taking a break from drawing people for a while. i've been drawing animals instead, so here's ishmael as a dog lolz
apologizes for the incredibly long absence, i've been dealing with a lot in terms of school and work over the past few months. but i hope to get back into posting on this blog!! i'm excited to do more analysis and come back to this community :)
strolling in fashionably late to the two year anniversary of the greatest musical adaptation of Moby Dick of all time, Caleb Hayashida's 'Moby Dick or the Whale'. I've been thoroughly enamored with this album for over a year now and it only felt right to do a tribute for its birthday :)
now, go do yourself a favor and listen to Sea Fever 💙💙
some notes about the details I added under the cut!
Some notes on this as a tribute!
Firstly, as always, my Ishmael design is stolen from the beloved @pocketsizedquasar :3
Secondly, the primary songs captured by this piece are meant to be 'Interpretation', 'Whiteness of the Whale', and 'Whaleman's Hymn'. Interpretation is primary, since that song refers directly to the painting at Spouter Inn, and Ishmael's attempts to interpret it. (Aside: it's a brilliant song that foreshadows chords repeated during the chase, it confuses and delights the listener much like book Ishmael's ramblings do, and it odes to the album itself being an interpretation of a novel. also it's a bop. I fucking love it.) The whale in the picture is, you guessed it, the whale song. That one I felt was important to center as Hayashida himself intentionally put that song at the center of the album as a focal point for the rest to follow around (and for the narrative to break inside - give it a listen, the end is incredible). It's literally the centerpiece. And finally, the lyrics are from Whaleman's Hymn, the gorgeous ode at the end of the album.
Ishmael is also posed as both moving and stagnant in the center as a reference to the cyclical nature of Hayashida's album. It ends with the same lyrics it begins with ("I must be out to sea"), and so here, Ishmael meant to be caught in the space between both of those songs. Moving and yet unable to move from where he is.
The watery effect was particularly inspired by Drifting, as that song fills me with an immense sense of peace and gives me the feeling of laying down at an aquarium watching the light of the water dance around. It also helps make the mood of the piece a bit more dynamic, as the looming painting, dissonant colors, and heavy shading all feel a bit foreboding, and the water effect both enhances that by giving an unnatural feel, and subdues that by communicating a semblance of peace and muting the colors.
The oil effect and jagged colors of the piece itself are references to the official album cover art! The flaming harpoon's colors are mimicked in the red light at the top of the painting, and the bright teal/white is mimicked in the whale at the bottom. They're also positioned over each other, just like on the album cover.
The painting itself is also supposed to be reminiscent of The Chase, in all its chaotic glory. Hayashida has an INSANE stroke of genius with that song where, at a certain point, two different time signatures overlap to show the whale opposing the crew/Ahab. The blend is so smooth that it's easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, and yet so brilliant that it makes you anxious for the buildup and final clash. The saturated opposing colors are supposed to be something of a nod to that, as well as the nature of the painting being a sinking ship and a white whale lol
So, yeah those are my notes! :D thank you for reading and definitely give this masterpiece a listen!! 💙💙
also sorry but a conversation from yesterday made me go reread chapter 92 on ambergris from moby dick and i had to see this again with my own two eyes. ishmael you're a weirdo, i love you
Ishpollit, Dolstoy and Prince Andrei x Sky for the ship ask, please
Ishpolit
Pros: The fanfiction for them is so good i can’t wait for it to update, the dynamic of ippolit hating ghost stories but ishmael being part of a ghost story 👀, ippolit is best kuragin and deserves love
Cons: Not canon 💔
Dolstoy
Pros: ALSO has impeccable fanfiction, pretty much canon with how often Tolstoy describes Dolokhov’s eyes
Cons: Dolokhov might’ve been based off Tolstoy’s cousin
BolkonSky
Pros: The way he describes the sky makes me 🥺💖, canon, my favorite Andrei ship
Cons: Honestly I prefer skucy, he moves on a little too quickly after Lise’s death, not enough good fanfic
[ID: A digitally drawn photo of Queequeg and Ishmael from Moby-Dick, kissing. Ishmael is a lean white man with short, wavy blond hair and sideburns. He is wearing gray pants and a gold wedding band. Queequeg is a muscular Māori person with warm brown skin, short, curly hair in a top knot style, and many intricate tattoos over his face and body. He is wearing dark pants and a gold wedding band. Both are shirtless.
Ishmael is sitting on Queequeg's lap, with a hand on his face and the other on his chest. while Queequeg holds him with one hand on his neck and the other on his back. They are kissing each other with lips parted in tender smiles. End ID.]
sooooo this was partially inspired by finding an adaptation of MobyDick that refered to these two as friends rather than a canonically married couple lmfao and I Needed to draw them being gay about it. congrats to the canon homosexuals in mobydick
anyways. this is what friends are for 😍🙏🕊✝️💖😍🙏🕊✝️💖😍🙏🕊✝️💖amen
