Closed [Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Candle-lit drawing lessons for all.

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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.

[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Aislyn Leavold on December 31st, 2015, 1:22 am

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"I think I've decided what I'd like. Well, if it's something you can teach me. I'd like to capture Leth's light shining on the surface of the Suvan…”
Ah, so nothing special then.
”...or at least know how to draw the ripples and the waves."
That was a bit more up Aislyn’s alley.

Not visiting the ocean often certainly had its drawbacks, one of which being the fact that Aislyn did not have the most acute ability to draw water. But she had told the woman she’d teach her how to draw, and if she wanted to draw the ocean, well then Aislyn was going to try to draw the ocean. There was a first time for everything, was there not?

”Alright… That’s- That’s doable.”
The pair moved down the beach, until Aislyn’s gaze was drawn to a large piece of driftwood sitting in the sand. It was low tide, and thus the log seemed relatively dry. Karin seemed to choose it as a bench, and steered the two towards it. Aislyn eagerly took a seat, stretching out her legs in the sand.
Despite the low tide, the ocean and waves were relatively close, as proven by Karin’s near miss of a stone throw. Aislyn followed suit, picking up a smaller, flatter rock, and throwing it like a tiny frisbee. It made it- barely- but failed to skip. She used to be able to skip stones, but it appeared she wasn’t as talented as she once was. When Karin spoke, however, she took her seat.

”Well, we have the perfect vantage point, do we not?”

It was true. They were positioned with Leth directly above and in front of them, and the ocean just below his light. There was a smathering of boats close by, and the spare pieces of the ocean that the tide had left behind made for a fairly interesting display. It was like a collage of… Well, the sea.
That was what she wanted, right?

”I’d say...” Aislyn drew out the assortment of paper once again, isolating two fresh sheets. She had her sea, now it was time to get to work.
”There’s no lack of possibility.”

Using her notebook as a surface to rest her paper on, Aislyn began to detail the ocean. Large, thick strokes for the vague surface of the water. Waves, just like every other scene she drew, were just lines in the end. Very, very wavy lines. She defined the water line with the sharper side of the charcoal, using the blunt end to fade the ‘colour’ that was her shading. The horizon was difficult; how did you capture the feeling of endlessness that was the sea?
In the end, though, it was just as infinite as everything else she drew. Confined to a page and forever static.

Caught up in her musing and the draw of her charcoal, Aislyn momentarily forgot she was supposed to be teaching someone.

”Oh- I’m…” The artist glanced from the ocean, to Karin, to back down at her drawing. ”Sorry.”

Wiping off the charcoal smudges that stained her hands as best she could, she turned towards the other woman.
”Leth’s light shining on the surface of the Suvan...”
The moon, and the ocean. When broken down, that was all she really needed.
”Well, let’s start with Leth.”

Adding on to her drawing, Aislyn drew a circle, simple enough, just above where her horizon was. Granted, the moon wasn’t technically full that night, but it was fairly close, and full moons were easier to draw. After that, she dotted stars, black on her paper but white in the sky. Opposites, she supposed, but fun to copy down nonetheless.
”Like this, sporadically. Not too close to each other, and not too far away. But not in a pattern. And not in front of Leth.” Zintila in front of Leth made no sense. If a star was that close, it would be too bright for any mortal eye to handle. Like a second sun, at night. It would probably not be fun.

”Then the water. Mark the horizon, so you can see the difference between sea and sky.” She pointed back to where she had drawn her own horizon, careful not to actually touch the paper, else it smudge.
”It’s just lines, in different combinations, in different ways. It becomes easier as you go on.”
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Karin on January 6th, 2016, 8:21 pm

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As Illisha settled down and got out the art supplies, Karin breathed out through her nose and felt herself relax into the environment. She buried her feet deep into the sand with joy, as she'd taken a quick look at the woman and sneakily slipped off her boots, figuring she wouldn't mind. The lesson continued from there, as the woman detailed what to do.

