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Emberblue — Die to Live
Published: 2011-03-11 00:57:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 3592; Favourites: 109; Downloads: 0
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Description
This is an Easter concept. I wanted to do something different than the typical empty tomb, white lilies, a cross on a hill, etc. I like the play on words. Live to Die. Die to Live. Alot of the concepts Jesus gave us are the reverse of what we would normally think. Things like "The last shall be first", "the least shall be the greatest", "return good for evil" ... "lose your life so that you can find it."Jesus said that to save your life you must lose it:
"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life."
Luke 9:24 (NLT)
It's just like a seed. A seed must fall from the flower, dry up and "die" before it can sprout and bring life. In the same way, we "die" to our life so that we can have new life with and in Jesus.
And along the theme of Easter, Jesus lived His life knowing that His mission was to die and come to life 3 days later so that those who believe in Him could have life for eternity. That's why there is the shadow of a cross in the title. Jesus lived with the shadow of the cross always before Him.
There is an awesome song by Gabriel Wilson called "Lovely is Death" and my favorite line goes, "To love is to die, so the one that you love has life." It's a simple and beautiful explanation of something that is really profound.
I guess the question is, how are you living your life?
I hope you enjoy.
And Happy (early) Easter!
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Comments: 33
That is very kind of you. 
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Beautiful. So perfect. Thank you for making this.
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Thanks so much for your comments.
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I really enjoy this piece's graphical simplicity except for one element: the shadow of the cross.
I understand your concept where it says "Jesus lived with the shadow of the cross always before Him." However, I feel this shadow doesn't work with your heavily textured graphics. Though the color is subtle, it still has a hard edge compared to the rest of the graphics and looks like a vector because of the shape's simplicity. Also, "shadowed" doesn't have to be represented literally.
Instead, what about making a cross shape out of the blood on the hand? This way having a cross still foreshadows Jesus' crucifixion as well as incorporating it in a complementary way that also doesn't distract from your text. One could also leave the round blood spot, but instead make the white folds of the hand resemble a cross. This would also say we indeed die, but due to faith our sin is made clean and a new life begins and a new imprint is made through Christ. This may not be as obvious, but it might cause people to stop for a second to really consider what you did, then find a clever surprise when they realize the folds indeed make a cross.
Might want to make the white sunburst in the middle a bit larger, as well. This way the subtle texture of background doesn't surround the hand so closely. It feels like the background texture is suffocating the hand a bit.
Anyway, just my thoughts... I already really enjoy this piece as is, but feel it could be outstanding if those details are further considered.
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I think you are right. The more I look at it the cross isn't working where it is. I did try one with the blood in a cross shape on the hand, but I didn't upload it because it was so similar to this one. It did turn out cool though. And I see what you mean about the background texture suffocating it. Thanks for the input.
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Ooooooohhhh.......
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I like the concept and this is really well done. Reminds me of an easter picture i took -> [link]
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Haha! Cool! 
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Love this concept! Very well done.
There's something about the Cross shadow that just doesn't sit right with me. Not sure what it is. It's a little distracting.
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That is a good point. I see what you mean. Thanks.
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Looks like an excellent concept and it's a really nice artwork!
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I really like this! Such a powerful message in just a few words. And very artistically portrayed! Awesome job
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Thanks! God gets all the credit.
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Nice piece,Love the pop of red,Can I share your work,I'll credit you.
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Thanks! 
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