Pages

Monday, February 23, 2009

Baba Yaga Sketch -

Here's my first stab at non-cutesy, non-sparkly, non-young-girl drawing in several years. Having fun with the individual elements - still nudging the composition before moving onto value and color.

Baba Yaga is an intriguing figure in Slavic mythology. One of my favorite versions of her is done by Ivan Bilibin. Mine differs significantly, but for some reason I have an unreasonable fondness for her.

11 comments:

Jennifer Rose said...

this looks great :D I love all the detail, lots to look at and see. I love her face, lots of character :D

Gretel said...

Crikey, that is evil! Andy is still scared stiff by the thought of Baba Yaga, I'll have to show him this...

Anonymous said...

Ooh, nice! You should look on Amazon and buy some Russian Fairy Tale dvds. I have one called The Golden Horns, that has little girls mushroom hunting in the dark forest and getting turned into goats by Baba Yaga. It's corny as all get out, but the art direction is great! There are a series of them from the 60's by the same director, and many of them have Baba Yaga! Her house on chicken feet is wonderful!

d. moll, l.ac. said...

I love the animals in this especially, though I think the Iguana looks a bit cute and sparkly.........

The Art of Kim Kincaid said...

Lookin' good, Tara. It's got to be the cabin with the chicken legs that pulls you to her. Have you ever read O.S.Card's book, Enchanted? Baba plays a big part and it isn't pretty. This will be fun to watch. Keep sharing.

Rima Staines said...

Bloody hell she's great!
Hooray for Baba Yaga I say.. I have been sketching her lately too....
I was looking forward to seeing your work after noticing your twitter about her :)
I like that Ivan Bilibin sketch too...
Hope you are well and happy...
Rima x

Soozcat said...

Your Baba Yaga is awesome. Enjoying all the detailed paraphernalia in her kitchen.

This image nudged a long-ago memory of reading "Baba Yaga" by Ernest Small and Blair Lent. Her chicken-legged hut was both fascinating and fearsome, and the fact that she rode around in a mortar and pestle was captivating to me. For some reason the detail that stands out in my head was Lent's illustration of the samovar in her kitchen. I'd love to read it again.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I am a wee bit worried for the frog she is holding.

Cat (darklingwoods) said...

Yipes! You did a wonderful job! I always found her the most fearsome!

Koldo Barroso said...

Great drawing Tara! It will be great to see it finished. I've always wanted to illustrate Baba Yaga...

natural attrill said...

I like the way you can see the drawing through the layers.
P.x