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dotsweare — J: Our Golden Trio
Published: 2014-08-09 22:13:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 1819; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 5
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Happy eighth anniversary, Captain of Providence!From left to right: Selene, Stéphane, and Philippe, the three main protagonists of our eight-year project, Captain of Providence. The year is 1725, the backdrop Cherbourg, a hamlet in northern Normandy, France. Its maritime climate and pastoral landscapes make it an ideal spot for its residents, while its spot at the crossroads of the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean make it an ideal place for traders and merchants to stock up. During the Spring and Summer months, the streets of the town bustle with vendors and spring to life with the rich jewel tones of imported textiles and the pungent aromas of spices from the Far East. The Vanguard Inn is the hub of this action, and both visiting sailors and regulars from the town frequent the Vanguard every night for fiddles, firelight, faro, flirty barmaids, and a pint or two of ale. Outside of the city is a patchwork quilt of estates owned by the upper class, punctuated by mansions that overlook the bay and horse-drawn carriages. And, as always, like a great guardian, the sea stands watch, with the sounds of the waves crashing in the bay serving as the city's heartbeat.
Stéphane is the bastard son of a Spanish gitana. His father, to this day, is unknown, although his mother suspects he was a Moroccan trader who spent a single night at port. After doing multiple odd jobs around town, he finally got a position as a cabin boy aboard a ship that was later discovered to be part of a smuggling ring. Stéphane rose to the ranks of captain, a stint that was short-lived as his crew was soon arrested. While Stéphane awaited his sentence in prison, Thibault, the Marquis of Cherbourg, hinted that the shipping company he funded was in need of a new captain, and that a pirate captain who knew was the only one foolhardy enough to head the mission. Stéphane heads the mission in exchange for his freedom, but gets more than he bargained for when the beautiful Selene entered the picture.
Selene, the daughter of shipping tycoon Bertrand, leads a very comfortable upper-class life and is close to her mother and fiancee. However, when Stéphane enters the picture, she is simultaneously intimidated and intrigued by this tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious fellow.
Philippe is the financial advisor for Thibault and Bertrand's company. He and Stéphane often butt heads due to their completely disparate personalities (Philippe goes by the books, while Stéphane relies on his life experience and intuition), but deep down, those two really do care about one another. It will take a lot for either to admit it, though.
Selene's choker has an embossed profile of her father, Bertrand. Stéphane is holding a flintlock pistol. Part of his outfit is an homage to Jack Sparrow. Philippe is reading Pensées by Blaise Pascal, an Enlightenment writer and contemporary of Rene Descartes. That's pretty much all of the random trivia there is.
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Stéphane, Selene, Philippe, and Captain of Providence belong to dotsweare , no stealing please! fabric textures by SilverLotus-Stock and Snowys-stock (no way could I do those myself!) Nothing else was eyeballed or copied from an existing picture. Too many hours on GIMP
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Comments: 7
You...I don't even know where to begin with this. I realized that I missed seeing your work, but...I'VE REALLY REALLY missed it! I just love all the effort you put into detailing your stuff, and without fail, here you do it again! There are just so many things to look at, but nothing is cluttered in my opinion, and yet you can see something new everywhere you look. That to me in itself is a wonderful aspect. But then let's get on to the specific details I love!
I love how I feel like I can almost even see the profile of Selene's father in her choker, the freckles on her arm, the tiny lace in her bodice, and the pattern you used on her dress! Even though you didn't make the pattern, the way you used it is commendable. It actually LOOKS like it's on the dress, which is something I find difficult to do sometimes.
Stéphane--I'm so impressed with how you managed to make his skin tone look so..right. I'm not sure how to put it, but the reason why I don't have any darker-skin-toned characters is because I can never get their skin tone to look real, or natural. But you sure know how to do it. Also, I thought I saw some resemblance in his clothing, haha. Love that detail. And with Stéphane, I realized that there's an epic wind going through their hair that's consistent between all of the characters. Who doesn't love an epic wind, and an accurate one at that!
And Philippe. He's always been my favorite for some reason--it must be his lacy-ness and how much of a gentleman he seems. <33 and his glasses <3 Love the tiny detailing on the embroidery of his jacket. That's just lovely. If I could, I'd pay to have you design me some dandy clothes, you make gorgeous ones. *u*
Oh, and I have to add that I REALLY like how you do these anniversary-type drawings, where you redraw them every couple of years. That is GREAT and really shows how you improved, or how your style has changed. And it shows how much growth has gone into your characters, which I'm sure is a beloved thing for you! Hands down a beautiful piece, in so many different ways.
