Another black and white digital drawing.

One of the things that you can really do better in digital images is drawing white on black. I have done quite a few thing in traditional media like prints and painting when it comes to adding lighter colours on a black background. It is a method that has always fascinated me, and working this way in digital media is a real pleasure. The black is always real black, while black paper never really are. No white media (because it is mostly oil-based) can be erased the same way as in digital painting. Then it is just drawing on top with black.

You might want to look at the page were I originally posted the drawing about two years ago. There is a small discussion about the dark background topic.

This piece depicts Odin hanging from the Ask Yggdrasil, sacrificing himself to himself and thereby getting hold of the runes - from the Hávamál stanza 137-139

Behind Odin, showing in the bark of the tree, are the three deadly forces: Hel, Fenris and Jormungand, that are to be the fate of the Asa-Gods on Ragnarok.

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137.
I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.

138.
None refreshed me ever with food or drink,
I peered right down in the deep;
crying aloud I lifted the Runes
then back I fell from thence.

139.
Nine mighty songs I learned from the great
son of Bale-thorn, Bestla's sire;
I drank a measure of the wondrous Mead,
with the Soulstirrer's drops I was showered.

Olive Bray's translation from 1908

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The high resolution file below is rather large so only click if you want it big :)

Published originally at my Diaspora profiles.

The image is made with Krita my favorite Linux drawing application, It is licenced CC-BY and is available in highres here - 2600 × 3500 - 7.3 MB - 16-bit PNG