forgot to upload this to tumblrāa paint-sketch of Hephaistion from Dancing with the Lion by @jeannereames, based on the final scene in Rise! Was such a joy to read these books, so many neat historical details and depth given to the characters š„°
me when im SOOOOOOOO normal about greek mythology and curses and what not. anyway i like to think orestes a little hesitant abt matricide on the journey. when your cringe god bestows you with some fucking task
my Alexander design as a teen, around the time he first took over as regent (around 16 years old).
as usual, design notes and alternate version under cut (Ėµ ā¢Ģ į“ - Ėµ ) ā§
I am not sure if I got the teenage vibe across just right. I wanted him to be Not Quite Bulked Up at this point, I imagine he was more on the skinny side as a kid because of some anecdotes about his upbringing by Leonidas and he's only now catching up. He kinda reminds me of a lynx, large hands and feel but otherwise a tiny boy.
His hair was originally ginger but the glow layer made it look gold, oops.
I avoided any scars on him for now, I still think I could have added some bruises or a scraped knee, but I let it be in the end. The only one I included is a scratch mark on his cheek that is about to form into a lifelong scar :)
I'm not sure if the kausia could ever possibly be purple. I've seen some discussions about whether it was felt hat or leather, but it looked good with the outfit as is. Sandals referenced from a statue. Who knows, leather can be dyed after all.
The pattern on his chiton is references from Vergina tomb wall paintings! I tried going for a colour border at one point but hated it, so gold it is for our golden boy.
As for jewelry, as much as I'd like to deck him out in gold, I kept it light. I don't remember the specific fibula I referenced anymore, but the belt with the heracles knot is real! Referenced from a belt from 3rd century BC, a bit after his death, but I liked it a bit too much to skip it. Also! His regency ring! I liked the note in Fire From Heaven about how his first order of business was to get a strip of gold to make the ring fit him better. My take is that he just wears it on his thumb instead, until he grows into it proper.
Last but not least, the alternate take! I wanted him in black to properly show him wearing rich expensive fabrics, but he just looks so nice in this lighter shade, too, and you get to see the details a little better.
I updated two posts in a week, because I'm planning on going for a hiatus after that. I plan to complete a longer animatic that I had on my files from March, design character sheets for my OCs for Art Fight 2026 and finally start a short comic about... I won't reveal yet. See you later!
My copy of The Charioteer is the one with the boy staring sort of creepily from the cover, so I played around and made a new one inspired by pulp fiction-y books from the 1940s-1950s š
Lmao, though, I love the disclaimer on that one vintage cover āThree men plunged into struggle with their unnatural loveā and likeā¦ hm.
Started re-reading The Golden Mean recently since I heard itās getting a Netflix adaption (huuuhhh?!) some sketches along the way
Itās been 10+ years but... I did always remember enjoying this portrayal of kid Alexander as someone quite off-putting compared to most of his literary counterparts
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