Enami Katsumi Clumsy Parchament Magic

Well here I am again.. it has been a while yeah :D.. and it was a bit difficult for me to submit this wallpaper. But hateyou, Bantam and ShiNN were helpful and thus I am finally able to show you a new wallpaper I am currently using myself. I am not a big fan of Saber (even though I of course do like her :D (honestly: who doesn't :P)). I am dedicating this wallpaper to my fellow Paper People. Hope you like it too.

** First: the technical part. ** I used Photoshop CS4 and Illustrator CS4 (the former for composing, effects and some manual retouch work and the latter for the vectored curved rulers you see on the sides). That's it. It took me about an hour to extract Saber from the scan and another 3-4 hours for creating the composition. I used stock photos from sxc.hu as well as brushes from ObsidianDawn. My aim was to use Scans and stock photos to create a scene reminding you of a table of a master.

And here I come to _ the story I had in mind _ when creating this wall: One evening a master (I say master on purpose) hears of a legend saying that by using parchament and painting something or someone you love from the bottom of your heart, you can join this very situation and literally live your dream. The master knows what he wishes for the most and thus sits day after day at his desk - day and night - and draws and paints on magic parchaments.

While he finishes the background he thinks of a beautiful woman and remembers another legend of a strong woman we all know by the name Jean d'Arc. However this legend is about a woman, who made it beyond a symbol. She became a king, fought vicious battles in the fields and conquered countries. But on the inside even the strongest woman has a soft core - at least he thought that. He imagined the sadness she seemed to experience and did the best he could to draw her in a happy moment on an early morning. He creates a preparatory drawing and just when he finishes painting her on the parchament along with a scene, he is not careful enough and so the painting is blotched by some ink. In his fear of losing what is precious to him, he uses the preparatory painting to dab the ink away, but fails and this is the moment I tried to catch.

Long story short: I hope you like it as much as I do. I tried to transfer my feelings into this work and hope you enjoy it. Critique and +favs are always welcome :).

dS.

edit: okay. Finally it's done! I improved the wallpaper by removing the second Saber and adding the text of hollow ataraxia instead... you might now ask "WTF.. Hollow Ataraxia?" - I like the song.. not more than "This Illusion" (Game), but still.. and the text suited the sizes of that parchament just perfect. I added a note at the top-left that it's hollow ataraxia.. actually it isn't.. but oh well.. I just hope you like it more now :)

Keep up the comments and suggestions - I am always open for good ideas! Enjoy.