Crossing the border

 Le sujet était aussi simple que ça... Un seul mot : frontière.
Après une réflexion sur ce que représente une frontière, je l'ai amenée de manière un peu plus poétique dans cette illustration... En effet, j'ai essayé de dire, à travers les caractéristiques de cette barrière, qu'une frontière appartient en même temps à deux mondes différents, tout en étant unique, car elle se situe à la limite et ne définit en fait ni l'un ni l'autre... Difficile à retranscrire en image! D'où la présence de ces petits oiseaux, pour rendre le tout plus accessible... =)

Oh! Et autre chose... Imaginons que cette illustration se trouve dans un livre de haïkus pour la jeunesse... =)

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The subject was as simple as that... One word : border.
After a reflection on what a border represents, I brought it in with a more poetic way within this illustration... Indeed, I tried to say, through the caracteristics of this fence, that a border belongs at the same time to two different worlds, yet being unique, because it sets at the limit and defines in fact neither one nor the other world... Hard to retranscript into a picture! Hence the presence of these little birds, in order to make the whole more reachable... =)

Oh! And one more thing... Let's imagine that this illustration is found into a haïkus book for the youth... =)

Couverture de roman

Premier gros sujet d'édition de l'année : une couverture de roman recto verso. Ci-dessous l'illustration complète avec les titres et textes ajoutés, puis ce à quoi ressemblerait la première de couverture seule.

J'ai choisi le roman Les Jardins Statuaires de Jacques Abeille, une histoire qui se passe à une époque inconnue dans un monde complètement réinventé. Un voyageur arrive dans ce monde et en découvre sa société, ses hommes qui ne vivent que pour cultiver des statues, son absence apparente des femmes, et une légende qui pourrait s'avérer être bien réelle.

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First big subject of the year : a double-sided novel cover. Above, the complete illustration with titles and texts added, and what the first cover page only would look like.

I chose the novel Les Jardins Statuaires (The Statuary Gardens) by Jacques Abeille, a story that takes place during an unknown period in a completley reinvented world. A traveller comes in this world and discover its society, its men who live only to make statues grow from the ground, its seeming lack of women, and a legend that could happen to be real.

Inner adventure

Cambronne, le temps d'un cours
Petit livret-accordéon de treize images, avec un format carré de dix centimètres de côté.
Le format et la présentation en livret étaient imposés, ainsi que l'intégration d'un moyen de transport à un moment donné de l'histoire, et d'un lieu de Nantes reconnaissable qui doit se retrouver dans le titre (Le Cours Cambronne à Nantes est un parc en centre ville).

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Cambronne, the time of a walk
Little accordion-booklet of thirteen images, on a ten centimeters square format.
The format and the booklet presentation were laid down, as well as the integration of a mean of transport at some point in the story, and of a recognizable place of Nantes that would have to be found back in the title (The Cambronne Walk in Nantes is a downtown park).

J'ai voulu intégrer une citation sur la quatrième de couverture, en rapport avec mon histoire. J'ai trouvé mon bonheur chez Victor Hugo et ses Contemplations.
"Chaque homme dans sa nuit, s'en va vers sa lumière."
En lisant cette phrase, quelqu'un avait pensé que le personnage mourrait à la fin de mon histoire. Je précise donc que ce n'est pas du tout l'intention, étant donné que c'est une citation sur le bonheur. A partir de là, je pense qu'il n'y a pas besoin d'autres explications... =)

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I have wanted to integrate a quote on the fourth cover page, related to my story. I found exactly what I wanted with Victor Hugo and his Contemplations.
"Every man in his night, is leaving to his light."
While reading this sentence, someone had thought that the character had died at the end of the story. I precise then that it is not my intention at all, because this is a quotation about happiness. Starting with that, I think there is no need for other explanations... =)

Return of the Jedi

  Pas le temps de poster quoi que ce soit cet été, mais je vais essayer de reprendre de bonnes habitudes en cette rentrée... En commençant par un petit croquis de modèle vivant, sur une pose de 20 minutes, à la pierre noire et réhauts de blanc sur carton... Un petit exercice en attendant le démarrage de l'emploi du temps officiel!

Et ci-dessous un travail datant d'il y a environ un an et demi, que j'ai retrouvé en faisant un peu de rangement et que j'ai trouvé plutôt rigolo. Une personne invisible s'habille...

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  No time to post anything this summer, but I'm going to try to take good habits again with this new school year... Starting with a little sketch drawn from life, on a 20- minute long pose, done with a "black stone" pencil and white highlights added, on cardboard... A little assignment while waiting for the start of the official schedule!

