If you want something done…

Perhaps it’s owing to my impatience, or my desire to maintain control over almost every aspect of The Sacred Antinous creative. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve always enjoy making 2D art, and this is just another excuse to do so.

Regardless of the reason, the fact is that I’ve begun to illustrate the Epistles of Antinous on my own, and have even started to slowly create some drawings for the upcoming Gospel of Vitalis. I’ve decided not to remove the Call for Illustrators, however, because there may still be folks out there who feel like they want to contribute.

For the Epistles, I’ve thus far created two paintings, with several more planned over the coming weeks. Upon completion of these inaugural pieces, I scanned them into the computer and then experimented for some time with Adobe Illustrator to try to achieve an effect that was reminiscent of a fresco. I wanted the illustrations to appear as if they had been created on the textured walls of a rich Roman villa, then were buried for 1800 years, and then were excavated and cleaned. Here’s the result:

Gryllus and Antinous riding together (from Epistle 001)

Antinous and Anaxamenos post-sex (from Epistle 018)

I’m quite happy with the look and feel of these pieces, and will use it as the “standard” for all subsequent paintings. 

For the Gospel of Vitalis, which is still in preliminary stages and has not yet been released, I’ve chosen to work in a pen and ink style that, it seemed reasonable to me, might be accessible and appealing to young Vitalis. Here is his first drawing, which (naturally) depicts Antinous writing:

Obviously, there’s still a long way to go toward the creation of a robust and meaty collection of illustrations. But I’m excited to have started.

Epistle illustrations will be posted to the appropriate place as they are created. Gospel of Vitalis illustrations will be kept under wraps until the actual collection is released.