The picture she drew was speedy, and the girl leant over carefully, trying not to disturb her but also wanting to get a closer view. She was drawing the shape of Leth, a circular orb in the sky. Karin echoed it on her own piece of paper, glancing at Illisha's paper, up at the moon and back again.

Her own orb was slightly wonky, but she used her finger to smudge it slightly so you couldn't quite tell. Of course, it would probably be better to start afresh, but the girl simply thought that she could pass it off as 'haze', whatever that might be.

She continued, placing her charcoal to the paper and pulling it across in one, continuous line to show the horizon. "Like... this?" She wasn't so sure she had the right method, as her line was not nearly as smooth as her teachers. In fact, it was dark, too dark.

"If I smudge the line down a little, would that look realistic..." The question was half a question, half a reflection to herself, and without bothering to wait she brought her finger forwards and dragged it down across the dark line. Immediately it smudged, crooked but as she kept at it, making shorter, more vertical strokes, it started to look more like a shadow.

They were both quiet now, with little but the hush of the waves and the faint rustle of the wind to accompany the scritch of charcoal on parchment. Karin's picture was making slow progress. Her gaze was focussed on multiple things at once though- the constant desire to step forward into the water, the beautiful shimmer of the moon on the water, at the other woman's drawing, and her hand, and the technique...

Her concentration seemed skewed tonight. With a little start, Karin shuffled herself, and posed Illisha a question. "So... well, what is your favourite thing to draw? And how long have you lived here?"

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10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all. :)
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Aislyn Leavold on January 15th, 2016, 11:48 pm

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Aislyn was enjoying herself. Relatively, at least. The night was calm and the waves were soothing. The night air was cool and the light of the moon illuminated just enough for Aislyn to see by. There wasn’t another soul in sight, other than those that must have been floating amidst the boats on the horizon. It was just Aislyn and… Karin.
She hadn’t forgotten her name already. That was good.

In the quiet, Aislyn took a moment to reflect. She’d been planning on escaping from her newfound acquaintance’s sight whenever given the chance, but maybe she’d stick around. Karin seemed nice enough, and besides, she might as well teach a little, maybe even make a profit. The artist didn’t actively have any finished pieces, of course, but maybe the lesson was enough.

Balancing her own work on her lap, Aislyn leaned over to see what Karin had come up with. She was already getting the hang of smudging, judging from the now blurry horizon line. Unless it had been accidental, in which case she couldn’t exactly blame the woman. Charcoal smudged very, very easily. One touch was enough to cloud a thousand tiny details into one tiny blob. Which was very frustrating for Aislyn especially, since she hated detailing, and one misplaced nudge could erase all she had worked on.
The price of art.

Running a hand through her hair, Aislyn leaned over to turn a handful of sand over in her palm. As Karin spoke, it ran through her fingers, back down to the earth.
”I’ve lived here for… Twenty… No, twenty-one. Years.”
How long had the sand been there? It could always be washed back into the ocean, but would it really get all that far? More than likely, it would just end up on the seafloor, in the same situation, only wetter. She spoke not with sadness, but with a sort of fondness, almost pride, in her city.
”All my life. I’ve never actually left Alvadas.”
The sand wouldn’t get very far if it drifted off, and neither would she. Alvadas was where she belonged, and where she would remain.

”I suppose that’s kind of related to my favourite subject, as well. I love to draw Alvadas, as ‘Alvadas’ is never the same image twice.”

She couldn’t choose a specific subject. After all, just like the city, she never drew the same drawing over again. She had quite a few sketches of Ionu’s temple, but that was the only repeat she could think of at the moment. The only consistent thing, of course, were the illusions.

”Like snowflakes. Except it doesn’t really snow here.”

Not that snow never appeared, of course. Aislyn distinctly remembered one summer in her childhood where she’d woken up to a blizzard. Except all the snow was scaldingly hot, and her innocent attempts to frolick in the rarely-seen, supposedly-frozen substance had left her with first degree burns.
That had not been a fun summer.

