The Sting and The Raven

My final blog post for the month and I wanted to talk some more about the Youtube web series I am a part of, The Sting Chronicles. We finished our first season over the summer, and shall begin airing the second season here in a couple of weeks. The first season our hero, Ethan Harper, met with unexpected challenges of being given "great responsibility," but this second season might prove to be an even greater challenge for The Sting. Introducing, The Raven:

Some of our inspiration came from
Vicious, the villain of the anime
series, Cowboy Bebop and
Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.

This mysterious nemesis has made an unexpected appearance into Ethan's life and Season 2:1 shall give us more insight on this Poe-inian villain, so I won't give too much away. However, with our nemesis having taken on the name from one of Edger Allen Poe's most famous poems, we really wanted to convey the atmosphere of those Gothic poems by making our villain out-of-world steam punk, with heavy trench coat, pocket watch, and old-styled glasses. The dark, Victorian-esque assamble of our villain creates a nice contrast with our hero's contemporary, swashbuckling look. The heavy blues and grays next to the bright yellow really conveys the comic book antagonism between these two characters, of good vs evil:

I've really enjoyed doing the concept art for this web series, but I've also been able to work on the posters, which has been awesome. I love creating movie posters. It is always a challenge to make a convincing, original composite while conveying the concepts and themes of a movie, or in this case, a series. The poster concepts for The Sting Chronicles season 1 and season 2 weren't entirely mine, though, but my partners' in crime as well. I thought I would explain a little the concepts behind each of the posters:

In Season 1 we are introduced to the somewhat self-centered and naive Ethan Harper, who tells us that he undoubtedly has super powers after being stung by a scorpion on a school field trip. Clothed with these new powers, he takes it upon himself to follow his "superhero brethren" and document his fight against crime for future generations. He is cocky, but earnest, yet is mostly oblivious to much that is around him, and so we see Ethan go from "zero to hero," hero to zero, and back around again. The first poster reflects the beginning of Ethan's journey. He is boldly clothed in his costume talking to the camera and his backpack is full of his superhero paraphernalia. The color scheme is a bright, gregarious yellow, much like the colors of comic books, over-confident and optimistic. I also made the poster look like an old comic book, with texture, issue number and price, and even a bold headline of "This mish just got real!". It expresses everything about Ethan's journey into comic book-dom.

In Season 2, things are taking a much darker, more sinister turn. Ethan's life has suddenly become like something out of The Dark Knight, as he is faced with his very own nemesis, The Raven. The poster reflects this new transition of events, with Ethan walking in a deserted and lonely landscape (of the Phoenix Valley, of course) and an "ominous bird of yore" looming in the sky behind him. It is a flock of ravens that make up this ominous symbol. I chose to hand draw the ravens as a way to incorporate a grittier, comic book feel to the piece. I didn't think making this into a comic book issue, like I did for the first one, would work for the overall composition, so instead I brought the atmosphere of comic book by the hand drawn ravens, which works quite well. Also, in this photo, Ethan is much more wary, wearing his shirt underneath his clothing, another nice contrast to the bold statement of the first poster, and the overall color scheme of the shades of blue are subdued and isolating, emphasizing Ethan's trial with his enemy, which, as the tag line insinuates, (a line from Poe's The Raven) may cost Ethan much.

So, it is going to be quite an interesting season! I hope that this post has intrigued you into either watching our show or get you excited for Season 2, not to mention build anticipation for The Sting Chronicles at the comicon! On the right side of my blog here, is the link to our Youtube channnel, please check it out, subscribe, and favorite! Thanks so much!

He makes everything beautiful in its time . . . Ecclesiastes 3:11

All material in this post is Copyrighted by Danielle Pajak Illustrations 2013.

Between Rage and Serenity

Still love this poster!

"I believe that true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity." - Charles Xavier

Before I go on to finish my Avengers Project, I was inspired to do another comic book inspired  piece, this time from The Wolverine. I wasn't expecting too much from the film, (other than the awesomeness that is Hugh Jackman) for my X-men love has been somewhat dimmed of late. However, to my surprise, The Wolverine was quite a good film in many respects, exploring the ideas of the Wolverine's immortality, his inner struggles with his past, and the uncertainty of his future. In accordance with these, one thing that stood out to me was Wolverine's relationship with Mariko Yashida. Granddaughter to Yashida, a man Wolverine rescued during the bombing of Nagasaki now turned CEO of powerful technological corporation, Mariko is inexplicably thrown together with Wolverine through a mesh of power politics in which Mariko finds herself in danger of her life. Wolverine becomes her protector, the very legend her grandfather had told so many stories about when she was a child, whom she now finds to be a haunted and lonely man. He is burdened by countless nightmares and visions of Jean Grey, as he is unable to live with the decisions he has made or the never-ending curse of his immortality. He is paralyzed unable to move forward from his past and having no purpose to continue on to his future, truly a broken man. In this dark state, Wolverine is instantly struck by Mariko's quiet, intense spirit and they slowly fall in love through

The beautiful scene when Wolverine first meets Mariko.
In the Rain. Everything awesome happens in the rain.

the course of the story, but what stands out to me is how Mariko is able to break through Wolverine's hardened outer shell to the man beneath, making him face his past and inevitably giving him the incentive for his future. One of my favorite scenes is when Wolverine awakens violently from another nightmare, his body tense, his claws extended ready to attack, but Mariko lays at his side, not even flinching, speaking to him quietly, and even lightly touching his claws without any fear. Slowly she calms him as she speaks, bringing stillness and serenity to the rage of Wolverine's spirit. It so perfectly illustrated her tranquility that irresistibly recalls Wolverine from the downward spiral of his life. I even love the visual contrast between Mariko and Wolverine, Mariko being lithe and delicate, a fragile thing in comparison to Wolverine's bulk and hardness. It is even interesting to note that when Wolverine first meets her, she is wearing white, the symbol of who she was going to become for Wolverine. It is very much a beauty and the beast type of concept as well, and in the end, Wolverine finds the freedom and strength to move on. It is a beautiful relationship, but subtly and quietly played out in the film, which I very much appreciate.

