The Boy Who Lived final

[leelastarsky]

The work in progress from
first sketch
wip1
wip2
wip3
wip4
wip5
wip6
wip7

The finished painting had to be scanned in 4 sections and joined. Interestingly (and somewhat annoyingly) the colours in the final scan don't match the original very well at all. It came out a lot bluer and quite a bit darker than it looks to the naked eye. Therein lies one of my major preferences for working digitally when doing art for reproduction. If it's going to hang on a wall, fine, but if it's going to be printed you'll never capture the true colours and vibrancy of original hard-copy art. And oils are probably the worst medium to try and reproduce. They are deliciously glossy and reflect light back, as you've seen with all my photos on the way. Even scanning has the same problem, just finer and sprinkled more evenly through the piece. You can't see it here because the size of this is much smaller than the original scan.

But then, I guess that's part of the joy of owning an original piece of art that you can hold in your hand. It is, quite literally, a one-off.
So here's the finished painting -


A closeup of their faces -


And a photo so you can see something of the real colours. Dumbledore's hat and robes are much more purple than came up in the scan, and all the lovely greens and aqua's have vanished completely. :~\


EDIT: Playing around some more with this in Photoshop tonight cos it was bothering the hell out of me! Colour-correction used to be my job! So I knew I should have been able to fix this. ;~P It was more an issue of not knowing how with Photoshop. Anyway, I think I've successfully colour corrected it. It's much closer to the original art at least-



and the closeup-


*is much happier*

This was done for the hp_art_project.

Comments

[belovedranger.livejournal.com]

It's just truly stunning! I still am so drawn to the hands, fingers, and toes. I love the way that Harry and Dumbledore are interacting through their hands... Such gentle sweetness there. You're so good at texture too - I get a real sense of the fabric and beard being real. What beautiful work you've done. : ) I think this is how I'm always going to imagine the scene, now.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Linda! The funny thing is, I had this planned and sketched before book 6 came out, so I find it quite poignant now. Specially since Dumbledore looks like he really does love the little man. :~)

[austenrowling.livejournal.com]

It turned out very well. I love the color of Dumbledore and McGonagall's robes.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's a pity they didn't come out more true to colour when scanned, but what can you do? ;~)

[anjenue.livejournal.com]

Oh my GOD, Leela. *speechless*

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Glad you like it! *hugs*

[vejgurl.livejournal.com]

Wow! It came out awesome!

My little brother (14) came in the room while I was admiring the piece and we had the following conversation (paraphrased):

Brother: Someone didn't like draw that, did they?
Me: No, she painted it.
Brother: With what?
Me: Oil paints.
Brother: HOW?!?!
Me: Talent? *shows him a few of your previous posts*
Brother: But how??? She must have taken lots of classes and training and...art...stuff...things...
Me: Presumably. Awesome, no?
Brother: Yeah. And who's that in the background? Harry and the Lord of the Rings guy?
Me: Yeah, and I think that leg there is from Star Wars.
Brother: Yeah! Wow! The boot looks just like my action figure! COOL!

I thought you might find that amusing.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! That was seriously excellent! Thanks for sharing it. :~D And I haven't had much in the way of training; I did a 2yr Illustration course in 2002/2003, but that's all. (though there was a VAST improvement in my art because of it) Certainly not yrs of 'Art School' so to speak. ;~P

And, yeah, I feel bad about poor ObiWan being covered up in my journal... poor Obi. ;~)

[morethanclever.livejournal.com]

Your icon is wonderful lol.

[wickedschmuck.livejournal.com]

It's so beautiful! And so much work!

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was a lot of work, but I hadn't done an oil painting for a long time so I really enjoyed it. :~D

[texasmagic.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing the process of this piece with us. I can barely draw a box, so I am in awe of artists and their ability to render such life like images, and stir emotional responses with them, too!

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you like the painting and enjoyed watching it grow. :~)

[bippimousie.livejournal.com]

...wow...I am speechless...you have no idea how much I worship you....::worships:: ^^

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Haha, thanks! :~) Glad you enjoyed the painting!

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. You are amazing, truly amazing.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thankyou! I'm glad you like it! *hugs*

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

It is just beyond beautiful.

Toes.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :~) It was the scar that got me... :~( Poor wee mannie.
Probably affected me more cos he didn't have it for most of the painting, then suddenly there's this great ugly wound on his forehead. :~( :~(

[nassima.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on finishing this piece! It was a pleasure to follow your tutorial and see all these incredible textures and details and fabrics wrinkles come to life.

And the picture is more than gorgeous. It's touching and warming. There's so much love coming from Dumbledore and MacGonagall, and it makes me want to hold baby Harry in my arms and make him feel better.

[m4g1c4lm3.livejournal.com]

so amazing!

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely beautiful.