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J:
<3333333333 THANK YOU!!! I love long and insightful comments like yours-- they make arting worthwhile <3 I'm so glad you can see something new every time you look. That's such a huge compliment and it made all of the hours of painting individual details worthwhile. 
The profile on Selene's choker kind of got lost during the resizing process, but I'm so glad the other details weren't. Selene is a very freckly person, despite her constant efforts to protect her skin from the sun. XDD
I used to have trouble drawing darker skin as well, and Stéphane still looked very Caucasian as a result. I think what helped me overcome my fear of drawing darker skin, believe it or not, is all the Jafar pictures I had drawn over the previous year XDDD Drawing my all-time favorite villain was definitely good practice for practicing new skin tones and different facial features. LOL! Love love looove Jack Sparrow. <3 That belt slung over his chest is a good look for Steph.
Aww yes, Philippe is my favorite, even if we technically shouldn't play favorites with our babies. 
Redos are VERY fun to do! Not just for the improvement, but sometimes you just need to revisit old concepts to reconnect with your characters. 8D
Thank you again!!! I always love your comments ;-; <33333333333333333
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I have to admit that I don't usually leave super insightful/long comments, because I'm not very good at words--but I just had to tell you exactly what I liked. <3 *U*
Your characters are all so lovely. ;u; (especially Philippe, now that you tell me he's panicky and not very street-smart, I just like him even more, LOL)
You're welcome <3
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This is such a fantastically detailed piece- I love the windswept sunset behind them and the way the lighting enhances the grass and waves is incredible! I love the embroidery on Selene's gown and Phillipe's coat and the smoke from Stephane's pistol is a clever touch!
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J:
Thank you so, so much! I love your comments!
The embroidery was probably the most time-consuming part because there were so many details, but it was worth it. Thank you! <3333333333
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K:
IT’S BACK
AND I AM LOVING THE FACT THAT IT IS BACK!!!
As I have expressed to you so many times, I just love the fact that you have revisted this picture over time and updated it! It really is such an awesome way to see not only how our babies have developed as characters but how well your art skills have improved!
With that said, those art skills of yours have definitely been kicking Gimps ass! Honestly, I think the fact that you’re using Gimo and that it requires a lot more of your own work rather than relying on filters and overlays has done wonders for you! You can see the hand work gone into this and it’s a great way to challenge and conquer difficult obstacles that would have been solved with an overlay or filter on Photoshop! In an odd way I don’t miss PS as much as I used to, sure, it had a good drawing canvas but Gimp and Sai seem like really good replacements these days.
But now on to our babyboos!!!!
Philippe is looking AMAZING!!
Yes, I can see the DHP in him, there is no doubt about that at all! WHICH IS A GOOD THING! You’re so good at capturing our inspirations in their faces and if I can tell who it is just by looking, wowzers!!! I love his hair too! I can see that you gave him rather thin hair which is pretty much what DHP has (given the way it’s receeding now, luckily Phil won’t go down that road for a LONG time to come lol). He is wearing his standard blue too, that’s like his unofficial uniform! I love how they kind of have an unofficial colour code to go by! And you even went to the trouble of researching books of the day too, that’s such a clever idea! AND HIS STANDARD PONYTAIL! I like how that is the one thing that remained through AOU! We know it isn’t the desirable fashion of the day but that just shows that Phil isn’t a total conformist and can still think for himself too.
STEPH! Stephane is looking SUPER fab!!!
His dark skin! I LOVE his dark skin! I love how you weren’t afraid to not only give him his dark skin but to give him a heavy tan on top of that! And why not? This man was born and raised in the sun, he’s gonna be hella tanned out of all these French-pale people. It’s another good way to make him stand out among a crowd too, despite how hard he tries to fit in when he needs to! HE ISN’T A J_ACOB SITTING IN THE CORNER, SHIRTLESS, WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE AND BEING A DRUNKEN ASSHOLE!
I love how outfit! Again with the colour code that suits him so well. I love how he’s totally dressed up here, he wouldn’t be the kind to “dress up” for obvious reasons but when he does clean up, dang, he cleans up well!
He totally needed a pistol or a sword! I know, it’s insanely cliché but damn it, clichés are fun and he needs them both at least ONCE!
He still has his facial hair too, shaving just isn’t something he can stand doing everyday and who the hell can blame him? It’s not like he can just whip out the electric Gillet and plug it into the battery charger LOL (EVEN IF THEY WOULD HAVE IN AOU!)
And there is our lovely Selene, looking ladylike in every way!
