scene sketch

It's one of the first two things I'd thought about sketching awhile ago. but it was kind of complicated so I put it off until yesterday. It's supposed to be part of one of the fic ideas I've had. Mozenrath goes through several emotions in a few seconds, and I thought it might would be interesting to draw (and at the same time, something I didn't really want to try drawing).

The fic idea was inspired by a fic that begins at the end of the The Book of Khartoum episode. I'd always thought that was neat, but there's not many fics like that. I do think that episode makes more sense for Mozenrath's last episode, though. It's the most powerful ending. Mozenrath's power is gone and his citadel is in ruins (plus, the book that may be able to give him his magic back mysteriously vanishes before his eyes).

For my fic idea, Aladdin learns a little more about Mozenrath after the end of the Khartoum episode and doesn't think of him as only some souless villain anymore. Mozenrath's a bit of a mess, the Khartoum incident quite recent for him, and is absently trying to smooth his hair (because it's totally manly to do that. ) and doesn't notice Aladdin coming back. Aladdin gestures to Genie about fixing his clothes, and Genie fixes him up. Mozenrath notices with a little surprise that his hair's fixed now, then looks around and finds Aladdin and Genie in the doorway. He stares at them, kind of deep in thought/confused, and then looks away.

I drew the sketches on paper, but didn't quite like how they turned out, so I traced over them in Photoshop. ...It's really hard to figure out how to draw someone looking like they're confused/thinking. It's hard for me to tell when he looks upset or sad instead of neutral (he's supposed to look neutral. Confused, but neutral). It's all in the slope and shape of the eyebrows... (at least as far as I know) Eyebrows going downward in the middle makes someone look angry, and eyebrows going upward in the middle makes someone look sad or worried. ...but eyebrows just being a straight line doesn't look right either, so I tried giving them more of a curve when I traced over the sketches in Photoshop.
hmm... his legs are moving between pictures. Ignore that.

Besides me possibly not looking forward to drawing the emotions for this sketch, there was also an issue about what angle I should draw it from. I think I was originally wanting to draw him from the other side, but I knew it wouldn't work at all for the last picture, when he turns his head to the right (which would've been toward the camera instead of away from it). I guess I had subconsciously pictured the camera moving in an arc during this scene, or cuting from one place to the next. ...Probably cutting from one view to the next. I think the scene plays out a little like, view of Mozenrath from his right, with a clear view of his hand patting at the hair at the back of his neck (I guess I had pictured him using his right hand), a cut to Aladdin coming in and seeing him from the doorway and asking Genie if he could... (an up and down gesture meaning 'clothing') and Genie saying "Sure, Al," and giving a little zap of magic, then a cut back to (or else a pan back to) Mozenrath that shows Genie's magic around him and Mozenrath noticing that something's changed and looking around the room, ...um... I forget if there's another cut to Aladdin then, a zoomed out shot that shows both Aladdin as well as Mozenrath from behind, or what, but then Mozenrath is shown from the front with a look of concentration/thought and then turns his head away. I think it cuts back to Aladdin after that.