The Illustrations of Elowen, from

(c) 2003 Emily C. A. Snyder, All Rights Reserved
Printed by Arx Publishers

Of all the characters from Niamh, Elowen has been one of my favorites to attempt to draw. Surprisingly, though, she went through several incarnations before she finally settled on the version that appears in the book (see right). The means for illustrating Elowen is a good example of photographic manipulation, a media of which I've grown increasingly fond. For example, the finished picture is a posed photograph of my friend, Merry (thanks Merry!) outside of the cafeteria on my alma mater's cafeteria.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Buuut, I thought, I could sufficiently change the image to fit the dark Elowen (2). Unfortunately, manipulate as I could, I simply could not manage a completely black and white, satisfactory picture. I had to try another way.

The second attempt
was also made in the traditional manner. Dragging out my sketching notebook, I attempted to draw Elowen by hand. Unfortunately, this attempt didn't quite please me either, no matter how I manipulated the picture. I hadn't found my Elowen yet.

For a time, I put Elowen aside.
I realized that I was still attempting to "find" the right style for the illustrations for Niamh. I began playing more with Adobe Photoshop Elements and discovering how to manipulate photographs. I had done several with which I was satisfied when I turned my attentions back to Elowen.

At a writer's conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I was able to meet up with my dear friend, Merry - who looks remarkably like Elowen. I entreated her to let me do a quick photoshoot, and the result was something like what follows.

(1) The original photograph. Merry posed just outside the cafeteria which has these brick columns holding up an utterly useless canopy. The columns had ivy on them, and one simply can't pass up good flora.

(2) When manipulating with an eye to b/w "lithographing," one first should darken those areas which show the least bit of shade, and likewise lighten those areas which one wants to show up white. You can see that I focussed especially on Merry's face, darkening her features. I also put preliminary "white areas" on her sweater with an eye to making her dress into a bodice.

(3) In this version, I lightened the stonework which kept getting lost in my test b/w's. I also gave Merry more hair over her shoulder and emphacized light areas on her clothes. When I tested b/w after that, I added lines to change her bodice to a cape.

(4) Of course, it is possible to go too far. This edition, created after the finished above, in an attempt to make Merry unrecognizable (a pointless effort. Merry is Elowen. Looking anyway! ; ), clearly looks ridiculous.

When "stamping" a picture
I found that most required that I choose a section of the picture and then using the brightness/contrast tool, black and white it. This gave me a greater degree of control over the "stamping" (rather than using the stamping tool), and allowed for more detail.

What I love about Merry,
besides that she is simply a lovely person inside and out, is that she can look pensive and "merry" by turns. Her eyes hold such a soulful otherworldliness, that she would indeed be the envy of any pre-Raphaelite beauty. Thank you thank you, my dear, for bringing Elowen to life!