Artist recommendation?
Aug. 12th, 2008 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikI had an idea for an image that's going to be notably hard to pull off. For a change it has absolutely nothing to do with my own character, no worries there. :) It's just an image that popped into my head a while ago that I can't get out, so I want to see it painted. It'd be worth a good bit of money to me if I can find the artist who can pull it off. If you draw Asian style dragons or know commission-taking artists who do, give this a read and let me know what you think. Thanks!
The idea is for a painting of an Asian dragon who is a metalworking craftsman. It's based on the idea of 'how would a dragon use modern-world tools and his/her own ability to do craft work'. The result would be a fusion between glassblowing techniques and O/A (oxygen/acetylene) welding methods.
An OA torch is nothing more than two pressurized gasses hooked up to a gun (the 'torch' itself) that mixes them so they'll burn. One gas line is green and supplies oxygen. the other is red and supplies the fuel, acetylene. The two are lit and make a very hot flame that can be used to weld. To cut, however, the flame is only used to pre-heat and get things started. Then the operator presses the trigger on the torch to start a high-pressure flow of pure oxygen. The oxygen is what actually cuts the metal, once it's hot enough to start to combust.
A typical small-sized OA kit consists of two bottles, regulators, the twin red/green line and a torch, such as this:
In glassblowing, the craftsman is working with a blob of molten glass on one end of a rod and blows into the other to inflate and/or shape it. For small parts they often use a small tube that hangs out of the corner of the mouth. Here's a sample image of that, yoinked from Google Images:
My thought is this: A dragon would have no need of fuel, like the acetylene in an OA kit. They have fire! But dragon-breath is a bit of a blunt instrument. Good for burning the occasional village or carving big holes in things, but not so good for artistic expression on a smaller scale. What if an Asian-style dragon took to detailed metalwork as a hobby? How would he do it?
I could see one perched at a workbench, working on a small project. Being a long-bodied Asian-dragon type, they'd probably be curled around their seat and desk in interesting ways. A small, hand-held cutting torch in one paw (who needs gloves? dragons sure don't), he'd be cutting out a pattern in a piece of 1/4" steel plate, the molten metal-spray spark-tumbling off the workbench below. As for equipment it'd be just a more fit-in-hand version of a normal OA torch. The green line would go to a small O2 bottle off to one side of the desk with the usual regulator. The red line would be a little more armored (to take the heat) and would split off to the edge-of-mouth tube that the dragon was blowing fire through. Simply puff through the tube and use the gun-tip to narrow the flame to a point, and there's your pre-heat, for shaping and bending hot metal with the fingertips. Pull the trigger on the gun to blast O2 into the equation and there's your cutting flame. :)
I figure that to a dragon, this would be a low-impact/low-risk activity, like we might view sewing; something you could do at the kitchen table. Since the stereotypical Asian dragon could handle molten metal with no more than the occasional 'ooh, hot!' shake of a paw, it's no-worries. However, some goggles would still be required as a cutting flame would be many times brighter (and thus eye-damaging) than normal dragon-fire. But hey -- dragons look totally bad-ass in steampunky welding goggles. So it all works out!
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An image like this, done up and printed on a big canvas (20x30 or so) would be absolutely amazing. It's the kind of art I'd really want to have hung up in my house (or shop). If done right, it would appeal to dragon fans, glassblowers and welder types -- or just makers/fab-fans in general -- as it'd be using familiar equipment adapted to a unique use. That's why I want to commission it from someone who can do a bang-up job on it, if they're out there and want to do the work. :) Any suggestions for who to pitch this idea to, inside or outside the fandom?
The idea is for a painting of an Asian dragon who is a metalworking craftsman. It's based on the idea of 'how would a dragon use modern-world tools and his/her own ability to do craft work'. The result would be a fusion between glassblowing techniques and O/A (oxygen/acetylene) welding methods.