”What about you? How long have you been here?”
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Karin on January 16th, 2016, 12:06 pm

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The answer she received was interesting, and the girl nodded hesitantly. Despite her complicated relationship with the city, Alvadas truly was an intriguing place, never stopping, always changing.

"No, it doesn't really snow does it. I don't think I've ever seen snow, not real snow anyway." She placed the charcoal back onto the paper again, pulling the tip along the patch she'd designated for water, trying to draw little ripples.

"Well, I've lived here most of my life, I suppose about... twelve years. I think I moved here when I was five. Yes, that's about right. So Alvadas is all I can remember."

Despite the affection in Illisha's voice, Karin didn't hold that affection and she scowled very briefly. The charcoal was fiendishly ward to get a grip of, and the line she intended to draw somehow ended up being thicker than she'd intended.

Perseverance though, you need to persevere. Same goes for leaving this place. The thought flickered across her conscious and she nodded to herself. Her drawing was nearing its completion, although of course it was nowhere near good quality.

The girl would still be working on it though, her hand darting about across the page with indecision, not making a mark but simply trying to figure out where to draw next.

As way of conversation, the girl picked up again, a slightly wistful tone to her musings. "I used to live on the sea, the Suvan that is." She looked up from her drawing, out to sea. "I don't really remember much though. But it's one of the reasons I wanted to come down here."

"Thanks for that. Coming down here to the beach." She was a true Alvad, and sometimes Alvads seemed to pull their noses up at the ordinary, which was something which the Patchwork Port was, to Karin's bliss. But this Illisha didn't seem to mind it. Fortunate, really.

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10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all. :)
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Aislyn Leavold on February 6th, 2016, 2:50 am

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”I suppose we’re the same, then. Illusionary snow technically doesn’t count, does it?”

Attempting a smile, Aislyn shrugged. The apprehension in Karin’s face spoke of a distaste to the city. It wasn’t for everyone, she supposed. But it’s not like the woman was trapped. She could leave at any point in time…

"I used to live on the sea, the Suvan that is."

Aislyn looked up suddenly, in a sort of ah-ha moment. That was why Karin seemed so familiar. Svefra. That was it. That was the word. Karin was a Svefra. Light hair, affinity for the sea, vague smell of salt. That was what Aislyn had been missing.
Not that it particularly illuminated anything.

”I would have thought you’d be one to…” Didn’t Svefra live on the sea? Aislyn wasn’t exactly an expert on the race, but they seemed relatively ocean-bound. Was Karin an exception, or was the illusionist just plain wrong in her assumption? ”...one to travel. Twelve years. Congratulations.”
Aislyn briefly wondered what it would be like to leave Alvadas. She never would, of course, but it was a fleeting thought to be pondered. Alvadas was all she’d ever known, and presumably, all she ever would know.

As Karin thanked her, Aislyn made an effort to hurry her drawing along. She had a decent horizon, and the outline of the boats. The real-life equivalent of the angular, floating shapes seemed to be coming in to rest. How long had they been out there? They’d only been sitting on the makeshift bench for a handful of chimes, but it felt like a peaceful forever. In a good way. It was the same feeling the woman got when her home was empty and rain fell down outside. A sort of serenity that came to every person individually. That one place that was just perfect, every time.
The ocean wasn’t all that bad.

”The beach… It’s nice. I see why you like it.” At Karin’s hesitation over the paper, Aislyn dug out a second, fresh sheet, handing it to the woman. Then, she began the final touches on her own paper. The crests of the waves, in thicker, feathery scratches that became smooth lines within the horizon. The tops of the boats, the sails smudged into what Aislyn called shading, but was really just her pretending she knew what she was doing. She couldn’t reproduce the white of the waves, but at least the contrast did something that was near enough to suffice. Sure, the ocean was ordinary, but perhaps ordinary was nice, every once in awhile. As the Svefra thanked her, Aislyn shook her head;
”Don’t mention it.”

