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EmmaMaree.com

Scottish Writer of Fantasy & Sci-Fi

wings

More Art! Mockingbird Wings

So, I’m kind of on an art spree. Otherwise known as a avoiding-writing-obligations spree. Otherwise known as I have a lot to read and a lot to write and my brain just keeps deciding Tumblr and drawing are easier than tackling the to-do list.

So, yeah, I’m going to need to sort out my priorities tomorrow, but for now at least I get decent artwork out of it. I decided to take the ‘Show Your Colours’ piece a bit further with a sharpie pen and get some practice drawing Ty’s wings. It was actually good fun.

(The left-hand wing is just the right hand wing flip, because a) my notebook is too small to even fit one full wing in and b) lazy.)

Art: Show Your Colours

Tonight wasn’t supposed to be an art night, but I was in that kind of mood. On a whim, I took a sketch that turned out quite nicely…

And I polished it up a bit:

This is Tyler from REBEL AGAINST HEAVEN. Wings are from the Slater Museum, which is a mind-blowing reference that I wish I’d had much earlier. Might do a few portrait shots like this for all the REBEL main characters, as an exercise/reference. This image is an updated version of this older reference which was thrown together in May.

I have a question for you, blog friends: does it bother you when two book characters have similar-ish names? I’m wondering if Tyler and Toni are too similar and need changing…

How I Got Through My First Tattoo

Trigger Warning: this post contains photographed blood and a healing tattoo wound.

I’ve been wanting a tattoo for the last few years. The idea of getting permanent art etched on my skin really appealed to my artsy side, but I’m horribly, cripplingly indecisive. I couldn’t pick a design I wanted with me for the rest of my life.

Until one day, I came across this design. It clicked instantly, shouting out to me as something that was beautiful, symbolic, and totally right for me.

After getting a second opinion from fiance Dave, I contacted the artist and asked if she’d mind me using the design. She was fine with it, and asked to see it when it was done… which meant I was now honor-bound to go through with this.

Oh dear.

I got some recommendations for local tattoo artists from friends, and Angie from 2Tone Tattoos in Inverness was enthusiastically recommended for greyscale and lineart tattoos. I’ve got bad social anxiety when it comes to phoning people up, so originally I just e-mailed her. When no reply came I swallowed my nerves and phoned her. The appointment was booked for the end of that week (last Friday).

ohmygodohmygodohmygod

NERVES

This is the photo with blood. Be warned!

Having a tattoo done is a strange experience. Sometimes, it’s just vibrations on your skin, with no pain at all. But when it’s over your bones or veins, it really does sting. Not enough to make me cry out, just enough to make me tense my free arm against the couch or squeeze Dave’s hand.

The image on the left is of the ‘outline’ stage of the tattoo, which was by far the most painful bit. The black fills were easy by comparison. Towards the end we went back to the outline needles to get in some of the finer details. My skin was very raised and swollen by this point, which didn’t help the pain.

At it’s very worst I gritted my teeth, huffed a bit, and took a two minute break to drink fizzy juice and shake my cramped muscles.Most of the time I just kept my eyes away from the needles and stared at the wall, the floor, or Dave pulling stupid faces and showing me pictures of our dogs on his phone. My arm shook a lot, but this was an automatic response I couldn’t actually control.

Tips for Getting Your First Tattoo:

NEVER EVER LOOK AT THE NEEDLE. This advice has got me through blood tests and dental work for years, and it’s just as useful with tattoos. Looking at it makes my mind go ‘ahhhhh blood what’s going on’ and I don’t want to trigger myself into a panic.

Bring something to drink. Dave nipped to the shops to get some fizzy juice, and the sugar definitely helps, but I also regretted not stopping at a cafe for a hot cuppa tea beforehand.

After two hours of not-as-bad-as-I-imagined tattooing, the end result was done. And I love it, you guys. I really love it. As soon as it was done (hell, as soon as we started) I knew it was worth the discomfort and nerves to wear a brilliant piece of art on my arms:

So now, readers, I want to know your stories: have you got tattoos? Do you want tattoos? If you do, what designs are you thinking of?

Art: Worth Fighting For (Rebel Against Heaven)

Spent a sunny Saturday doing some digital illustration.

Tyler: Worth Fighting For

Comments and Blethering: I’ve been trying to work out a simplified version of Tyler’s Northern Mockingbird wing design (a more detailed rough is on the art page), think I might have cracked it here. This started out with the intention to show his balled-up fists, then meandered into trying some Andrew Loomis-style anatomy skeletons because I’ve been reading through his reference books, before turning into basically a big picture of wings and smugface Ty. Materials used: My beat-up old Wacom tablet, Alias Sketchbook Pro with the medium ink brush.

The rough base sketch.

And of course, in my typical style, this has all been a complex way of procrastinating from editing this gentleman’s story. So I suppose I should get back to that.