Paradox Header Contest Entry

[renisanz]

Title: Paradox Header illustration & design
Artist: renisanz 
Medium: pencil, Photoshop CS2
Rating: G
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: The pencil lines are my own.
Notes: This is my entry for the header contest at sheldon_penny .

Teaser:

I don't think I'm very good at brainstorming design ideas. I've done A LOT of Sheldon/Penny art recently, but I decided to draw something completely new for the contest. I wanted to draw something that was fun and captured the dynamic between Sheldon and Penny, with hints of flirtation but nothing overt. Honestly, I was very pleased with the resulting drawing, particularly Penny's hair and shirt and Sheldon's eye and eyebrow. And the ornamentation of the oval. ^_^

Pencil illustration:


So then I had this drawing had to figure out how exactly I was going to make it fit the already established design of the community.

I started off just coloring the sketch with no idea of what wold go around it. That wasn't going well, so I placed it into a 400 x 700 px, 72 dpi document and copied the color layers to that and scrunch them down to fit. For some reason this was easier for me, and the design evolved from there. I experimented with different stripe combinations of the colors from the palette. I used a vintage wallpaper for the texture. The only downside of this is that I don't have a hi-res colored version.

The design:


After I was done with the design, I screencapped the sheldon_penny front page and placed the design in to make sure that it actually worked with the design. I purposedly made the inside edges of the green bars line up with the tabs, yes. Seeing it like this helped me decide if I could stand staring at my own artwork for the foreseeable future.

Misc: I love drawing canon clothing, so I used Penny's shirt from "The Financial Permiability" and Sheldon's shirt from "The Terminator Decoupling."

Design preview:

So, that's my process for this.

Feedback is welcome and lovely. :)


Comments

[bja727.livejournal.com]

I love it, it's so cute!

[misskoum.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how much I love this! Penny looks so coy and cute! And Sheldon looks like he's trying very hard not to be . Your art is so inspiring.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you. :) Penny is definitely wearing him down, though. :)

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[misspopuri.livejournal.com]

I love the old family frame feel of the picture. Ovals make me happy for some reason. ♥

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

*hee* That's cool. Thanks.

I don't know why I decided to do it like that. I just liked the idea of a vintage feel, or maybe that's the feeling I got from the color palette at sheldon_penny.

[linake.livejournal.com]

I love it! You got them down perfectly in this. Penny's eyes, Sheldon's wonderful profile... Mmm. I really like the old-timey floral brushes you used for the background, too.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) The background is a combination of hi-resolution stock of vintage wallpaper and a floral design.

[linake.livejournal.com]

Also, and this may be random, but I saved it as my iPod unlock screen. I hope that's okay! *^_^*

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. Wow. That is very cool. I don't mind at all. ^_^

[juniperlane.livejournal.com]

Man, I don't know what it is about the hand on his chest, but it does funny things to my inside. This is adorable in nine kinds of ways :)

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) There's something strangely sensual about it, right?

[mrssnape13.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking that the oval reminded me of one of those antique cameos and then you mentioned the old timey wallpaper, so I had to squee! :D I'm a big fan of antiques/anything done in a similar style, so I really like the mix of that and these two very modern characters! It's a really great pairing! :)

And Penny's hair is amazing as usual. :D

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

really like the mix of that and these two very modern characters!

Thank you. I did want the contrast between the modern and antique to come across well. :)

[kitkaos.livejournal.com]

Oooh, shiny! :D

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[eiko82.livejournal.com]

That looks awesome. Great job!

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[sa-4-geeks.livejournal.com]

I adore everything about this. Is that a bit of color in Sheldon's eye or am I seeing things?

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

No, that's definitely a glint of gray-blue that you see. ;) Thank you. :)

[penny-parsons.livejournal.com]

This is so prettiful!!!

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[elffriend26.livejournal.com]

I cannot tell you how much I adored this. (I voted for it.)I like Penny's flirty look, and I'm a big fan of that sort of noble/haughty way Sheldon has of holding his head sometimes, so I find this breathtaking.

The finished design reminds me of the cover of a storybook/scrapbook like I'm going to open the cover and find the story of Penny and Sheldon inside.

Really wonderful job.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the vote. :) I'm really glad you like it. I wanted the drawing to be like a portrait of the two of them, taken just for us.

[corpsebride05.livejournal.com]

Your artwork is Beautiful!

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[d-sieya.livejournal.com]

Oh, hey, this is the one I voted for! I loved the background and the texture, and their likenesses are spot-on. Penny's eyes really jump out and, hello, jawline. Wonderful job!

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Cool beans! :) I wish I had a more effusive reply, but thank you. :)

Oh yes...I really wanted to highlight their features, so I did take extra care with getting the likenesses since people may have had to stare at this for a while. :)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

This is the one I voted for, too. Love it. I think your illustration of Sheldon and Penny here is one of your best.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) I wanted this to have the feel of being a candid portrait so I did put more effort into this having a more finished look and have greater accuracy in the drawing of their features.

*icon &hearts *

Wow!

[(Anonymous)]

This has got to be my fave! You really got Penny! Her eyes! This has got to be the best so far!

Re: Wow!

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[sorryno.livejournal.com]

I really love this. You captured them both very well.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[searingidolatry.livejournal.com]

It's really wonderful, you captured their likenesses perfectly.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :D

[boosh-smeg-who.livejournal.com]

Oh my...that is just SO beautiful. I love the way her hand isn't just resting on his chest, but sort of coming up a little to sit along his throat, like she's feeling him...it's very subtly sexy. :D

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Wow. The only thing I can say is that you really got what I was trying to do with this drawing. :) Thank you. :)

[februarymoon942.livejournal.com]

So beautiful!

I really love the way you draw hair, especially the linework - it reminds me of Art Nouveau.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's definitely the style I was going for (Art Nouveau). :)