And right below is a work done approximately one year and a half ago, that I found back while tidying a bit and that I thought was quite funny. An invisible person dresses up...

Tristan & Iseut -Step 3 and final-

  Voilà! C'est terminé! Après deux mois de travail, il est temps de dire au revoir à ce projet et de s'attaquer à l'examen, dernière épreuve de cette année. Ensuite, je pourrai enfin me consacrer à mon autre projet, qui m'attend depuis plus d'un an maintenant, je crois...

En attendant, voici toutes mes planches terminées... Le texte devrait être lisible en agrandissant.

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   That's it! This is over! After two months of work, it is time to say goodbye to this project and to start for the exam, final proof for this year. Then, I will be able at last to devote myself to my other project, which is waiting for me for more than a year now, I guess...

Until then, here are all of my boards finished... The texts above each images are not the literal translation of what I've written, but it will give the main points I think.

 After an uncommon childhood, Tristan happens to be in Marc's faithful service. People around him tell Marc to find a wife, and after having received a blue piece of hair, brought by two birds, Tristan says that he knows whose it is and that he will go to find the young lady. Once he arrives to the place he wanted, he has to fight first a dragon in order to ask for the young girl to his father as a reward.

Tristan won the dragon, but is still hurt. Iseut takes care of him, but when she goes to take back his clean clothes, she sees his broken katana. There is a piece missing on it and she recognizes that it's the piece they had found in the head of his uncle, dead during a fight. She instantly hate Tristan and almost kills him with his own sword. But he tells her some things so well that she decides to leave him alive. She accepts then to go for the castle of Shugo the next day.

Iseut's mother, feeling that her daughter won't be happy, gives her servant a love potion for Iseut and Marc to drink to. But on the boat, the heat is so big that Tristan and Iseut both are very thirsty and drink the love potion. The curse has started. They passionately fall in love with each other.

 Now, they both can't live without the other, but they still have to hide because Iseut still is the wife of the shugo. And every night, Tristan is waiting his beloved under a cherry tree, after he sent her some pieces of woods right to her room, floating by the water.

 Too many doubts are settled around the lovers and Tristan takes Iseut with him to live in the woods, hidden. On one night, Marc is told about the place the two people will spend the night at, and so he runs to it, ready to kill them both. But when he see them, he also noticed Tristan's katana in between, out of its sheath, and he recognizes into this gesture a sign of chastity. He lets them alive but exchanges his ring with Iseut's, in order to show them he came by and that he has been merciful.

 Eventually, Tristan brings Iseut back to the shugo, but she must still sustain the fire test : if she can tell the truth, the fire won't do any harm to her. The lovers have then to imagine a trick. Tristan disguises himself into a beggar and helps Iseut to get down of the boat leading them to the little island where the test will happen. So when Iseut stands in front of the fire, she says that no man ever held her in his arms except Marc and this beggar who just helped her.

 But time is for Tristan to say goodbye to Iseut still. Because he leaves, she gives him a ring thanks to which he'll be able to ask for her at any time. She will come. On his side, he gives her his dog.

Tristan lands on a new area, where the shugo's castle is in danger. He helps them to fight, and the shugo married him to his daughter, Iseut with Pale Hands, as a reward. As he can't forget his one and only love, he confesses to Kaherdin, brother of his wife for now on, who becomes his best friend.

 

But after several attempts to see Iseut again, among which a huge misunderstanding resulting in Tristan thinking Iseut doesn't love him anymore, he decides to leave and find her without telling Kaherdin, nor anyone else. In order to enter Marc's castle easier, he disguises himself once again, but this time into a Nô actor. He tells in front of Marc and all of the people there about his love with Iseut, but noboby believes him and even his love doesn't recognize him, until his dog runs to him to welcome him.

 

 Tristan makes the promise to Iseut that they will soon be together forever. For now, he must go back to Kaherdin and get prepared. But on his way, he fights in the middle of the battle where he's fatally hurt by a poisoned arrow. In his death bed, he asks to talk to Kaherdin alone, and gives him the ring so he can go for Iseut, and they will see each other one last time. If he can come back with her, he will show the white sail. If not, it will be the black sail. But Iseut with Pale Hands heard everything of their conversation...

 Kaherdin did come back with Iseut but when Tristan, unable to move at all, asks his wife to look at the color of the sail, she's so jealous that she answers it is black. Desperately sad, Tristan lets himself die... Just before Iseut arrives. And she lets herself die as well, by his side.

They are buried next to each other, and some cherry tree branches start to grow from Tristan's tomb to Iseut's.

Now, sketches!!