Work Text:
A/N:
⚠️ This art post contains spoilers for the story, so if you like your story spoiler free you can go read it here on: A03, or here on: Livejournal
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Below you can find the pictures I drew and a little peek behind the scenes for how I paint my artwork. I hope you enjoy.
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The Artwork:
The next moment, Sam finds himself slammed against the wall, his feet dangling, Dean’s hand on his throat.
“Don’t underestimate me,” Dean snarls into his face
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Dean wears a tuxedo without a tie, the top buttons of his dress shirt open to expose his throat, and he looks even more stunning than usual. He stands in front of a gigantic marble fireplace in which a roaring fire casts a flickering glow into the otherwise mostly-dark room.
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As Sam steps closer to inspect them, the sunflowers seem to turn their faces toward him, and Sam feels the warmth of the sun as if he’s momentarily become one with them
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Sam huffs out another relieved chuckle. His hand slides up to cup Dean’s face. “Yeah. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
He leans in and kisses Dean, slow and sweet. “You’re okay.”
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Preliminary / Concept Sketches
As I read I make quick little scribble sketches of scenes that catch my attention. This helps me give my author an idea of the images I have in mind and let’s us pick which scenes to go with for full artworks.
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Behind the Scenes:
Sam and Dean’s less than cordial first meeting:
I used my initial sketch as a guide to arrange two figures in MagicPoser, my 3D modelling app. I use this app to give me a more accurate anatomy reference for my ideas. Once I was happy with my layout I started drawing my scene in ClipStudio Paint.
In this picture I really wanted to capture the dark and gloomy nature of the dungeon. Amy wrote in the story that there was a small vent in the ceiling, and this mental image was giving me Panic Room vibes (Sam sat in Bobby’s panic room with the light filtering down from the vent.) I love the idea of rays of light in a dark scene, the contrast of brightness emphasises just how dark the darkness actually is. More than that though, it can add emotions to an image. Light might be a torment to someone trapped in darkness but it might also be a glimmer of hope and in this picture the boys are definitely off to a bad start but maybe things won’t remain so bad forever.
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Pic 2 is sexy Dean in a tux in front of a fireplace.
I had a clear picture in my mind: a beautiful sexy Dean surrounded by gothic splendour but shrouded in darkness to hide a world of sins or a hint of danger. The reference pic I found of a fireplace gave me the vibes I was after and I drew it along with some additional touches like the candle stick and fancy wallpaper.
For Dean I knew exactly the ‘cocky but suave’ pose I wanted and I could have just modelled him in my 3D modeller but first I googled some references for suits and tuxedos and in doing so came across this wonderful photo of Clark Gable which was just too perfect for words. Just look at that god damn arrogant sexy bastard! So I drew Dean just like that.
Once I had the basics of my scene drawn I red-penned my draft to mark the corrections I wanted to make. (I wasn't planning to give Dean evil red eyes 😁, I just wanted to remind myself to redraw his eyes so that he is looking at the reader as he looks at Sam). A direct stare from a character can add a real sense of connection to a piece.
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Pic 3 is Sam in the overgrown garden with the Sunflowers.
I found some reference photos for sunflowers and set up the scene I wanted in MagicPoser. (Fun fact: my modelling app is really only for posing people and it doesn’t have a lot of ancillary objects. So I built the surrounding scene items out of basic geometric shapes. This still helps me with general placement and shadow directions even if the items are not exactly as I will be drawing them)
The idea which I strongly wanted to emphasise here was another contrast Light and Shadow. Amy does such a wonderful job of building atmosphere in the story and I tried to capture that.
Sam is out in the open, basking in the sunlight - haloed and embraced by the sunflowers. Dean is hidden in shadows -looking at Sam who is everything he is not. But Dean isn’t totally in darkness, even though he is turned away from the light, with arms folded in anger or defence - his face is still half lit and his expression is a combination of uncertainty and longing as he stares into the bright sunshine that is Sam and the Sunflowers.
In capturing this idea my picture is split into two halves, the light side and the dark side, but the slanting rays of sunshine cross the divide to touch Dean with light and offer a bridge between the two opposites.
Its also interesting that I decided to draw Sam out of focus in this. Part of my reasoning was that of the two, only Dean’s face is visible and I wanted the shot to be focused on his expression, but maybe I’m subconsciously implying that the Hope is a bit dream-like or out of reach? 🤷🏻 Just adding that extra little bit of will-they-won’t-they (though, of course we know they will! 😊). Either way I really love the feel of this one.
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And as usual: I had to end on some happy feels.
I modelled the final pose of Sam holding Dean in his arms. The 2 points I really wanted to capture was firstly: Dean being open and vulnerable - his body posture dead weight and loose. And secondly: the tenderness with which Sam cradles Deans face and tells him everything will be okay.
I used the sunflowers in the background as a representative motif, and I hinted at the almost catastrophe with the falling petals on the right. But of course it’s a happy ending so both the boys are bathed in soft warm light.
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And that's all folks 😊
I hope you have enjoyed this artwork. Please forgive any lack of refinement in my brushstrokes, my meat-suit has been a real piece of crap recently. But I hope you enjoy my efforts regardless.
This is a wonderful story written by Amypond and if you at all love Beauty and The Beast then you definitely need to give it a read. You can find it here on: A03, or here on: Livejournal
You can leave kudos or comments if you feel so moved. I love chatting with friends new and old (but if I'm slow to respond just now, please excuse my health.)
And don't forget that if you want more great Sam Winchester stories you can check out the ao3 collection for more goodies.
Stay awesome my friends and stay well! 💛
-Midnight