Yet another one of those LOL Qi Ye just has that power over me. You know the drill; more info below!
I'll go straight to the point: my main reason to draw this was because I wanted to draw the most somber, dark-looking Helian Qi possible with some dark cross-hatching effect.
And because I don't want to draw a Helian Qi solo image because who the HELL does that, I had to turn it into an ensemble cast thing again. I just REALLY like to do that for Qi Ye, for some reasons!!!
For a general note, first: shading was a PAIN but making a nice composition and thinking about how to make a hierarchy that both works in terms of storytelling and visual composition was fun. I also liked finding out the "color scheme" to use and I do like lineart.
So, now, little notes about each character, and the obligatory name poster just so I'm sure we all know whom I'm talking about:
Jing Beiyuan: I've mentioned it before but drawing Beiyuan is like. The easiest for me, I think, out of ALL Qi Ye/TYK characters combined. He happens to have my general goto "pretty face" (which conveniently has peach blossom eyes). I'm happy with how he turned out here! And got to put the sable around his neck which makes for a nice additional touch.
Helian Yi: He's easy to draw as well and I'm glad with how the guan turned out. He initally looked sideways, but I liked it better having him wistfully stare into the distance.
Helian Zhao: has the exact same face as in the other, coloured poster, and that cracks me up bc that wasn't even intentional.
Helian Pei: GDI I find him so hilarious. He looks so done and out of it. Shout out to all his bird as well, which, I find, really complete the look.
Helian Qi: I can't possibly say that I love him as an antagonist because there's nothing to love about this literal trash, but I'm still grateful that we got some of the most rancid stuff going on in Qi Ye just because of him and I'm always here for that. He deserves the villain visual treatment, at least. He was VERY fun to draw and I tried to push that nasty grin and shading as much as possible. He turned out exactly how I wanted him to! (the shading on his face and the balance of light and shadow was a bit of a challenge, actually)
Wuxi: Again, a rather easy one, always pleasant to draw! I loved working on his hair (but complained a lot while doing so)--which I think turned out nicely.
Bai Wuchang: Finally! Finally I draw him!! He had to be there, since he's like. The base of the whole Qi Ye plot. Lining him was....... a pain, but at least it looks nice.
Su Qingluan: nothing much to say--I think it's always important to have her there in Qi Ye stuff, and I put her next to Helian Zhao because of how he tried using her--but it did make me feel bad for her when I realised that.
Song Ping'an: The real star of the show, lowkey, but always alert and present.
Feng Xiaoshu: FINALLY. PRINCESS JING'AN. I'm sorry I took so long to draw her. I want to work on a proper design, I swear. To make up for having completely forgotten to include her in the other spread. I'm so sorry. I like how her face turned out!
Liang Jiuxiao: I never, ever, EVER get enough of drawing him. Have I mentioned how much I like him? How much of a great surprise he was reading Qi Ye? How many times I've wanted to high five because finally someone is as confused as I am? I love drawing this very specific smile on him, SO satisfying. Also Bichen said he was "THE Qi Ye antagonist" and I live for that LOL
Zhou Zishu: do I really need to say anything atp
Jiang Xue: I'm so sorry I put Xiao Xue next to ZZS. The cruelty. But she came out really cute didn't she T_T
Anyway that's it. I'm still obsessed with Qi Ye and given my current (totally secret) retranslation project I'm nowhere near done going crazy about this book.
This had started as a sketch, waaay back as I was still reading Qi Ye. The original is pretty different from this (I considered adding it in the post but I actually don't like it anymore haha), but the plan was already to make this big spread with most of the -more or less- important cast.
I will add here some thoughts about the whole piece, and I guess, Qi Ye itself.
My main goal was probably to express my deep and intense feelings for Qi Ye, its grandness, and its awesome cast-- and along with that, flesh out my mental image of each of them, their personality, their style.
Here is a table with the names, so we know who is whom, and so I can add some details about my perspective on them and their design.
