Ravane Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Started working on a profile of Dagny. It's a rough draft at the moment, because I need some decent shots of a New York skyline at night and some photos of people illuminated by streetlamps. Any help finding reference photos would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Any help finding reference photos would be greatly appreciated.Tried Google Images? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetTheFarm Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Ravane, Let me be the first to say, "Wow!" It's great work, I can't wait to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaloNoble6 Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) Very nice, Ravane, very nice. Lovely and elegant. I especially like the fragility evoked by her slenderness combined with the look on her face, which to me evokes "I belong in this city, among these buildings, and I know it". Is this the scan of something you're doing by hand? If so, how big is it in real life? Will you do colors as well? Edited December 22, 2005 by Felipe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyedison Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Brilliant. Just like how she should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravane Posted December 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) Very nice, Ravane, very nice. Lovely and elegant. I especially like the fragility evoked by her slenderness combined with the look on her face, which to me evokes "I belong in this city, among these buildings, and I know it". Is this the scan of something you're doing by hand? If so, how big is it in real life? Will you do colors as well? It's not a scan actually, I drew it on my computer using a graphics tablet. Printed, it should be 11x17 inches. And yes, I did use Google Images, but no luck thus far. Edit: That is, no luck with the streetlamp part. Edited December 22, 2005 by Ravane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gags Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 That's excellent. How long have you been drawing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravane Posted December 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 That's excellent. How long have you been drawing? Since I was around seven, I think. I'm an art major at my local college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovenstein Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) I smell a bidding war coming on. Ravane, if you're looking to sell that, let me suggest to you that you just sell it to me for whatever price I choose. But seriously, you should research various auction formats to see which would yield the greatest financial return. I recall vaguely from my game theory studies that, to borrow from the old Michelob commercial, "some [w]ays are better than others." She looks eerily similar to . . . you. Awesome. [Edit: Here's a link to some NY skyline photos. Edit again: Oh, maybe those aren't that good. I'll try again later.] Edited December 22, 2005 by Groovenstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailegreene Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Wow, that's a wonderful profile. This is exactly how I thought she would look after reading the book. Once it is complete, you might try auctioning it through eBay. I think you'll be pleasently surprised with the price it will fetch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaloNoble6 Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Using Google image, here's what I got-- People under street-light lighting at night: NYC at night (different sky-lighting): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyedison Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 On the second thought, I think her eyes should be a bit lighter. They make her look a as though she is a conquerer of reality which is good but also a bit condescending which doesn't give a good effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realitycheck44 Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Yes, I think that the eyes should be lighter, and I also think that the hair should be a little less... poufy? big? I don't know exactly, but I don't especially like the hair. Though, obviously, if you do, by all means keep it the way it is. I imagine Dagny a bit differently, though I couldn't draw her or even convey what I think she would look like. But the drawing is very nicely done. I hope you continue posting as you make changes, additions, and maybe add color. Thanks for sharing this. Maybe you could do one of Dominique? Zak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravane Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 (edited) I'm going to leave the eyes- but the hair isn't really finished. And as to the condescending look- I agree, but it's not neccessarily the eyes. It may be that she's barely smiling, and in the arch of her eyebrow. My favorite things to draw are faces, and facial expressions- you'd be suprised what a few pixel's worth of variation can do to a face. And it's going to be in full color. If I auction it, I'll probably sell more than one- they're prints, after all. Edit: And thank you for the reference photos, guys. Edited December 23, 2005 by Ravane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realitycheck44 Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Okay Ravane, after staring at it a while longer, you're right. Keep the eyes. But also, I noticed the hands could be little... daintier. Right now they remind me of the Seinfeld episode with the "man hands". Oh, and is that bracelet supposed to be the one of Rearden Metal? Because I believe that was a chain-link one. Zak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravane Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Okay Ravane, after staring at it a while longer, you're right. Keep the eyes. But also, I noticed the hands could be little... daintier. Right now they remind me of the Seinfeld episode with the "man hands". Oh, and is that bracelet supposed to be the one of Rearden Metal? Because I believe that was a chain-link one. Zak Good call, but no-it's going to be the diamond one. And the hands are, besides the buildings and the railings, obviously, the most unfinished portion of the peice. Hands are obscenely difficult to draw correctly and proportionately. In