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DerkhanBlue — redmask
Published: 2009-04-21 22:31:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 3529; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 64
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'Scales – his face was scales. Red as blood!'[Steven Erikson - Reaper's Gale]
Yeah, it's me being a Malazan Books of the Fallen fan again
I actually just grabbed a random idea from the amount of ideas haunting me to try a different colouring style than the one I usually apply. At the beginning I though it would be 'meh', but in the end I really like the style
Might stick with it for a painting or three, so tell me how you like it [or not], please
Just for the record: this was intended to be Redmask from Steven Erikson's novel 'Reaper's Gale'. It quite matches my image of him. I sure can picture him riding through the western steppes with his K'Chain Che'Malle [the lizard things in the background] guardians following him. I didn't spend much time on figuring out their anatomy, they're too small for this anyway on the paper, so mea culpa.
By the way, I used a stock photo by as reference for the horse [I've never drawn horses before..] and it was a great help and inspiration
Next image won't be malazan stuff again, I promise
I just need my fix from time to time, I'm addicted to Erikson's book's, after all 
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Comments: 28
Great work! I like how you draw the Redmask and K'Chain Che'Malle too. You really have great ideas!
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Love the sense of movement in this one, and the fear it induces in me
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Thank you, glad you like it
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big big erikson fan this pic is sweet as nut, it really gives the impression of the vast planes of the Awl
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Hey, thank you, I really appreciate your comment
Yeah, better to answer late than never, I guess, I didn't have internet for weeks
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This is a lovely piece! I love how the shading & lighting highlights the horse's muscular structure
Wonderful job!
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Thank you very much
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Beautiful job and great lighting!
Thanks for using :]
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I haven't read the book but it is a great illustration. You've captured the motion of a fast horse ride with excellence. Very powerful image!
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Great job on the horse, I find this to be one of your better works.
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Thank you
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Boar ... Super geworden *sprachlos ist*
kleiner Wehmutstrofen allerdings: Der Kopf des Pferdes ist ein kleines bisschen zu breit geraten finde ich.
*1+Fav* *animexxrevivalpartykarten verteil* XD
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Danke
Und guckst du Referenzfoto, mein Pferd ist sogar noch zu dünn, glaub ich.. Oder ich hab 'nen Knick in der Optik.. Ist auch möglich
Aber danke trotzdem, auch für die - urks - "animexxrevivalpartykarten", wie ich sie liebe 
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hehe gern geschehen *hrhr* 
das war Stock 3 richtig?
^^ der kopf ist an der spitze was breiter als bei dem foto. Daran scheiter ich aber auch immer. die Pose ist echt schwierig
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Oh Gott, bitte nicht, zu viel animexx revival und ich entwickel Mordgedanken
Jupp.. Hm, muss ich nochmal vergleichen, ich schau mal nach.. Naja, mit Pferden ist's hoffentlich nicht wie mit Menschen und eine falsche Linie bringt mich nicht um.. Hoffe ich
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hehe och ^^ nichtmal den Tod gönnt man mir XD
ich glaube wäre die schnauze ein stückchen länger würde es passen... das wird wahrscheinlich gewesen sein.
^^ denke mal das du das überleben wirst. wir sind zwar beide perfektionisten aber kleine bereiche der Künstlerischen Freiheit sind ja durchaus akzeptabel XD
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can't say much except it's your usual self. haven't read the book
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Thanks
And I don't expect anyone to have read the book, the author's fanbase isn't probably the biggest. I just mention where it's from for good measure
I just hope people can enjoy my works even without knowing the book. I want to study illustration, after all
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i read books often. i noticed his works but didn't get the chance to read them. is this one any good?
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Well, it's a series, so it's recommended to be read in order. The book this scene from is the seventh volume. [And now that I've typed this answer i have to warn you about it's length, it's hard to say something general about a series of this scope, I'm sorry 
Hm, how to explain.. there are three things to consider about Erikson's works, and if you're okay with them, you most likely will like his series.