So, you are probably realizing by now why I chose the quote from X-Men First Class (another good film, by the way). That quote was something I instantly thought of while watching this movie, for Wolverine finds his true focus somewhere "between rage and serenity." In my piece, I wanted to really bring out these concepts. Keeping with the Asian-inspired style of minimalism, I have Wolverine and Mariko standing on either side, Mariko blossoming in the serenity of white, and Wolverine materializing from rage of darkness. The focal point extends from Mariko's face, from the blackness of her hair and gold dividing line to her hands caressing his hand in the sea of red, the red symbolizing the focus between rage and serenity. I've kept everything abstract in design, with rough. illustrative strokes with the clarity coming to the focal point of their hands. I've, of course, added texture, which I think always adds an extra dimension to any piece.

I hope you've enjoyed this post. This piece, along with my Avengers pieces, shall be available to purchase at the Phoenix Comicon next year, so hope to see you there! Information on my booth's location shall be provided soon and in a more official capacity so everyone can find me. Thanks! Here's to September!

He makes everything beautiful in its time . . . Ecclesiastes 3:11

July Observations: In Another World

The end of July draws nigh and I've been working hard, but alas I have nothing to show of my main projects.  I am excited, though, to say that I have gotten some significant work done on my graphic novel and I'll most likely have something to show you all next month. I'll keep plugging away, but I can actually see the half way mark in my progress, which is exciting for me. I still have so much to do on it, but I'm making head way and my plans for next year's promotion of my graphic novel might actually be doable. Yay. So, please keep coming back for updates on that! My Avengers Project isn't going as smoothly, however. The Cap is being quite stubborn and there is something about the piece that just isn't speaking to me. It is kind of like beating your head against the wall. After repeated experiences with the lack of inspiration, I've finally learned to just let it go and leave it. It is no use in trying to push something because you end up just wasting your time. I've even done a little pictured demonstration of what happens for everyone's amusement.

Haha. So, I'll probably move on to the green rage monster Bruce Banner and then come back to The Cap later. It's for the best. But now to switch gears on this post; I've been doing some sketches that I've posted on my Pintrest/Twitter, which have been of nymphs and faeries. Just letting my imagination roam free while listening to a lot of Carbon Based Lifeforms (a Swedish ambient music group). Probably one of my top favorite songs ever, though, is a song called "Stolen Child" by Loreena McKennit. It is a song about a faerie taking away a child, which is a common myth surrounding faeries and their mischievous ways. I find it haunting and beautiful, and I often find myself loving this idea of being beckoned away to another world. Whether it be faeries, sirens, the white rabbit, or some other elfin creature, I'm fascinated by this aspect of being drawn by something mysterious or alluring into another world (or death in some cases, haha.) There is such excitement and beauty in being drawn to another realm, to pass through "the grey-rain curtain"of this world to "a far green country" beyond (Lord of the Rings pg. 1007). It reminds me of this verse from Hebrews 11:13-16 "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." It is the idea of another realm beyond this world and of being part of that Otherworld so as to have longing of a stranger in a land not our own, then finding ourselves drawn away, called away by a Voice mysterious as it is beautiful; a Voice surrounded by "clouds and thick darkness," "flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder" with "a sea of glass, like crystal" (Psalm 97:2, Revelation 4:5-6). How does this translate into faeries, nymphs, and sirens you may ask? Well, I think C.S. Lewis says it quite brilliantly: "We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words - to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves - that, though we cannot, yet these projections can enjoy in themselves that beauty, grace, and power of which Nature is the image" (The Weight of Glory pg. 42-43). With this in mind, I shall always continue to be fascinated by the otherwordly, always following that White Rabbit down the rabbit hole to another world.

So all these ideas swirling around in my head produced these two illustrations I've done in pencil (with some Photoshop magic!):

Come away oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faerie hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand
"Stolen Child" Loreena McKennit.

Observations in Kensington Gardens

This second one is more sci-fi, surrealist in nature and it was largely inspired by Carbon Based Lifeform's "Kensington Gardens," thus the name. Listening to the song will really help in getting the atmosphere. You'll notice, though, how in both these images I have the veiny, branch-like patterns. One of the things that fascinates me about nature is how the world of the micro and the world of the macro have similar patterns. Whether it is our own arteries and veins, membranes and molecules, to nature's branches, foliage, and creatures, to the makings of a star or galaxy, there are such beautiful similarities in design. I love this aspect to our Universe and love the idea of blurring the line between micro and macro in my artwork. This especially comes out in "Observations" where the scale of things aren't exactly clear. I'll probably want to experiment more with this idea in my artwork, to see what other fascinating concepts I can come up with.

Well, that is what I have for July. Please check out either my Twitter or Pinterest if you are interested in more of my elfin sketches. (Yes, this is what I think about all day.) Don't forget to check back soon for updates on my graphic novel! God bless.

He makes everything beautiful in its time . . . Ecclesiastes 3:11