Of art (and roses and batwings!)

Recently I've had quite a few new followers, so thank you very much! I hope you enjoy your stay at the Ballroom.

Last month, I participated in a couple of art contests on Deviantart, so this is essentially an art post. The two contests had to do with very different fandoms, but the common thread was Halloween (but of course).

The first contest was related to Avatar: the Last Airbender. In fact, it was hosted by the Ursa x Ozai (or, Urzai) fanclub on Devianart, of which your host is a proud a moderator/co-founder. I love Urzai at any age (or timeframe, or universe, or....), but most especially teenage Urzai. So for the Urzai + Halloween contest, naturally I had to combine it somehow with gothic-and-lolita.

In Night's Arms

Isn't Ursa adorable in her loli? While I admit that I couldn't decide what sort of sleeves and so forth  to give her, that isn't the only reason for the conflicting features of her coordinate. You see, I decided that I liked the effect of having having bits of different outfits combined. It's as though you can see two separate sides of her, or two interpretations of her "fate," or...I can't really explain.
You may recognize the reference to the "red string of fate," a bit of Japanese folklore that I'm not nearly as familiar with as I'd like to be. But it seemed fitting: sort of ominous and romantic at the same time, which is very fitting for Urzai.
Speaking of ominous, yes, Prince Ozai does indeed have batwings. And claws. (And fangs, though you can's see them...) A form in which I can never pass up a chance to draw him. In fact, the first time I drew him in this incarnation, he singlehandly inspired an entire race of batwinged, fire-affiliated spirits that have haunted my stories ever since. <3

Do any of my readers, by any chance, like Visual Kei? How about roses? The band Versailles? Their vocalist? Speaking of that last one...the second contest's theme was "Kamijo + Halloween" (hosted by The Kamijo Fanclub on Deviantart). I drew inspiration from Versailles' song Zombie, as it's very Halloween-sounding (albeit rather atypical compared to the band's usual sound).

Graveyard Prince

I never knew it would prove so useful to know how to draw someone sitting with their legs crossed! (That seems to be the preferred pose of Kamijo-sama, so I ended up incorporating it into the piece.) Those boots of his actually weren't quite as hard to draw as they looked, thankfully. Which is a good thing, as those are Quite Some Boots.

I love using bits of red (especially for roses and blood--they're both so romantic! Yes, I'm serious) in an otherwise greyscale piece of art. One of my favorite things about this picture, though, is the splash of gold and blue for his hair and eyes. It's so startling in the context of a spooky haunting scene, you know? And odd as this may seem, it makes me think of a "rose that blooms even in the shadow of the grave"--which seems like an idea Versailles would like very much, even though I'm not doing a very good job explaining it, I fear. I guess it's because golden  hair makes you think "prince on a white horse" sooner than "gothic vampire." (Although Kamijo tries to be both--and succeeds, in my opinion--and of course, nothing says that gothic folks can't be blonde. I'm proof of that. If I count as blonde.)

The text is from Zombie; it says (roughly translated) "By the master's orders, beat the bones! Sing along with the song of the bats!"

If you'd like to view these pieces on Deviantart, please step right this way (er, click right this way?):
In Night's Arms
Graveyard Prince

I've been wanting to produce more finished art, especially art featuring my characters (most of whom are gothic or lolita -esque in some way or other). So if I complete any more pieces along the lines of these, I'll try to remember to post them.