They're scope, powerlevels and no spoon-feeding. Many authors think up a world to write their stories in, but imagine a world with millions of years of history, 300 000 of which are thought through pretty good, a real evolution of races, cultures and people, six to seven different continents with their own respective inhabitants and cultures, not to mention several realms which are inhabited, too, a unique magic system and a LOT of other stuff. And that's all just background [Erikson and another author, Ian C. Esslemont, originally developed this world as a basic for roleplaying]. Erikson is an archaeologist and an anthropologist, so he knows what he's doing.
Furthermore, there's a huge cast of characters from different cultures. But it's mostly about a certain empire and it's inner and outer struggles, so it's pretty much 'miliraty' fantasy with the according kind of humour.
You can also kill people with one book, because they range from 700 to 1200 pages in english.
Second, the powerlevel.. Think of greek and roman mythology, where gods and half-gods and normal people all play a part. Mere humans are not at the mercy of the gods, mostly, and can become higher beings themselves as the story progresses. That may sound blunt, but it's really happening subtly.
Third thing: do you know these fantasy books where you have to endure pages of discription about random or less random things, just that you know everything about something so the author doesn't have to bother with explaining later? May sound silly, but Erikson writes for intelligent readers. You just get thrown into an ongoing story at the beginning of the first book and you're like 'What the hell is happening?'. You then get bits about what's going on as you go along and have to piece everything together. Sometimes an answer to a question comes not even in the same book. Take that guy up there, Redmask, for example. He gets introduced and then, at the end of the novel, his story seems to be completely pointless, until two books later, in the prologue, there's a random thought of another character that makes you go 'Holy shit! It DID make sense!' Or you get to see the corpse of a guy in one book, how he was killed in another, then get introduced to that guy in yet another book and then in yet another one you find out the guy you met in the previous book was the one who's corpse semmed a completely waste of space four books prior. At three occasions his name's not mentioned but it's still obvious who's being spoken of. The books are written and published in the order in which to read them makes sense, not in chronological order of the events.
There are many people - me too - who like to reread the books once in a while because there are often so many hints hinting at something big to come, but you don't pick them up on a first read.
The first three to five novels are concluded within themselves, mostly, with a big BANG at the end that leaves most people speechless and there are no cliffhanger, even later not. It's just recommended to read them in the order they were published, because there are mentions of past events.
There are going to be ten books in english, the 9th volume is due this autumn and the last one next year. Yeah, he writes fast and keeps - in my opinion, the quality steady, sometimes even increasing.
The centre of events is the so called Malazan Empire and it's many colonies. Half the characters involved are usually soldiers, because the empire is waging war at about every corner of it's territory. There are none of the typical 'an evil lord will rise' prophesies, because the characters are usually busy with staying alive and there are enough nuisances walking around [like the big scary lizards in my picture] as it is without prophesies of evil. There is no evil, there are only shades of grey, and since the reader mostly gets points of view from both sides of a conflict, it's really hard to decide which side to cheer for. One theme of the novels is that so called 'ancient evils' are mostly way outdated; what may have caused havoc centuries ago can be cornered by a mere soldier because the risen creature doesn't know how the world works nowadays.
Nonetheless, there is an arc spanning the series and every book has it's particular theme and mood, because Erikson likes to experiment with writing styles and plotlines.
Well, yeah, as you most likely can see now I totally recommend the books. You should go and dive in unbiased
That is, if I didn't scare you off with this. It's just hard to describe what's so appealing about the series
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lol. no. i don't get scared easily. i do read humongous books. for example, hamilton writes them approximately 1200 pages a book, but they don't go bigger than trilogy. i am worried weather ericsson's are endless like soap operas which are not my cup of tea. i could give him a try, though.
anyway, it's a bit inefficient to discuss likes and preferences about things like this here. if you want to push it further, we could exchange a few emails.
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