soulspoison — Varekai the Wandering

Published: 2010-06-06 22:25:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 2499; Favourites: 89; Downloads: 0
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Description Completion Date: 06-06-10
Time Taken: 4 hours
Medium(s):
+ 05 mechanical pencil (HB Graphite lead)
+ Prismacolor brush tip marker pen (Black)
+ Color and watermark added in Photoshop CS2
Music:
+ Cirque du Soleil - Varekai ~ The Flight of Icarus - [link]
+ Vocea - Varekai - Cirque du Soleil
+ Lullaby - Vitas

Comment:
I present to the world, Varekai~
My newest and probably most meaningful centaur that I've made. Named after the Cirque du Soleil show, Varekai, that touched my heart in a way beyond words. I first came to know of the show Varekai about a year ago through youtube. The video was shown to me by a friend and I basically, for lack of better words, lost it. It was so beautiful and just hit me the right way to bring me to tears. This was the particular video that first bought me into the world of Varekai - [link] .While I own the soundtrack now I have sadly not seen the full show, only the segments that are on youtube, but that doesn't make me love it any less. So yesterday I was listening to the music and also watch the act called The Flight of Icarus from the show. The song in particular is special to me and I started to mold a character from those feelings and emotions. What I ended up with was a fluffy, soft coated Turkish Angora centaur with sad eyes, expressive large ears, and a cozy scarf.

Varekai holds a lot of my own personality in him, parts of me that people don't get to know or see for whatever reason. The scarf in particular is one that people might not catch right away. I have a large scarf that I wear all winter long and part of spring even if its warm out. I've had the thing so long I don't even remember where I got it from, but I haven't seen another one like it, so I guess its a special scarf. But I digress. I would wear this scarf not just from the cold but because I would have days when I just didn't want to show my face. Its a lot to do with self-esteem and anxiety but sometimes I would just wear it because it made me feel happy. It made me feel safe with that giant scarf wrapped around my neck that smelled like incense and dryer sheets. This is me and that same old scarf posing for a self portrait picture in class - [link]

Its hard to see but the blues and greens transition and fade into each other, which is where Varekai's minty greenish hair came from, and for whatever reason it works well with him. His eyes are also a kind of gooseberry green from the actual scarf too with a bit of a yellowish ring around the pupil. But its way too small for it to be seen so I'll just have to draw a better, bigger picture of him at some other point. Underneath his scarf, Varekai wears a simple necklace made of brown chord with a Nazar pendant, same as me - [link] , 95% of the time I have this necklace on and it doesn't come off unless I'm sleeping or bathing. Varekai is that part of me that I feel is secret, the sadness and wanderlust, the quiet and solitary part. He's so much of me that I can't actually, comfortably talk about but feel okay enough to draw like this.

I've gone on about it long enough, so I'll stop and just let the viewers enjoy. Expect to see more of him in the near future~

Artwork, Varekai © 2010 P. Lolla (*souls-poison )
Textures from [link] and `hibbary
Japanse Kanji brush from [link]
Do not use without permission. Artwork and character copyright P. Lolla (*souls-poison ); All rights reserved. Do not alter, copy, and/or redistribute under penalty of law.
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Comments: 17

moonunicorn123 [2012-09-15 17:43:04 +0000 UTC]

It's very unusual, I look at it and think wow

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to moonunicorn123 [2012-09-17 19:36:36 +0000 UTC]

Thanks~
Yeah, he's certainly not your run of the mill centaur~

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

shino-tenshi [2010-06-10 08:02:30 +0000 UTC]

I really like this pieces, the brush strokes remind me a lot of Okami.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

The-Bantering-Cat [2010-06-10 04:49:32 +0000 UTC]

This is just gorgeous. The way you've described your thoughts and feelings behind this character feel so...truthful. Sincere. Often I've come across descriptions that feel so obviously fabricated they almost take away from the art itself. But this is brilliantly beautiful. You've added so much meaning behind his stance and expression. And the colouring in combination with the texture and slightly traditional Japanese is beautiful!
Over all, a stunning piece!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to The-Bantering-Cat [2010-06-10 06:06:05 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for such a sweet comment~

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Jubilations [2010-06-09 04:03:10 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow. This is possibly the first ever cat-taur I've ever seen. And I quite like it!
I love the old school jap style you've been using. c:

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to Jubilations [2010-06-09 05:50:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! 8D

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

gckatz [2010-06-08 00:48:33 +0000 UTC]

I saw Varekai too and this picture really captures the expressiveness of the show.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to gckatz [2010-06-08 02:01:21 +0000 UTC]

I'd give anything to see it live, but I don't think its playing anymore. DX

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

BoomersRoundTheBend [2010-06-07 20:19:59 +0000 UTC]

All my comments sound the same when I describe your work it seems ._.

Graceful, dignified, and beautifully colored...see? XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to BoomersRoundTheBend [2010-06-08 02:00:29 +0000 UTC]

But they're special to me because they're from YOU. ; u ;

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

CLockhart [2010-06-07 18:01:14 +0000 UTC]

Aww, cat taurs typically aren't that good... But yout is beautiful. C:

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to CLockhart [2010-06-07 19:04:48 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Anafiel [2010-06-07 11:35:55 +0000 UTC]

yay! another convert to the wonders of the Cirque! Varekai is beautiful. Another show you might like is "O"



strangely enough, i had a story written somewhere about a cat that had Varekai's coloring set to the tune of the title song of O! great centaur!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to Anafiel [2010-06-07 19:02:24 +0000 UTC]

Lol, not really a convert. XD I've known about Cirque for years but only Varekai recently.

You're not the first to say that! I'm going to have to look into "O" in the near future.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

AriaFawn [2010-06-07 01:06:00 +0000 UTC]

Now this...this is beyond words for beautiful, wonderful, exquisite. None of those terms cover how I feel for this character. I am suppose to be on a bit of an "away time" from dA but when I logged on and saw this I was not about to pass it up. He is perfectly wonderful. And so are you. I understand sometimes wishing to hide...but you are such a completely beautiful creature I wish you never had to.

I love how you drew the body, it is so fluffy and cute but also powerful and with a sense of magic. I adore his huge scarf too and all the symbolism you put into him is wonderful. I would never think to give a creature with the type of calico body he has hair in those shades but it came out very unique and beautiful and amusingly matches the colour scheme I have on today. The ears are lovey as well, they look so big and I just want to touch one. I really like his nose too. It would be a dream to watch him moving I think. I just long to see him run up some Asian style building and sit at the top under a full haunted moon.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

soulspoison In reply to AriaFawn [2010-06-07 19:20:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much dear~
Your comments are always so kind and so thoughtful. I'm happy to know that you can see Varekai (and myself) for what he really is. Not just a pretty painting but something deeper and much more special.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0