Jing Beiyuan has always come quite naturally. I just go for the "prettiest face" I ever came with in terms of : my own taste, and the features I find the most delicate. I'd argue he's the easiest character to draw for me across both QY and TYK. On this image, he's probably around 16 or 17. I find his expressions to be very fun to work on in general.
Ping An is also quite an easy character to draw, just for how specific Priest is when describing him.
Wu Xi's design is mainly inspired by a discussion with my friend Hanya, who talked about how, in SHL, Wu Xi more resembled a northern shaman than a southern shaman. It made me want to explore the designs and characteristics a bit more, and come up with more colourful fabrics, patterns, and darker skin color. Same goes for Ashinlae and Nuahar, to have them matching Wu Xi's aesthetic.
Ming Hua was included in this just because of the mess the mention of his name caused in the story. The two jealousy tantrums are just so delightful!!
Su Qingluan was made to resemble Jing Beiyuan, of course. What I wanted to reflect in her face was her frustration, mainly.
Ji Xiang and Hua Yue... Well. Nothing particular about their design either, but they had to be there. Of course, of course they had to be there.
Finally, an opportunity to draw Zishu with his fan and henchmen! Not mad that he kinda looks like a villain, here.
Lu Yu!! I drew him with an Ashinlae mask, since he disguises himself as Ashinlae. I included him because he matters a lot in my headcanons about Siji Manor. (it isn't specified, in Qi Ye, whether or not he's actually part of the manor, but I like to consider that he is for various reason that I may detail if I ever make a Siji Manor post)
I'll skip Jiang Xue and Liang Jiuxiao because their designs are steady for me, now.
I hesitated a lot for Helian Pei's pose, but ended up going for this one (looking bored, out of his depth, lost in the distance with his birds around him). I considered showing him with a bird in his hands, but I guess that's not the main vibe I get from him. And then, well, golden, flashy clothing, suited for an emperor.
Helian Zhao had to be in a showy armor, and I hated making it because it's so much work, haha. I took inspiration from an armor in NiF. I'm quite happy with how he came out in terms of both vibe and showiness.
I tried going full out on Helian Qi. Making him the villain that Qi Ye deserved. Dark, showy, elegant and horrible.
Helian Yi is also pretty solid for me, by now.
About the illustration itself, the main challenge was definitely to make a nice colour palette while still differenciating all the characters. I wanted to go with something intense, eerie, that could also complement the main tones I would go for (= red, purple, blue and green). I'm quite happy with how the golden tones, along with the green and reddish lights, make the whole thing come together. I struggled a little bit with the composition at first, but once I got the flow and the main figures down, it just happened quite easily.
Anyway, I'm quite proud of this, and hope it conveys the love and admiration I have for Qi Ye well.
Inspired by that scene from Prince of Egypt with Moses and Tzipporah.
This is how I imagine their life together in Nanjiang: Wu Xi waking up, getting ready and kissing his husband before going to his activities as Great Shaman.
Having just had a coughing fit and then been slapped mercilessly by this kid, Jing Qi angrily thought, “Has this little bastard been sent by my enemies to punish me?”
-Lord Seventh, Chapter 2 (personal translation)
or, well, we can be a bit nicer:
He thought he had forgotten everything after these hundreds of years, but the moment he saw this young man, those faded memories came flooding back like the surging tide.
-Lord Seventh, Chapter 2 (personal translation)
The first person to greet our titular character upon waking in his titular seventh life. The man who somehow manages to keep the Prince Nan’ning estate afloat (in spite of Prince Nan’ning himself). Manager of basically everything let’s be honest, without whom Jing Beiyuan’s entire life would most likely fall to ruin. That’s right, we’re talking about Song Ping’an!
I’ve always been a names person (really; I’ve made name lists since I was at least ten years old), and I love digging into what names mean, especially when they’re fictional characters whose names have so much potential significance. And Ping’an is truly a gem in this regard, so I’m here to share my thoughts and observations about him, and why his name fits him so perfectly.
Sharing this in honor of Ping’an’s spotlight month at @immortalwanderers! ♥
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