NaArMaMo Day 9

[altariel]

Back to pictures from my novel. This is an apartment block. My hero's best friend lives around here, and he will kip on his floor at various points.

This was a much harder task than I anticipated, but I think I'm pleased with it. I'd like the left-hand side of the main building to be not wonky. And my lines to be slightly more relaxed and suggestive.

Comments

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Everyone's drawings are so good it's making me slightly wish I hadn't committed myself to photography.

Is this entirely out of your head? It's great.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Gosh, not from my head, no! I had a source picture to work from, although I altered it in places (because I'd got the proportions a bit wrong, so I needed to adapt it).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Wow, the people in your book are obviously stinking rich. I'd like to know more about your society.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

This one's an apartment block, so there are lots of people living in it (and you can't see the brickworks in that picture, which are just down the road!). So not as posh as some of the last places I drew. (Whoever owns the building will be loaded, though!)

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I like it. And I'm intrigued by the idea of you drawing these places that you're creating in the novel. Are the images already fully formed in your head when you're writing, or has thinking about the drawings actually added something to your mental images?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I usually have a strong sense of place and location when I'm writing, because of learning to write based on TV shows, where the set is of course extremely important. So it really helps to have a strong sense of the space characters are inhabiting. With an original piece, of course, I'm having to do all the damn set design! :-D

I knew I needed Roman-style buildings, so I googled for them. For this picture, and the country house, I used drawings of Roman tenements and villas, and adapted them so that they were more what I wanted. So I had a rough idea of what they were like, and then I found a picture that coincided more or less to work from.

With the country house in particular, which I changed quite a lot, I found that adapting it made me think about how and why the owner had been able to build it, so I ended up with lots more backstory for him. All to the good, since he is a most significant character!