I love the fact that she has her hair down, another subtle way of showing that she isn’t a total conformist of the day either. Well, she is, but when it comes to the crunch she will defy status and do what is necessary! That is also to say that we know she doesn’t run around with her hair down being all “WHATEVER, I DO WHAT I WANT!” she very much fits in when it comes to the fashion scene. The little flowers in her hair are a great touch too, she’d always have some kind of little trinket or diddy in her hair, you can just imagine how many little hair clips, ribbons and other assortments she’d have on her dressing table in her bedroom! It may also be a nice easy gift for Stephane to get her too when he’s away! There’s always a native place and shops that sell those kinds of accessories and he’d know how she loves those little things and would get her some different kinds from where he travels. That would be a fun topic for her amongst her social crowd too, the origin of her hair clips made of Jade from the far east ETC!
I loveeeee her dress! That is her dress!!! I know she’d have a couple of others but I bet that’s one Bertrand had especially commissioned for her on her 18th birthday or something sentimental like that! It’d be made from the finest silks and fabrics too.
And her choker <3 that’s so lovely!!!
OF COURSE I HAVEN’T FORGOTEEN THE BACKGROUND!!!
That background has improved just as much as the characters themselves!!! I love how that grass actually looks like grass, each little strand has TLC written all over it! But I seriously love the distant town though, you went to so much trouble and hard work with that and it paid off!
You’ve always kicked so much ass when it comes to doing skies and clouds! I love how the clouds look so fluffy and the way that sunlight just bounces off of it! The water is the same as well, you kick ass at reflections!!!
YOU HAVE MANAGED TO OUTDO YOURSELF YET AGAIN ON THIS PIECE AND I LOVE SEEING IT!!! OUR BABIES ALWAYS MAKE MY DAY AND I SWEAR I’LL DO SOME BABY ART SOME TIME SOON TOO!!! IT’S NOT RIGHT IF ONLY ONE OF US IS DOING IT XD
LOVING THIS AND THE ARTEEST OF COURSE <3333333333333333333333333333333333 
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J:
AWWWWWWWW YAY A LONG MATHTER COMMENTFIDJFOSJIFODSJFKDJ <3333333333333333333333333333
YES!!!! TIS BACK!!!! LOL! It's definitely the best way to see how our babies have developed as characters. Improvement is only a side effect XD Even between 2011 and now they've changed as we're less focused on historical accuracy and gave the story some artistic license. We're really free to explore them as characters without wondering "Is this really what they'd do back then?"
We need to write the story and then submit it for publishing. Seriously!!!
I said it before and will say it again-- GIMP SUCKS. At least now I tweaked it so it will let me work with a larger resolution. LOL still those first few pictures were a huge learning process. You're working wonders with Sai and need to do more! Moooreeeee
YAAAAYYY I'M GLAD YOU CAN SEE THE DHP! LOL! And not just in the chin I hope! XDDD He has those more delicate facial features... yes, and thin hair! No doubt Phil's will end up thinning and receding as he gets older, not nearly to the extreme that DHP's has by now, but his forehead will definitely look higher when the kids are grown. XD The ponytail is in fashion in 1725, no need to worry about that, and it gives him a very scholarly look. LOL I too love how the ponytail was the only thing that remained XDDDD
Steph totally rocks the dark skin! I could see his father being unknown, like a merchant from Morocco who stayed at port one night and decided to have some fun with the (also dark-skinned) gypsy dancer. Unfortunately, he was not the only one she had slept with, so not even Steph's mother knows who his father was, nor will either of them ever find out. Some things will always be a mystery! Steph probably had a couple of brothers or sisters, and they all basically lived as the gypsies from HBOND did, until Steph finally ran off, stowed away on a ship (there was probably FOOD there and he was hungry), was found out, hired as cabin boy, and the rest is history. LOL UNLIKE J____ACOB WHO WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIS PARENTS TO HANDLE SO THEY GAVE HIM TO POOR AIDEN XDDD
Once Selene meets Steph, she learns she really likes being free to do as SHE pleases. Can't wait until Steph brings her to the Vanguard and Bea pitches a shit fit and Bertrand is all "Whatever" about it because he knows Steph was able to keep her safe XDDD Awww yes that dress is special to Selene, as was the choker! It's the one memory she has of her father and always keeps it on her <3
AWWWWWW THANK YOUUUUU <33333333333 YOUR COMMENTS ESPECIALLY MAKE ARTING WORTHWHILE!!! I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE IT AND THAT I DID YOU PROUD! YOU BETTER ART SOMETHING TOO! OUR BABIES MUST BE REVISITED AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE <33333333333333
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