paperlegends 2011: Merlin Big Bang art for junkshop_disco
I signed up as an artist for the 2011 Merlin Big Bang over at paperlegends, and I was lucky enough to work with the fantastic junkshop_disco, who wrote an OMGAMAZINGEPIC Gwaine/Merlin fic entitled "A Fistful of Infinity and Starlight". I can't recommend this fic enough. If you're a fan of Gwaine, of any and all the minor characters in Merlin, of long plots, of romance, angst, good writing, and great humour, of watching characters struggle to understand each other while striving to be the best human beings they can muster up the courage to be, then you'll love this story. I highly recommend it, and not just because I'm obviously biased.
I loved it so much that I went ahead and built a castle to illustrate it. Yeah, you read that right--for my fanart, I built a castle out of cardboard and papier-mache and populated it with a wee Gwaine, and then I took some artistic photos to show you. Click behind the cut for pictures and commentary. WARNING: THIS POST IS INCREDIBLY IMAGE HEAVY.
One of the things that stuck out to me about this fic is the role played by the setting. The characters' relationships to Camelot and ultimately their love for it is foregrounded in a few key scenes, and the way they relate to Camelot is symbolic of how they relate to the positions they're in. I wanted to convey these feelings about the setting in my depiction of the castle, and hopefully the following pictures will do it justice. I told junkshop_disco that it made me think of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind"--Camelot is the New York of Albion!
this is the back view of the castle, and if you look closely you can see the outline of a backdoor. Open that up, and you find...
Sir Gwaine, Knight of Camelot, putting on a brave face and learning the meaning of honour the hard way. I don't want to spoil the story, but those who have already read it will know the significance of the inside of the castle being lined with music.
thank you kindly for looking ♥