Cumaean Sibyl, Revised

UPDATE: I can't leave things alone. Simplified considerably. I think it's stronger for it too.

I revised this illustration a bit – original here. The scales are prettier and less cartoonish.

As envisioned by Gene Wolfe:

"As I had suspected, the Cumaean was not a woman at all; yet neither was it one of the horrors I had beheld in the gardens of the House Absolute. Something sleekly reptilian coiled about the glowing rod. I looked for the head and found none, though each of the patternings on the reptile's back was a face, and the eyes of each face seemed lost in rapture." Gene Wolfe, 'The Claw of the Conciliator'

This beautifully written description creeped me out: I just had to illustrate it.

Kinderfisch 2015

I revised an old image today to better fit with the style I've developed. I'm going to unify the faux Victorian nature pictures under a fictitious book title: 'Natura Prodigiosa'. (Bizarre Nature)

Frolicking Dragon

The Horror At The Museum

From an obscure short story. Pencil with Photoshop highlights and color.

The Cumaean Sibyl

As envisioned by Gene Wolfe:

"As I had suspected, the Cumaean was not a woman at all; yet neither was it one of the horrors I had beheld in the gardens of the House Absolute. Something sleekly reptilian coiled about the glowing rod. I looked for the head and found none, though each of the patternings on the reptile's back was a face, and the eyes of each face seemed lost in rapture." Gene Wolfe, 'The Claw of the Conciliator'

This beautifully written description creeped me out: I just had to illustrate it.


Sketch:



Illustrator template for scales, elements. Scales were done with custom made brushes.

Cumaean's face: in human guise, Wolfe described her as a crone. The face in the reptile's patternings were not described so, but it seemed appropriate.

Final: I omitted the hood from the Cumaean Sibyl's faces — too much! I also moved the source of the rays from the glowing rod to the Sibyls' eyes.

Detail:

Another Mechanical Fish

I was playing around with Illustrator, pondering how to create fish or snake scales elegantly, and I ended up with this image (I finished in Photoshop).

Update: I did a color version and added details.

Update: I changed the water, colored some scales a steel color, and made all the rivets steel.