In a few more moments of silence, Aislyn finished what she could. The asymmetrical stars, the full moon, the soft curve of the edge of the world against the crash of the waves. The floating boats that no longer floated out in front of her, forever captured within her drawing instead. Along the underside of the moon, she began writing an M before catching herself, momentarily hovering before the M became a cursive IL. She wasn’t Maya, she was Illisha.
Was she going to spell that with a, I, or an E?
I, definitely I.

Illisha

There. It felt strange to write a name out. Thief wasn’t usually an artist. And thus, the illusionist didn’t exactly sign Thief’s “name” very often. Nonetheless, there it was. On paper, on a drawing.

As her charcoal paused above the finished piece, Aislyn had a thought. Gently, so she didn’t smudge the marks of the charcoal, she smoothed out the paper, before presenting it to Karin.
”Here. It’s all yours.”
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Karin on February 10th, 2016, 4:43 pm

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Karin started in surprise as the woman handed over the piece. This wasn't how lessons been taught were supposed to go, was it? A gift was a gift, though.

Karin smiled, and took the drawing silently for a tick, looking at it in the light of the moon. To her uneducated eyes, it looked incredible. "You're really good, y'know? I'm not sure I should accept this though. Shouldn't I be the one giving you something for your time?"

Despite the girl's apparent wariness to accept the gift though, she hung onto it carefully, clutching at the edges and taking care to keep it flat and un-smudged. If she was going to keep it, then she would take immense care of it, for it would be rude to abuse this new addition to her small oddity of belongings.

With a thought that amused her, Karin laughed and said, "I would offer you my drawing in return, but I'm afraid that it isn't any good. Though, you can have it if you like."

The drawing in question was a rudimentary moon, with waves beneath. In all honesty, Karin was very proud of it, as it was the first try she had had of drawing, but she was more than willing to give it as a gift.

With a gentle motion, she laid Illisha's drawing down on the sand and picked up her own paper again, clutching the charcoal awkwardly. In the corner, she placed her hand down, and sketched out: 'From Karin'.

Her handwriting was terrible, but it would do for it's purposes. "Here you go, have this." She offered her drawing forwards, with a lame smile on her face, well aware that as drawings go, it wasn't the most impressive.

The lesson felt like it was coming to a close, so she added afterwards, "How much would you like for this lesson?" She had some mizas in her pocket, she was sure. But she only hoped that it wouldn't be as expensive as it was in the art school that existed somewhere in Alvadas, the one she'd seen once and blanched at the cost.

With her drawing given away, smudged and sketchy as it was, she seized on the fresh sheet she'd just been given. Maybe before they finished, she could make something else... There was something oddly therapeutic about letting the lines of dark spread across the page, under the light of Leth, with the soft hush of the waves in the backdrop.

Maybe she could draw something else other than the sea... Maybe something like the rocks, or the boats, like Illisha had done...

But the moment passed, and she handed the extra sheet over, not wanting to keep it.

OOC :
Hey, shall we finish this up soon? :) I think(?) it's coming to a natural conclusion?
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10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all. :)
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Aislyn Leavold on February 21st, 2016, 6:38 pm

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’From Karin’
The woman was unnervingly nice, if such a thing was possible.

”...Thank you. It’s fantastic for your first try, I assure you.” Whether that was a lie or not, Aislyn didn’t exactly take the time to scrutinize. She slipped the drawing in between the pages of her notebook, careful not to bend the pages. There were few gifts Aislyn had received in her lifetime, so she was certainly going to take care of the ones she did get.
”Lesson?” Oh, right. This was supposed to be an art lesson.
Gods, Aislyn was a horrible teacher.

”...Fifteen gold?” Usually, she priced her work based on time, effort, and materials, and presumably, services could be priced the same way. It couldn’t have been more than a few bells, and she’d only used charcoal and paper. So she priced it how she would have priced the drawing she’d given to Karin. The experience was like the drawing. Not worth all that much, but beautiful in its own way.
”Thank you, by the way.”

She paused, collecting her items back into her bag and pushing her hands through the sand one final time. She’d certainly learned some things, considering she was supposed to be the one teaching, not the one learning. Perhaps the ocean wasn’t all that bad, and perhaps people weren’t all that bad.

