Count Vlad is Back in Town ... by carles
carles

Count Vlad is Back in Town ...

by carles in Illustrations

Scratchboard, a medium for the patient ...
Count Vlad is modeled by professional model Jason Baca from Los Angeles (CA)
Setting was inspired by typical Transylvanian architecture.

Copyright by Pierre Carles (2007)

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  • QuakerNinja

    QuakerNinja

    Great linework. Such a cool effect.

    Jul 13th, 2011 Reply Subscriber
    • carles

      carles

      Scratchboard is a wonderful medium. I don't know if you already used it, but the principle is simply to scratch a black-coated surface with a knife to reveal the underneath white base. So it is like pen and ink, only the other way round, and using a sharp tool: every stroke of the tool reveals a sharp white line. The light and contrast is amazing, but it is hard to transcribe to the computer screen. One more examples where the gap between originals and scanned versions is huge.

      Jul 14th, 2011 Reply
    • QuakerNinja

      QuakerNinja

      I do carve lenolium blocks, but there are some challenges with useing the cutting tools. This sounds right up my ally.

      Jul 14th, 2011 Reply Subscriber
    • carles

      carles

      Then go for it ! I find it very immersive, like most forms of engraving. You really "feel" the strokes, unlike the ethereal feel you get from a brush (let alone a pen tablet !). I love it. Too bad I have no time these days for personal works: commissioners (for whom I do all my current pieces) could never afford the "real" price of all the work behind scratchboard pieces. Well, they could if I was a top dog in the field, but ... since this is not the case, I won't get scratchboard commissions anytime soon I'm afraid !

      Jul 14th, 2011 Reply
  • Chandrika

    Chandrika

    wonderfully!

    Jul 9th, 2011 Reply
    • carles

      carles

      Thank you. Believe me, scratchboard is sheer madness. I would love to have the time to work on another one. But it is soooo strenuous and long ...

      Jul 11th, 2011 Reply
    • Chandrika

      Chandrika

      You're most welcome!

      Jul 11th, 2011 Reply
  • JessMChase

    JessMChase

    Outstanding work Pierre! Wow!

    Jun 11th, 2011 Reply
    • carles

      carles

      Thanks a lot Jess. Sorry it took me a while to get back to you, life has been hectic.

      Jun 19th, 2011 Reply
    • JessMChase

      JessMChase

      You're welcome :) No need to appologise, I understand completely!

      Jun 20th, 2011 Reply
  • 7Shadows

    7Shadows

    Wow, very interesting line art. Unique in many ways.

    Jun 11th, 2011 Reply
    • carles

      carles

      Thanks a lot. Scratchboard works pretty much like copper engraving: you have to use small lines of different thickness to slowly build up different depths of shades (or rather, her, of highlights). I really love it, it looks almost magical to see the image slowly rise up from the black background, one line after the other.

      Jun 12th, 2011 Reply
  • Dynnnad

    Dynnnad

    This is beautifully made, love the shading and scene. Great work!!

    Jun 8th, 2011 Reply Hello
    • carles

      carles

      Thanks a lot. I wish I had the time to work on scratchboard again, it is a wonderful medium, but a very tedious one.
      Best wishes.

      Jun 8th, 2011 Reply
    • Dynnnad

      Dynnnad

      You are most welcome, you are definitely very good at it!

      Jun 9th, 2011 Reply Hello
    • carles

      carles

      Thanks. :-)
      Unexpectedly though (for me at least), this piece did not attract very much attention on Shadowness, contrary to my ink work. But fundamentally, it is kind of the "same thing", only in negative: you scratch thin white lines on a black surface instead of thin black lines on white paper. Funny ...
      Thanks a lot for the appreciation anyway,
      Best wishes,

      Pierre

      Jun 9th, 2011 Reply
    • Dynnnad

      Dynnnad

      Hehe, well sometimes it happens that a great piece doesn't get the attention it deserves. That's a shame but you never know, comments might come at a later time! :)

      You are most welcome! :)

      Jun 9th, 2011 Reply Hello
    • carles

      carles

      Well, I woudn't know if this is a great piece or not, but rather, I would love to be able to grasp what makes the other ones more attractive to the average viewer. One is a very poor judge of one's own work, usually.

      Jun 10th, 2011 Reply
    • Dynnnad

      Dynnnad

      That's very true, once you start thinking your work there's something wrong. I think you can only improve by being critical of your own work.

      Jun 10th, 2011 Reply Hello
    • carles

      carles

      Hi ! I was wondering why this piece received less attentions on Shadowness than my other ones, and then you said that comments may come after a later time. Well, it seems that you were right in an indirect way: it is going to be published in a collection of Vampire illustrations. The book should hit the shelves on September. Indeed, you never know ...
      Be well,

      Jun 15th, 2011 Reply
    • Dynnnad

      Dynnnad

      Oh congratulations on that! That's great to hear!

      Jun 16th, 2011 Reply Hello
    • carles

      carles

      Thanks. As soon as I am allowed to, I will put a link to the book. Best wishes.

      Jun 19th, 2011 Reply
    • Dynnnad

      Dynnnad

      No problem! Would love to see how it looks :)

      Jun 19th, 2011 Reply Hello
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