I can hear your heart......

......This took way too freaking long to do.

Exactly two weeks ago I was bubbling over with fangirly excitement after leaving the movie theater where I saw "Howl's Moving Castle" (subtitled version). It was a visually beautiful movie, and one of the most memorable scenes was the look into Howl's bedroom which was packed with so much crazy stuff--I never imagined clutter could be so charming. I wanted to do a picture that captured a bit of that feeling. I used peacock feathers to echo the colors of Howl's eyes and jewelry. (I also think peacocks sort of suit his personality). I wanted something sweet and snuggly looking but not too saccharine which is probably why I gave Howl a slightly smug look. He's also toying with his hair which I think maybe shows off a bit of his vanity.

It was kind of a pain to make the transition from Photoshop to Painter (and learning how to use Painter was probably another reason this took way too freaking long to do). Painter's blending tools are superior, but the program has more bugs than Photoshop. I drew the sketch digitally with my really small tablet which probably accounts for some of the "stiffness" of the lines. I think I'll go back to drawing on paper and scanning--I just can't get my lines to look fluid enough when using a tablet. Also, unlike most of the other fanart I've submitted to dA, this is brand new--not something I did years before joining dA. While I'm glad I've improved a bit, I'm still not satisfied. It still looks a bit "sterile" which is a big problem with most of my older digital pieces. I do sort of like the way the clothing came out--I'm usually so bad at doing the folds in clothing. I'm also worried about how it looks a little too "generic." **Sigh** Also the alignment and perspective is a tiny bit off, methinks--I really should have tried to find a photo reference or at least do some sort of perspective mapping beforehand but I got impatient.

This is my 13th deviation. I wonder if that means it's unlucky.

7/10/05 Update: I made a bunch of tiny changes. Tiny subtle things that I hope will improve everything: made Howl's gaze a little more intense; touched up the shadows; changed the alignment of the shoulders and pillows a bit (although the alignment is still a bit off). I'm kind of obsessive about re-editing

09/18/06 Update: I'm absolutely obsessive about fixing up all my deviations. Fixed Howl's right eye (again). Made Sophie's hair look less like a mop. Added deeper shadows. Tinkered with the color and contrast. I think it looks a lot better now although the changes are pretty subtle. Also uploaded a smaller sized picture so no more full view.

3/26/07 Thank you to everyone for the favorites. I'm overwhelmed really. I'm sorry if I can't thank you individually.