Steampunk Myths and Legends Entry: Mélanie Delon

#1

Mélanie Delon is entered in the “Steampunk Myths and Legends” update: View Challenge Page

Latest Update: Final Image: Trapped

#2

Hi there !
I choose The lady of Shalott for the myth/legend, I found it rather fantastic and could be funny to do in a steampunk style (which is not mine but I’ll try my best :slight_smile: ).
So! This famous lady is trapped in a tower by a magical spell, she can only watch the real world through a magic mirror, and she’s condemned to weave what she sees in a tapestry.
Now, my “steampunk” version will take place in the tower’s room, while she’s weaving some zeppelin war scene , the room will be quite dark and with a lot of objects/details in a 19th century style.
I don’t want to do something too much mechanical, I prefer to keep the whole thing “believable”.
There will be some kind of tiny clowny robots on the floor, destroying the tapestry. Also in the aquarium I would like to put a reproduction of the famous Nautilus, as I plan to add a lot of Jules Verne references, which is probably one of the main inspirational sources of the steampunk movement.
The whole piece will be full of symbols of freedom and imprisonment.
I’ll try to detail as much as I can the painting process :slight_smile:

#3

wow,great to see you here melanie,thats a nice concept uve got for a start,lets see more progress:)good luck mate

#4

wow, it’s really great to have you in this challenge! i’m subscribing right now.
I like your concept a lot!

Just one suggestion… maybe the mirror itself can be the “steampunkish” machine… it may have some crazy clockwork mechanism, or something like that, and it should be enough, i think. Just an idea.

Good luck!

#5

More details. I’m trying to find the good composition.
I’ve resized the illustration, added few objects like the piano and the clock.

Her dress will be quite simple, black with some golden embroideries.

#6

Ooops, thank you guys!

For the mirror, yes your idea is pretty good, I’ve not decided what I’m going to do for this element but I’ll try to add some mechanical things in it :wink:

#7

Melanie it’s great to see you here! I love the composition and pallette - good luck with it, I know it’s going to be a beauty!

Phil

#8

You work quick, like this idea, can’t wait to see what else you have in store. :smiley:

#9

oooh this will be excellent, I’m sure! Looking forward to more Melanie:wip:

#10

I had been toying with doing the Lady of Shallot myself. I think you’re off to a great start, here. As for the ideas with the mirror, there’s a lot you could do just making it look like an ornate Victorian brass-framed mirror without actually making it mechanical in any way. I really like your style, and I think it certainly counts as “steampunk” without gratuitous mechanical details.

If you do want to put in something more mechanical, you could do something with the Lady of Shallot’s loom… “There she weaves by night and day/A magic web with colours gay…”

#11

Oh I like this a lot. The only thing I can think of as a critique is that she seems a little dwarfed in all that space. I wish she was just a little bit bigger… but perspective wise it works, so… shrug

#12

it’s a pleasure to see you here Melanie! :bounce:
love all your works! this is going to be a masterpiece! :buttrock:
i wish you good luck! :thumbsup:

#13

PMD, thank you very much! :slight_smile:

natzuur, yes I can work pretty fast at this stage, this will be different for the details, I’m usually very slow for the detailling, refining part :stuck_out_tongue:

Intervain, Thank you! I’ll post another wip and the robots concept tomorrow :wink:

vmulligan, thanks, I do like a lot the story too, it’s very sad but so romantic. For the mechanical part, you’re right, I’ll try to do something believable so I don’t want to put mechanical parts everywhere :slight_smile:

Mercuralis, true, maybe when she will be more finished the size won’t be a problem anymore, but I’ll keep an eye on that :wink:

nwiz25, Thanks a lot :blush:

#14

Excellent concept and i love your paintings.
I like the theme and it is really enjoyable , i think the suroundings have a retro feel :thumbsup:
I m waiting for updates on this.

#15

Added few details, like the design on the floor (as you can see, I made it on another file), the plant and another painting on the wall.

I?m pretty satisfied with the composition, I?ll now start working on her face :slight_smile:

#16

Hi Melanie !

Been really pleased to see you in , I love your work , and it should be priceless to see the painting in progress ! looks great already !

cheers , et bonne chance :slight_smile:

-Zapan

#17

Ah Mel! It’s about time we see your presence here. It’s good to have you in the competition!

I like the mood and palette you’ve chosen for your piece so far.

#18

A bit late, but I didn’t find the time to update the entry before today :confused:

Anyway, here is the concept for the little robots.

#19

Another update, for the face this time. Not very sure about the red lipstick, but I’ll leave it that way for the moment, because I want her to have a very pale skin, and red lips could make a great contrast.

#20

I’ve fixed the dress design, there will not be a lot of pattern just some golden embroideries here and there, as the background will be very detailled I prefer to keep her very simple.
I’ve also added a tree, I want to play with the fact she is trapped in her small world and so the tree is a kind of reference to the small japanese garden with bonsai and such.