”Tonight has been wonderful.”

Momentarily distracted by the incoming tide, it took the artist several ticks to realize Karin was handing her back the paper. That was it, then. It had certainly been a nice evening, and Aislyn wasn’t about to complain about the fact that she got work done, as well. An all around win-win. And if she never saw Karin again; well, it had been nice while it lasted. She would be remembered.

When they did finally say goodbye, Aislyn remained seated as the tide began to crash in. She watched the Svefra disappear into Alvadas, and then, into the night. For a few extra chimes, the artist stayed behind on the makeshift bench, contemplating the night. In her hands, she folded the paper Karin had left. Eventually, however, the night pulled on her, and her key beckoned her in the vague direction of where her house had settled down on the Alvad streets. For a moment, she considered leaving the small folded paper there, but eventually the artist decided against it, tucking a small paper flower into her notebook alongside Karin’s drawing. When her footprints washed away, there would be no evidence either woman was ever there.

oocI think we can probably call it there :)
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Aislyn Leavold
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[Job Thread] Lessons In The Dark (Karin)

Postby Sayana on April 4th, 2016, 11:21 pm

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Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it.


 
Aislyn
Skills
  • Logic: 2
  • Land Navigation: 2
  • Acrobatics: 1
  • Observation: 4
  • Subterfuge: 2
  • Acting: 1
  • Socialization: 5
  • Wilderness Survival: 1
  • Drawing: 4
  • Teaching: 3
  • Interrogation: 1
  • Endurance: 1
  • Storytelling: 1
  • Negotiation: 1
Lores
  • Alvadas event: Forever night illusion
  • Karin: Svefra who lived on the Suvan sea as a child and then grew up in Alvadas
  • Illisha: A name for Thief
  • Subterfuge: Coming up with a name and identity quickly
  • Wilderness Survival: Using flint and steel to light a candle
  • Drawing: Using negative space
  • Drawing: Avoiding smudges with charcoal
  • Location: Patchwork Port
  • Drawing water using charcoal
  • Drawing: Show something at an angle to give perspective
  • Drawing: Start with light lines, then get darker
Miscellaneous
  • -2 cm for candles
  • Karin's charcoal drawing of the sea
Comments
Note: You might want to take a peek at how flint and steel works. From my research it isn't as simple as lighting a match and works more easily with a pile of flammable tinder nearby, rather than a single small wick. This time I gave you a token wilderness survival experience point and lore, but definitely take a look at how it would be done.

Also, there was a point in which you mentioned how a star closer than the moon would appear as bright as the sun (like a second sun). I don't think Aislyn would know this since that level of astronomy is not common knowledge. It's more likely that one would think that the sun is just bigger than other stars, not farther away.


 
Karin
Skills
  • Observation: 5
  • Socialization: 5
  • Carving: 1
  • Negotiation: 2
  • Drawing: 4
  • Land Navigation: 3
  • Interrogation: 1
  • Storytelling: 1
Lores
  • Alvadas event: Day and night illusion
  • Illisha: Charcoal artist
  • Drawing: Lifting hand to avoid smudges with charcoal
  • Drawing: Using charcoal
  • Drawing: Shorter and more frequent strokes
  • Drawing: Show something at an angle to give perspective
  • Drawing: Start with light lines, then get darker
  • Drawing: Objects become smaller in the distance
  • Land Navigation: Seeking the sea by following one's nose
  • Drawing: Basic streetscape
  • Drawing: Sea and moon landscape
  • Drawing: Smudging to soften lines
  • Illisha: Lived in Alvadas all her life
  • Negotiation: A gift for a gift
Miscellaneous
  • Charcoal drawing of the sea and boats, signed by Illisha
  • -15 gm for the drawing lesson

Comments: Lovely thread. I enjoyed interactions between the characters and the detailed drawing lesson (even if Aislyn didn't think she was doing much). Karin's initial request for the drawing lesson seemed a bit out of the blue, it might just be her personality and I haven't read enough of her threads yet.

Your Grader,

Sayana
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