12.24.12 A very Phantom post!

Hey, guys (and ladies!!)!
 Well, what do you know?  Here I am posting on my blog for you even though I'm on vacation.  You know what that is? Love.
  Speaking of Love.....I've been reviewing all the traffic stats on my blog and I've found that the work you all seem to love by far the most is the concept art for my adaptaion of Gaston Leroux's "Le Fantome de L'Opera" ("Phantom of the Opera," you non-French speakers!)  I can't blame you because I Love it, too. This is why I've compiled all the Phantom concept art I'm willing to show you right now into this one very Phantom post!  MERRY Christmas!!!
   I'm not sure if I've professed my deep and undying Love for "The Phantom of the Opera" very clearly on this blog. I've read that novel more times than I can count, I've seen the play on Broadway 3 times (making that 5 times total) and seriously, I never get tired of it. I can't explain it! It's a really well-crafted story and the main reason I want to adapt it is because that beautiful story is almost always butured beyond recognition in adaptations. This is something I want to correct for Phantom Lovers everywhere--and for those of you who only know that there is a masked freak living under the Opera House I can't wait to introduce you to Erik, the Phantom, who I think is one of the most creative, innovative and amazing characters ever created. NOW on to the art....

  Let's get started right off the bat with what I know you all really want:  Erik and Christine!

Okay, I'm not interested in making Erik a sex-object because he's actually pretty frightening and icky--he's like a walking corpse--like one that's been dead for a while, too--think of an unwrapped mummy.  I want him to have the feel of a spider, luring his prey and then attacking it at its most vulnerable moment.

  I've decided it's time to created a fully fleshed out, colored conceptual illustration. These next drawings are for an image of Christine Daae singing on stage--but it's more about the breathtaking auditorium.  Oh so beautful!  The image on the left is a sketch I did over a year ago--so this image has been in my head for awhile--honestly, probably years and years and years....

The image on the right is, at least, compositionally, how I want it.  A few minor tweaks and it's ready to go on to be finished.  Also, I want her dress--she's got a bouquet of roses on her butt!

These are additional sketches for the same scene....I see things very cinematically so when I look at this image I see her moving and I hear her singing.  Imagination is the best thing, ever!  Plus, Christine is so pretty--and a blonde, people, she's Swedish!!

  Ultimately, I want my adaptation to really capture what Leroux was trying to get across.  One of those things was the magesty of Garnier's Opera House in Paris. The Opera House, itself, is a very important character in the book--much the way Notre Dame Cathedral is in Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." And the way the island was a character in "Lost."  Because of this it is very important, in my mind, to get to know and be comfortable drawing this space with or without a reference.  So I've been drawing it, studying  floor plans and cross-sections and watching documentaries and consuming about anything that I can on the subject.  Someday when I'm actually at the Paris Opera House I don't think will need a tour guide because I'm pretty sure I know where everything is and it will be really interesting to see how reality matches up with my mind's construction. Here are some of the sketches I've done of the Grand Escalier:

I know it's not perfect but I'm happy with how it seems to draw you in and up--just like Garnier wanted. (:

There are so many things I love about this space, one of them being how very few straight lines there are and how absolutely everything has been embelished in some way.  Ahhh, Neo-Classicism, how I love you, so. 

Here are examples of how I want the finished art to look.  Though I'm still tweaking things, stylistically, these are very close:

Though I really love all the detail, this is going to be in color so I will be toning down the line-work a bit in the final pieaces.  however, none of the magesty or feeling will be lost.  I've got a story for everyone in that crowd, that's why it looks so convincing, FYI.

The left panel is how the color will be:  washed out ochre with red as the only prominent color. 
 

I hope you've enjoyed this taste of my "Phantom of the Opera"!  For all you Phantom fans out there, rest assured more is coming.  I have 2 sketchbooks (TWO!)  full of this stuff.  I've actually storyboarded a lot of it out so I will put a fews scenes together as a teaser in the next couple of months.  I'm currently fleshing out the script--and for everyone out there who does knows this story I want you to know that I am NOT cutting the Persian--he stays!  You're welcome and Merry Christmas!!!

  Well, this has been fun but I'm sure I mentioned earlier that I'm on vacation.  It's time to take care of that relaxing thing I'm supposed to do now......I'm not entirely comfortable with it but I think I should try it out. I hear it does wonders.  :-)

Thanks for visiting this week and thanks for Loving my Phantom art so much!!
Keep coming back for more and, as always, email me with any questions/comments.
Love,
Beckaroooooo!