fact, the hand in the background is only implied at the moment, and by the time I'm done will probably look completely different. Thanks for the criticism, keep it coming if you can think of any more. I find the longer I stare at a peice the harder it is for me to find the flaws because I tend to fall in love with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 First, great stuff. Thanks for posting it. I can't draw at all. So, I'm always fascinated by how people can do it so well. The "condescending" thing is what struck me about it, though I would say it was more defiant than condescending. I had a thought about this: wouldn't it be cool if this were a snapshot of some particular, representative scene from "Atlas Shrugged". The second question: how does one tell that this is Dagny, railway Goddess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unconquered Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 First, great stuff. Thanks for posting it. I can't draw at all. So, I'm always fascinated by how people can do it so well. The "condescending" thing is what struck me about it, though I would say it was more defiant than condescending. I had a thought about this: wouldn't it be cool if this were a snapshot of some particular, representative scene from "Atlas Shrugged". The second question: how does one tell that this is Dagny, railway Goddess? Perhaps she needs a bracelet of Rearden Metal? ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Thanks for the criticism, keep it coming if you can think of any more. I find the longer I stare at a peice the harder it is for me to find the flaws because I tend to fall in love with it. I know the feeling. I've tried my hand at drawing in the past. I have this book "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way". Don't let the title fool you. It has all kinds of neat little lessons on drawing. I love to draw, because I can create my own world. Of course, I'm just an amateur, and so it's all just for my own fun. My experience is that drawing a woman's face is much more difficult than drawing a man's, because flaws show up so much more easily. The brow ridge can't be too prominent, the jaw can't be too large, proportions must be symmetrical, etc. I look forward to seeing the final result, Ravane, because I can see that you have talent. Btw, just for the record, there was a guy who used to post here named RadCap, aka Brian Smith. He hatched the idea for comic book characters here last year. His his website is here . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravane Posted December 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 (edited) First, great stuff. Thanks for posting it. I can't draw at all. So, I'm always fascinated by how people can do it so well. The "condescending" thing is what struck me about it, though I would say it was more defiant than condescending. I had a thought about this: wouldn't it be cool if this were a snapshot of some particular, representative scene from "Atlas Shrugged". The second question: how does one tell that this is Dagny, railway Goddess? Funny you should say that, because originally it was going to be the scene where Dagny was standing on the platform above the station at Taggart Transcontinental headquarters, addressing the workers. This is right before Galt follows her down the rail tunnel. It is one of my favorite scenes because I love the way she is described- how Rand explicitly states that her prescence in an evening gown, a goddess in her own domain, is so strangely appropriate. However, I chose to use the dress design from Rearden's party, and ended up using the New York skyline as the background. I may change the background yet- perhaps to have Rearden's mills glowing in the distance. Or I may well use the Taggart station, I'm not sure. If I do use the station, I'd feel obliged to change the dress accordingly. Edit: On second thought, I will change the background to the station. The problem of recognising the character had never occured to me as I was drawing what I'd always imagined her to be. Edited December 24, 2005 by Ravane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Capitalist Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 (edited) Ravane, if you're going to make her this beautiful, she might as well be Dominique and not Dagny. It was Dominique who was the beauty queen/princess. Very nice drawing so far. Edited December 24, 2005 by Free Capitalist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 Edit: On second thought, I will change the background to the station. The problem of recognising the character had never occured to me as I was drawing what I'd always imagined her to be. Actually, I like what you have. The idea of using the braclet of Rearden metal would convey the point that she is Dagny. I know you rejected the idea, but the braclet of Rearden metal would certainly help convey that she is Dagny and you'd have to make almost no changes to the scene. Remember, she loved that bracelet. Wasn't it a blue-green color? Can't recall. You could always do another drawing of her in the station, or on a train rolling down tracks of Rearden steel. Another idea is a Wyatt torch in the background, but it may be out of place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 Ravane, I had a thought about a possible way "showing it is Dagny": a railway map hanging on the wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elysium Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 I disagree. I think that a railway map on the wall would be overkill. I am by no means an artist of paint and canvas, but something about having a railway map in anywhere but Dagny's office feels out of place to me. If Ravane were to make another picture of Dagny portraying her in her office, I think that would be another matter. Great picture by the way. I'm fine with the eyes, hair, and everything else about her except her hands. I understand that it's a rough sketch currently, but her right hand is larger than her left and some proportions are off. I imagine that you would have it fixed in the final draft anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 How about Dagny posed with the statue of Nat Taggart in the background after she wrote the dollar sign in lipstick at the end of the novel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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