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Post by Hróðbeorht on Jul 8, 2014 19:28:44 GMT
For the longest time I've been working on a drawing to serve as a companion piece to a translation into Spanish of the Anglo-Saxon poem Wulf and Eadwacer. It's been an extremely slow process because literally everything in this drawing entailed something I had never done before, and I sort of gave up on the background because really, this is my limit. But here it is anyways:  (Right-click > View image for full size) The drawing depicts the female narrator of the poem confronting the wolf that most likely devoured her baby son ( bereð wulf to wuda). It's all in her mind, of course. Alternatively, the wolf could symbolize her husband, or her lover, or whatever, depending on your interpretation of this insanely ambiguous poem (which you can read here). Hope you like it.  |
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Post by Rǽdwulf on Jul 9, 2014 8:19:59 GMT
Wow, that's great. I especially like the wolf! And the illusion of depth in the background.
The hips of the woman seem quite narrow to my eye (though you can see such on real girls too).
All in all a wonderful effort.
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Post by Éadríc on Jul 9, 2014 9:37:23 GMT
Great work, Hróða!
Wonderful to see it so improved. I especially like the sheen of her hair. You must've worked on that part for ages!
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Post by Hróðgár on Jul 9, 2014 18:02:26 GMT
Wonderful work Hróða, I really love all the details in it. What did you draw it with and how?
A really extraordinary piece of art!
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Post by Hróðbeorht on Jul 9, 2014 19:37:53 GMT
Thank you, guys! Rǽdwulf, yes, her hips are very narrow. That was done on purpose to show how thin she is (even though it's not that easy to lose bone tissue  ). In the poem she says that she is sick due to her lover's "rare visits" ( seldcymas), not due to a lack of food ( meteliste), which I think suggests hunger would be what immediately came to mind upon seeing her. I think I overdid it, though - I wager she'd have had a lot of trouble to give birth to her earne hwelp! Éadríc, thanks for putting up with all the updates xD. Her hair was actually relatively easy to do, much to my surprise. It came together pretty quickly. The sheen was just a matter of applying a lighter colour first and then using the dodge tool a bit. Hróðgár, I used a Wacom Intuos 5 tablet (first serious picture I make that didn't begin as a traditional pencil drawing). I started with a sketch, then drew the lineart on top of it, and then went about looking for half a dozen tutorials for pretty much everything. Trial and error! |
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Post by Ingbrand on Jul 10, 2014 20:22:16 GMT
Very nice drawing Hróða! I like it.
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Post by Hróðbeorht on Jul 11, 2014 15:53:35 GMT
Ic þe þancige, Inga!
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Post by Æþelfrið on Jul 23, 2014 21:00:47 GMT
Amazing, broðor Hróðbeorht!
It's a very strong image to go with the poem. Splendid details (hair, pelt, plants) and overall depth. I would never have thought of a face-off between a wolf and a girl, but (re)reading with this image as illustration reveals even more layers. Have you noticed how much the eye flicks to an image when slowly reading a text (like a poem) next to it? In my eyes, you made a very thoughtful and fitting illustration.
To realize that this painting is only one part of the work you have wrought is simply awesome. I do not doubt it is the lesser of the two, as we already know your translation mastery and care for language. Scanning over your translation of the poem makes me wish I could understand Spanish so I could appreciate the depth of your work better. I see some handsome alliterations though!
Hopefully the translations reaches those to whom it can be of more use, but at least the image speaks a thousand words!
Also, Wulf and Eadwacer as a poem is very dear to me, so your labour personally appeals to me. Thank you very much for sharing a deeper understanding of it!
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Post by Hróðbeorht on Jul 26, 2014 12:39:10 GMT
Thanks, Æþela! I really appreciate your feedback, particularly coming from someone for whom Wulf and Eadwacer is special too, and who's an artist on top of that. I don't think my translation will reach many people, but hey, it's Google's no. 2 hit for "Wulf y Eadwacer" and no. 3 for "Wulf and Eadwacer" + "traducción"! |
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). In the poem she says that she is sick due to her lover's "rare visits" (seldcymas), not due to a lack of food (meteliste), which I think suggests hunger would be what immediately came to mind upon seeing her. I think I overdid it, though - I wager she'd have had a lot of trouble to give birth to her earne hwelp! 
