J2 Reverse Bang 2024 - WARLOCK - Artpost
My third J2 Reverse Bang. A big thank you to the presenters who ran this wonderful challenge again this year.
I was delighted when Masoena claimed my artwork. Warlock Jared had thrilled her and inspired her magical love story “WARLOCK”. A colorful mix of crime novel, detective story and powerful witch magic in the modern day. My muse was thrilled and drew additional art such as banners, chapter headings and dividers and, of course, Jensen in a slightly different Impala.
🥰 Thank you, dear Masoena, for your wonderful story and our great collaboration. 😘
I was delighted when Masoena claimed my artwork. Warlock Jared had thrilled her and inspired her magical love story “WARLOCK”. A colorful mix of crime novel, detective story and powerful witch magic in the modern day. My muse was thrilled and drew additional art such as banners, chapter headings and dividers and, of course, Jensen in a slightly different Impala.
🥰 Thank you, dear Masoena, for your wonderful story and our great collaboration. 😘
Warning: spoilers in the art!
Art Title: WARLOCK
Prompt Number: 6
Fic Title: WARLOCK
Fandom/Genre: SPN/RPS, Romance
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: ~12,800
Warnings: None
Summary: Jensen takes on a job as private investigator in Houston TX. A job that will help him finance and bring him closer to his goal of starting a new life closer to his family and moving out of New York. He finds himself knee-deep in warlock council politics, which he figures out are far more dangerous for a human than he anticipated. Jared, the High Warlock of the region, is caught in the midst of Jensen’s case. Is he friend or foe?
Art: AO3
Fic: AO3
Click on the pictures for view in original size.
Cover
Jared in green
Jared's store sign
Jensen in his metallic blue Impala
Jared in red
J2 Reverse Bang 2024 - Original prompt - Prompt 6
Art Description: Private detective Jensen comes to town to investigate a missing person case. He also questions the local warlock Jared in his store. Jensen doesn't think much of witchcraft and categorically rejects Jared's advances. Jensen has no idea how powerful Jared really is and that he cannot escape him. A spell circle keeps Jensen trapped in the city and all roads lead into Jared's arms.
Original prompt
Prompt - red draft
I started drawing this picture back in February, right after the announcement of J2RB2024 at the end of January. I'm fascinated by stories with a powerful warlock Jared, who wants to win Jensen over. So I came up with a rough plot and pulled out my Apple Pencil.
I envisioned a Jared with magical eyes, longer hair held together and dark clothes. I first made a rough sketch and tested the colors.
Then I drew the outline of Warlock Jared again, improving the mouth, eyebrows, ear and shoulder. Finally, I added colors, shading and a three-day beard.
A magical or demonic warlock? I tried a green and a red version of Jared.
I usually associate magic with natural spiritual customs, original traditions and natural religions, as well as occultism, protective spells, rituals and potions. In other words, rather friendly “natural” magic, which is what the color green stands for.
Demons are usually evil, destructive, sinister, devilish, diabolical or satanic. Red is the color of fire and blood. Hell and demons, devils or Satan are often depicted in red in iconography as well as in popular culture. Satan usually wears a red costume. Today, the devil in red has become a popular figure in legends, stories and films. So the color red goes very well with a demonic “evil” warlock.
I liked Jared better in green. That's why I submitted this drawing to the J2 Reverse Bang. The color green runs through all the pictures, so together they make a unified art set.
The pentagram (ancient Greek: pentágrammos “five lines”) is one of the best-known symbols associated with witchcraft. The five-pointed star, often surrounded by a circle, has been used for centuries. Its roots go back to 3,000 years before Christ, where it appeared on royal inscriptions and everyday objects in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The pentagram is therefore one of the oldest symbols of power and protection in human cultural history.
In modern witchcraft, the points of the pentagon (also known as the five-pointed star, Druid's foot, Druid's star, pentacle, pentalpha) correspond to the elements of earth, air, fire, water and spirit, expressing the connection with nature and the universe. The surrounding circle symbolizes unity and protection.
Spell circles are Jared's specialty. So I decorated the background with a spell circle in the shape of a pentagram, which contains symbols from Supernatural. I designed it to look as if it had been drawn by Jared himself with an old brush or his fingers during one of his magical rituals.
I took up the theme of the spell circle again for the text dividers and combined it with the Supernatural logo. To make the dividers different, I colored the pentagram or logos with the green of the headings.
The very first words of the story inspired my muse. I love nostalgic store signs.
Jared knew the type before they even entered his small hole-in-the-wall store on Main Street in the Houston Museum District. It was aptly named Stones, Sticks and Magic Tricks , a retail space that sold “magic” to curious locals and visiting tourists alike.
The aspect most of his clientele never knew, however, was that Jared was the real deal; an actual warlock who could wield magic to do a great many amazing, helpful, healing, and awful things. The trinkets, potions, wands, and artifacts he sold in his store were mostly knock-offs, the crystals and polished rocks on one side of the store the most genuine of all items.
So I drew a cast iron bracket with decorative elements. I hung a black ebony sign with a green border on it.
In addition to the green title of the store, I also used typical witch symbols as decoration, which go down well with local customers and tourists. Animals play an important role in witchcraft symbolism. Black cats are often associated with protection and luck. The pentagram is self-explanatory, as are mortars and pestles and witches' bottles containing magical liquid, poison or love potions. Stars and glitter symbolize magic. Everything matches the overall concept with the color green.
In addition to the green title of the store, I also used typical witch symbols as decoration, which go down well with local customers and tourists. Animals play an important role in witchcraft symbolism. Black cats are often associated with protection and luck. The pentagram is self-explanatory, as are mortars and pestles and witches' bottles containing magical liquid, poison or love potions. Stars and glitter symbolize magic. Everything matches the overall concept with the color green.
In retrospect, the font of my prompt looked too military to me. So I reworked the letters again. I used the same font, but now I wanted to make it even more magical. To do this, I put several layers of words in different shades of green on top of each other and moved some of them down or to the side. I hatched the top layer irregularly with the eraser. Finally, I added some magic glitter. This green lettering can be seen on almost all the pictures and contributes to the overall uniform concept.
Masoena had the funny idea that Jensen drives a metallic blue Impala. Jared is horrified by this “shameful” color and later paints the beautiful classic car black.
My muse jumped for joy. Jensen in a light blue Impala - a picture to make me smile. So I researched blue Chevy Impalas. And indeed - they really did and do exist.
He saw a gorgeous blue metallic 67’ Chevy Impala pull up to this store and park in one of the two designated customer parking spots. The classic vehicle was polished to perfection with a chrome line down the side. Getting out of the car was one of the most handsome men he’d ever seen. His mood however took a turn for the worse as he watched him round the hood of the car. He couldn’t stand his type no matter how utterly fuckable he may look, he could spot a former cop blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back.
Now I was looking for a pose that would show Jensen and the blue Impala to their best advantage. I drew Jensen in a black leather jacket, driving through a green landscape with the side windows open. The metallic blue color of the Impala with all its shades is clearly visible. First I sketched the contours and tested the color selection. Then I colored the Impala and finally Jensen.
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