Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop
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For the past month or so, in between working on Elias & the City of Cats and The First Reich, I’ve been sneaking in progress on my first zine.
Here are a few closeups of some pencil work for the zine:
As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.
Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.
Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.
Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.
For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”
Best of luck!!
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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
February 19th, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Is it the seven princesses of hell just guessing . I am enjoying your blog
February 19th, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Thanks for your guess and kind words! Think more along the lines of ONE of the seven princes of hell…
Best, G. E.
February 19th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
The Faerie Queen? (Spenser)
February 19th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Lara: Thanks for your guess! But try again!
Best, G. E.
February 19th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
The prince of hell would be Asmodeus but the poem is beyond me.
February 19th, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Very good!
But Asmodeus (Prince of Lust) is only ONE of the SEVEN princes of hell and is not the ONE prince the poem alludes to. Try again!! –G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 12:59 am
Awesome illustrations!
I came over to check out yours… will have to stop by again later (when I have more time – so much to explore here 
)
Thank you for finding my blog
February 20th, 2013 at 10:10 am
Thank you so much!!
I admire your use of color, and look forward to following you work! Best regards, G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 11:46 am
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me
Cheers, Jana
February 20th, 2013 at 6:36 am
It’s not Mephisopholese from Faust is it? (Tht’s my final guess)
February 20th, 2013 at 10:01 am
As much as I adore “Faust”… I’ll add some more hints a bit later if you’d like to try again!
–G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 8:17 am
I’m just going to guess and get my Englush degree wheels spinning and say “Leviathan”
February 20th, 2013 at 10:06 am
Nice guess!
Leviathan (Prince of Envy) is also one of the seven princes of hell! But not the prince in the poem. Try again! –G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 10:13 am
Oh boy…it’s not Mammon is it? The prom by Watts? (Gonna kick myself if it is)
February 20th, 2013 at 10:16 am
Oh, you’re getting so close!!! Mammon, Prince of Greed, is indeed the correct prince of hell! But Watts is not the correct artist. Try again! –G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 10:24 am
It’s Spenser, isn’t it? At last it came to me… Unto a gloomy glade
Was always more of a Browning and EBB fan, myself haha
February 20th, 2013 at 6:55 pm
Sorry it took me a while to respond, was at work. Close, but no cigar! Think of the original Pre-Raphaelites and try again! –G. E.
February 20th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Yeah, I was guessing on my lunch break.
Looks like I’ll have to hit the old school books
February 20th, 2013 at 10:13 am
Poem not prom! Gah!
February 21st, 2013 at 8:12 pm
It’s fun to get to see the beginning. It’s sad to say my English degree has not served me so well…I can’t think of a possibility not already mentioned!
February 21st, 2013 at 9:36 pm
I’m glad you like my zine so far! I’m afraid I’ve made this contest a little too difficult… I’ll be truly impressed if anyone gets the answer. I think one of the stronger hints that’s been uncovered through the comments is that of Mammon.
Best, G. E.
March 7th, 2013 at 11:19 am
[...] Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop and First Zine Progress and Contest!! [...]
March 30th, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Your line work is so clean and smooth o_o
March 31st, 2013 at 12:06 am
Wow, thank you so much!!
I’d like to practice using watercolors and gouache in the hopefully near future, and your work is beautiful — have any helpful tips? Best regards, G. E.
March 31st, 2013 at 12:54 am
Do you have paint/brushes/paper already?
A lot of people draw outlines of what they’ll paint with a light pencil and then color it in, but I never do anymore. I mostly just pick a color or two that I like and paint with each one individually without really mixing on the palette much. Of huge importance is controlling the water on the brush and in the palette, because in watercolor adding more water to a paint is basically the same as adding white to an oil paint because the white of the paper itself acts as the white for watercolor. With gouache you can sometimes paint over top of something, to an extent, and lighten something after the fact, but in watercolor you can pretty much only make something darker as more paint further obscures the white of the paper. So a lot of people will paint lightly at first, with highly diluted paint, to get the basics and then deepen the values with successive layers of less diluted paint. Cheap paint won’t work the same as better paper, but is good for practicing the control of the brush without the pressure of not wanting to mess up the better paper.
Handprint.com is the single best resource for information on watercolor brands and paints, but the information is aging a big since it’s been a while since the last tests. I’m normally on “The Learning Zone” forum of wetcanvas.com discussing things like different pigments and what brushes people like. My username over there is yellow_oxide.
March 31st, 2013 at 1:18 am
Wow, awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to give me advice — it’s truly appreciated!!
I currently don’t have any paints, etc. of my own, but I occasionally steal, I mean borrow, from my mom who’s an abstract painter that uses mostly watercolors (http://www.gallerieciti.com/zweiartist).
In the past, I always use way too much water with the paint, ha ha ha. My sister, a costume designer, likes using gouache — but I feel it might be a bit too opaque for my intentions. I like the idea of building layers from light to dark — that’s basically how I work with grey-scale markers for my graphic novels.
Will definitely check out handprint.com!
Thanks again!!!
–G. E.
March 31st, 2013 at 1:37 am
I normally use 300lb paper because it can handle a lot of water without buckling and without needing stretching, which I never do.
If you do get paint it’s more economical to get the larger 14-15ml tubes instead of the tiny 5ml ones, because the large ones are normally 3x the paint for around 2x the price. Amazon can have some REALLY good deals sometimes. Actually right now if you search for “basic 5-color set” of M Graham watercolor they have one that’s currently $28.26 (plus free shipping) but has a retail value of $69.10. M Graham makes some of the better watercolors. If you were to get them individually at retail prices those same tubes in the set would be between $12.25 and $22.95 each, depending on the color. Amazon’s prices on paint and brushes change like crazy though. One day a paint will be $20, and a few days later $35, and maybe a week or two later $15. I don’t know why.
I have too much paint ._.
March 31st, 2013 at 1:07 am
I mean cheap paper won’t work the same as better paper.
April 2nd, 2013 at 11:49 am
[...] Worked on first zine. [...]