Arnve's Exile - Comic Project

Here are my completed 8 pages of comic story for my latest project. The story isn't over (in my mind) and I may continue drawing pages in my spare time, when inspiration strikes.
I call it "Arnve's Exile" - Arnve being the name I've given the main character.

"With the coming of the tide

And with the endless violet night,

Somebody new is brought ashore

To test the lands of time once more"

"Having the vines blocking way back

She must by some means keep on track,

The dark and deadly chasm overcome

And not to fear and dread succumb."

Info:
Written and Illustrated by Mariya Olshevska
"Original" pages are 8.5 x 11 inches
Bristol/water color paper
Koh-i-Noor color inks
0.05 + 0.1 micron pens and tracing paper for the inks

My basic process was: small thumbnails (mini roughs) ---> tight pencils ---> inked 11x17 pages ---> lettering and panel layout in Illustrator ---> printing on watercolor paper and painting with waterproof colored inks. The painting took between 12-16 hours I think.

Anyway - there are quite a number of things I know could/should be changed and the project looks quite different from what I originally envisioned it to be...but oh well. Next time will be better!


Thanks for reading! :)

"Violet Hour" - Patterned Meticulousness

"Violet Hour" by Mariya Olshevska

So here is the final illustration I did for the Decorative Illustration class, a.k.a my favourite class this semester. For this project we were particularly encouraged to go crazy with details and embellishments...and so I did. This piece didn't turn out to have as much compositional complexity as I originally wanted, but I still like it quite a bit. Originally I wanted Celtic knot-work in the background, which would then have finer patterning inside. So I guess I'll fulfill that musing in my spare time in the summer. I love swirls and patterns!

Anyhow here's the final piece and some of the process below:

thumbnail sketch

rough sketch

line work

Final Piece!

close up

another close up

 Info:
Image size: 15 x 10.3 inches
Bristol type paper
Line-work done with black micron pens ranging from 0.05 to 0.2, and a violet prisma colour pen of 0.05 width
+ a little bit of diluted waterproof ink for the pink blush in the cheeks and lips
Time: unknown, but far longer than 1 hour

P.S. - The title of the piece is inspired by the song "The Violet Hour" by The Civil Wars, a song which I love and imagine this illustrated woman listening to as her hair sways in the wind.