That Art Meme

[rowyn]

I just squeaked in on octantis's edition of this meme (squeee!) so here's mine: I'll do a sketch of the subject of their choice for the first five people to request one and repost this meme* in their own journal.

* If you don't like sketching, it's fine with me if you change it to the creative activity of your choice.

Comments

[rowyn]

Of course your post counts! I don't think I'm going to get up to five anyway. Whatcha want? :)

[octantis.livejournal.com]

It's a vanity, I feel embarrassed for it! But... it's actually a small gobbet of writing. A word-sketch, if you will.

I'd like you to do an intro for me or any one of my characters, as if one of us were being introduced in a story you were writing. Doesn't have to be complimentary or glowing, doesn't matter what situation we're appearing in, could be friendly or menacing or funny or matter of fact.

Some of us imagine being a cameo in a movie, I imagine doing a walk-on in books. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. XD

Oh, and for the Laughing Lady, about how old does her modern incarnation look, relative to a human? You mentioned her statue is younger and more beautiful, so I need to get an idea of the context to place both appearances at.

[rowyn]

No fair! I was doing the drawing version of this meme! I actually thought about offering a writing version but didn't 'cause I wasn't sure I did. But the "doesn't have to be complimentary or glowing" line sort of grabbed me and I wound up doing yours out of order. Inspiration is a harsh mistress. :)

The Laughing Lady's "real" version looks "older" not so much because she's wrinkled as because she's stern and hardened, if that makes sense. She has kind of a middle-aged, mature look. If I were to try drawing her, the statue would have smoother lines and curves and be more slender, with an open, unguarded expression. The living one would be thicker, more angular, have a longer nose and a neutral expression. Not a dramatic stark difference, but a distinction.

If you were a character in a story I was writing

[rowyn]

This is how I'd introduce you:

---

This is Octantis.

He has a fine Irish name and Asian features to not match, making him quite thoroughly American. He has straight black hair that cascades down to his hips, the sort of hair that women envy, that cutting would be criminal. His muscles stand in sharp definition beneath his skin, not because he is fit but because he is preternaturally slender. Not skinny, with ribs and shoulder joints protruding like a famine victim or a fashion model, but an elfin slimness, with no fat and just enough muscle to cover his frame.

Octantis possesses remarkable talent and creativity. His skillful construction lends grace to even his rough sketches; in the stages of his art the viewer can see how simple shapes build to complex forms. He has an eye for composition, for motion, for animation: his subjects are seldom content just to stand and be viewed. His mind is alive with stories and characters, with settings and ideas. He writes as well as he draws, or better: each character endowed with a unique voice and distinct mannerisms, with individual passions, hopes, and fears. Each setting is rich with possibilities, with unusual ideas and outlooks. Different ones suit different mediums: he plans them as novels, or comics, or role-playing games, or video games.

But perfect characters are boring; every person must have his flaws, and Octantis is no exception. For Octantis, you see, knows one of the great and terrible secrets of the universe: nothing matters.

“What?” you say. “How can you call that a secret? You just told it to me!” True – but that doesn't mean you know it. When your best friend breaks the serving platter from your wedding china and you say “It doesn't matter,” you're only pretending. When Octantis says “it doesn't matter”, he knows it's true.

He is chronically late, when he doesn't forget altogether. He starts and stops new projects with wanton abandon. He will spend hours laboring over a sketch only to discard it for no reason. “It's nothing important.” Nothing is. Even the games he plays cannot hold his attention; like art, like stories, like work, like life itself, they are of no consequence. He drifts through life, sleeping often, and doing this or that thing to pass the time. Sometimes doing useful things, because they matter to other people. That's not enough to make them matter to him, but it's enough to make him pretend that they do.

He wishes it were true. He wants something – anything – to be important. But wishing doesn't make it true.

Like an actor on the stage of his life, Octantis asks the director: “Where's my motivation?”

What he does not realize is that the director is waiting to see what he'll do ....

---

I don't know why I used the present tense for that. I hope it's okay. O_O;;;

Re: If you were a character in a story I was writing

[octantis.livejournal.com]

I think it's -wonderful-. I think it's sometimes a search for insight that makes me look for thinks like this, and this is very insightful and elegant. Thank you. :)

I'll do both the modern and statue incarnations. ^_^