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akitku β Inktober day 5
#ancientrome #antiquity #emperor #empress #inkdrawing #romanempire #rome #inktoberchallenge #inktober2018
Published: 2018-10-06 18:50:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 2733; Favourites: 160; Downloads: 0
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Inktober Day 5Chicken -Β For this prompt I decided to cheat a bit and draw Augusta Galla Placidia with her brother Honorius and his pet chicken, Rome. Apparently Honorius was more interested his pet chickens than in ruling the Empire. Galla Placidia on the other hand was a very ambitious and politically active lady. So here she is, frustrated that her silly brother gets to rule the Western half of the Roman Empire instead of her...
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Comments: 40
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Quite the character!Β The sharp cheekbones and angular chin are very striking.
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Β A most exciting subject, this Emperor! Usually one only sees the great ones, not the loony ones like him.
Now if only someone would draw Heliogabalus...
'But I, my good fellow, thought that my fowl Rome had perished.'
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Thanks! 
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You're welcome!
Take your time, I'm sure he's in no hurry to be drawn either.
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ruling an empire can be stressful! Playing with a chicken is fun!
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Am loving this series so far!!! Did you use an ink-wash on the background to get the contrast between foreground and background, light and shadow? I think you've captured Augusta's incredulous, frustrated expression very well- I would be too if I had a brother like that...
This is definitely your best one so far, I can't wait to see more!
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Thank you so much!
Yes, exactly, it was a very diluted ink wash - the yellowish paper gave the brownish effect.Β
Thanks you! I'm really happy to hear that. Many more to go after all. 
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really beautiful
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Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! <3Β
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Thank you! It was a fun one.Β
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Ah, recognized instantly the pose of Honorius from this fr.wahooart.com/Art.nsf/O/8BWTβ¦
(my theory is that he used those chickens for cockfights which were still very popular at that point, but that's just a hypothesis)
I really like how you used black watercolor and white gouache(?) to contrast the Augusta from the background, it makes her pop out all the more from her weak brother.
Yeah, Galla Placidia must have felt especially frustrated since Eudoxia, Pulcheria and Eudocia, all women of her generation, exerted much greater authority in the Constantinopolitan court...
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Yeah, I was inspired by that famous painting of him.Β
Interesting theory about the cockfights. Less sweet, but makes more sense!
Exactly, that's what I was thinking. The Theodosian empresses were all rather active, and Galla Placidia herself was clearly an ambitious woman, playing off those over-ambitious generals against each other. I think she was a force to be reckoned with and if she had been male she would have made a fine emperor.Β
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This is perhaps one of your best inktober piece, love the white lines and her dismayed expression!
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Really? Gosh, thank you! Lol yeah, she's dismayed her brother is such an idiot!
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Heh I can relate to her brother, I'd me more interested in pets than ruling as well haha
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Heh, good point. We always think he was silly not to be interested in ruling, but honestly, I'm sure I wouldn't have been enthusiastic to rule if I were in his shoes!
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I still love her expression, and Rome does look like a nice tame chicken to be sitting there so well behaved.Β It's strange that one always considers people of old to have had useful pets like dogs or horses, so it's interesting to consider that he devoted his attention to a bird - and not even a falcon or hawk, but a chicken
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Yeah, the story about the pet chicken was supposed to show how silly and irresponsible Honorious was, but to be honest I always thought it quite charming in a way. Precisely for the reason you say!Β
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Yep I agree, I mean it could have been a case of exaggeration, but not everyone was made to rule
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Thank you!
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to be fair to him, it does look like a very nice chicken!
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A truly imperial one!
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Huh, funnily enough I actually just finished a book yesterday called Throne of the World (about Attila the Hun) by Louis de Wohl. Galla Placidia (along with her daughter Honoria) figure in as prominent characters in the book, though the events are later than when Honorius was Emperor.Β
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Ah, indeed Honoria does have an...interesting...role in Attila's attack on the Empire. She will actually figure in my inktober series too!Β
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Hah, no kidding. If I was her mother (or brother, for that matter) I think I would've been hard pressed not to strangle her.
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Aw, that's cute, that he was so attached to his pet! Why pet chicken, in particular, I wonder? Do we know why he liked that particular kind of pet? Lol, and it's normal that Augusta would be pretty pissed that he gets to rule despite what she perceives as his silliness!
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Hmm, I think there is no explanation why pet chicken in particular...It might have been just a way that the chronicler wanted to emphasize the Emperor's silliness. Honorious didn't have very good press...especially in the later periods...
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