An OA torch is nothing more than two pressurized gasses hooked up to a gun (the 'torch' itself) that mixes them so they'll burn. One gas line is green and supplies oxygen. the other is red and supplies the fuel, acetylene. The two are lit and make a very hot flame that can be used to weld. To cut, however, the flame is only used to pre-heat and get things started. Then the operator presses the trigger on the torch to start a high-pressure flow of pure oxygen. The oxygen is what actually cuts the metal, once it's hot enough to start to combust.
A typical small-sized OA kit consists of two bottles, regulators, the twin red/green line and a torch, such as this:
In glassblowing, the craftsman is working with a blob of molten glass on one end of a rod and blows into the other to inflate and/or shape it. For small parts they often use a small tube that hangs out of the corner of the mouth. Here's a sample image of that, yoinked from Google Images:
My thought is this: A dragon would have no need of fuel, like the acetylene in an OA kit. They have fire! But dragon-breath is a bit of a blunt instrument. Good for burning the occasional village or carving big holes in things, but not so good for artistic expression on a smaller scale. What if an Asian-style dragon took to detailed metalwork as a hobby? How would he do it?
I could see one perched at a workbench, working on a small project. Being a long-bodied Asian-dragon type, they'd probably be curled around their seat and desk in interesting ways. A small, hand-held cutting torch in one paw (who needs gloves? dragons sure don't), he'd be cutting out a pattern in a piece of 1/4" steel plate, the molten metal-spray spark-tumbling off the workbench below. As for equipment it'd be just a more fit-in-hand version of a normal OA torch. The green line would go to a small O2 bottle off to one side of the desk with the usual regulator. The red line would be a little more armored (to take the heat) and would split off to the edge-of-mouth tube that the dragon was blowing fire through. Simply puff through the tube and use the gun-tip to narrow the flame to a point, and there's your pre-heat, for shaping and bending hot metal with the fingertips. Pull the trigger on the gun to blast O2 into the equation and there's your cutting flame. :)
I figure that to a dragon, this would be a low-impact/low-risk activity, like we might view sewing; something you could do at the kitchen table. Since the stereotypical Asian dragon could handle molten metal with no more than the occasional 'ooh, hot!' shake of a paw, it's no-worries. However, some goggles would still be required as a cutting flame would be many times brighter (and thus eye-damaging) than normal dragon-fire. But hey -- dragons look totally bad-ass in steampunky welding goggles. So it all works out!
An image like this, done up and printed on a big canvas (20x30 or so) would be absolutely amazing. It's the kind of art I'd really want to have hung up in my house (or shop). If done right, it would appeal to dragon fans, glassblowers and welder types -- or just makers/fab-fans in general -- as it'd be using familiar equipment adapted to a unique use. That's why I want to commission it from someone who can do a bang-up job on it, if they're out there and want to do the work. :) Any suggestions for who to pitch this idea to, inside or outside the fandom?
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 10:40 pm (UTC)Outside, I'd say go for Vinod Rams.
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Date: 2008-08-12 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 10:50 pm (UTC)http://www.reptillian.com/index.html
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Date: 2008-08-12 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-08-12 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 11:48 pm (UTC)By contrast, european dragons are associated with fire and metal, and are highly interested in fine material things. I could definately see one taking a pro-active approach and deciding he'd like to make the best things of his hoard with his own two claws rather than wait for it, an admirable drive.
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Date: 2008-08-12 11:53 pm (UTC)I can't seem to get a good view in my mind of a more traditional western- or european-style dragon that'd fit in this image. This may simply be a lack of imagination on my part.
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Date: 2008-08-13 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 12:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 11:52 pm (UTC)thoughts
Date: 2008-08-13 01:10 am (UTC)Firstly, why necessarily an Eastern-style dragon? IMHO, Western dragons would be just as likely to pick up this kind of hobby, if not moreso (Easterns are traditionally related more to water -- rivers and the like -- than fire)...unless it's just a personal preference.
As for who could do this, I suggest you check out the gallery of Nambroth (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/nambroth). She does some amazing stuff (including professional, outside-the-fandom work, like cover-art for novels), and I think this idea of yours might intrigue her.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 07:30 am (UTC)http://www.backbreaker.com/Gallery/Index.php3?ID=FA023