[fools-trifle.livejournal.com]

Beautiful result! I especially like the hands which seem so real and tender. I'm glad you posted the photograph too - the colours are beautiful and don't really show up properly in the scan at all :)

[morethanclever.livejournal.com]

Absolutely lovely! Well done.

[karasu-hime.livejournal.com]

That's just so beautiful and wonderful! All the details and the trusting, innocent Harry is so wonderful. Minerva's frightful face and Dumbledores all knowing smile. Amazing!

[reallycorking.livejournal.com]

Wow, this turned out really beautifully, despite the woes of digitizing natural media. The moonlit folds of fabric are stunning, as well as the detail you've put into the patterns. And wee Harry is adorable! I love the colors that the photograph captured as well.

This is an amazing addition to hp_art_project, bravo!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, MY. That's exquisite. Harry with his fingers tangled in Dumbledore's beard makes my heart melt.

[diamond-snitch.livejournal.com]

we haven't seen you around rweasley_chorus in a while - the world of lyrical Ron icons misses you! Pop over to enter the current contest.

btw - beautiful art! i wish i had half your talent - truly awe inspiring :D

[magicicada.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's fantastic. I really love their expressions. You've captured the feel of the scene wonderfully.

[bug-in-a-rug.livejournal.com]

That is breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing. :)

[liebchen127.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore it. Wonderful piece of work.

[caladan-dd.livejournal.com]

It's been like forever since I wanted to check your LJ. I was always extremely intrigued by your icon. :)

I haven't gone through all your pieces, but I really like this one. I might be biased a little bit since Dumbledore, McG (and Lupin and Tonks) are my favorite characters. I'm extremely impressed that you work a lot with traditional media and in particular oils. I really cannot get the oils to behave so I'm very impressed that you can controll them so well.

I think you have a wonderful style that's perfect for the HP world. I particularly like what you do with your details and the pastel-y quality of your color pallette.

And well, this particular image makes me go "Awwwww". You've captured the tenderness of the scene in a really beautiful way. Man, I so wished that DD had adopted Harry!!

And also, you've actually made me think of Ron as hot. I don't think I've ever thought of Ron as hot, but that painting you did has changed my vision of him. :)

Wonderful work.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Thrilled to hear you like this pic. :~) This was really the first time I'd tackled Dumbledore (I think? :~P) and, post HBP, I'm really happy with the way he turned out. I wanted him to look like he really cared about Harry, and I think (I hope!) that comes across.

I've only drawn Lupin a couple of times and I've been wanting to do a Lupin/Tonks since HBP came out. Hopefully I'll find some time soon! ;~)

Glad you liked that Ron - I assume you're talking about the 'bodice-ripper'?

If you have the time, you really must grab a chapter in the HP Art Project! (3rd wave was just posted) It'd be great to have you part of it too! :~D

[penny-sieve.livejournal.com]

Simply beautiful!. I love your portrayal of Dumbledore and baby Harry - the doting look on Dumbledore's face and sleeping Harry so trusting of Dumbledore, with his little hands grasping on to Dumbledore's beard. Love the expression on all the faces.

[npetrenko.livejournal.com]

Amazing work.

[darsynia.livejournal.com]

Oh Holy Crap In A HandBasket, says the woman Who is so Amazed she can't stop Capitalizing words.

I have just stumbled on your artwork RIGHT at the moment when I was going to go to bed.

That ain't happenin' now.

YOU ARE AMAZING! I'm gonna rec the hell out of your journal. Bravo!

[rdprice29.livejournal.com]

This is so incredible! I went back to look at all the WIP's, and wow! I had no idea it was so involved, but you are so talented and this is AWESOME!

I love how Harry's holding onto DD's beard, and how his scar is all puffy and new and red! The looks on DD's and McGonagal's faces are incredible as well.

I love your work so much! Do you mind if I friend you?

[tearfulmooncm.livejournal.com]

A truly amazing piece! I wish I had even half your talent!

[superrock.livejournal.com]

baby!Harry is soooooooo adorable

[shiinait.livejournal.com]

It's a delicious painting!!
Claudia

[(Anonymous)]

No matter how it's colored, it's a wonderful piece of art!! I kind of like the "blue-blue" version, but I like the color-corrected piece at the end as well. Great job!

[texasmagic.livejournal.com]

There is a tenderness in this piece that is just heart wrenching. The colors, even in the scan are so calming, yet the expresssion on McGonagall's face, and our own knowledge of the event make it bittersweet.

Thank you for sharing this.

[tearfulmooncm.livejournal.com]

One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, if not the most beautiful thing in the whole world, are the Northern Lights. They are absolutely gorgeous. Why am I telling you this, you ask? Because the backdrop in your piece (all of them, but especially the 'true' color one) reminds me of the Northern Lights. Your piece is truly gorgeous. Kudos. :) Take care!

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you liked it so much! And you might be interested to see this -
http://www.livejournal.com/users/leelastarsky/22787.html
:~)