mayonakaryoko on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/mayonakaryoko/art/one-mirror-two-worlds-16620766mayonakaryoko

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. one mirror :: two worlds .

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--> Please full view! <--

This piece took me an extremely long time, and there is so much symbolism and references behind it. Sorry for the long description but I'd like to divulge in how much work this actually took.

First off, as you will notice, Erik is wearing a full mask, as he is perceived in Susan Kay and in the Yeston/Kopit musical (my prime inspiration for this ^^). I originally started this piece when I first got the musical almost a month ago, and worked on it off and on until now. I completely fell in love with the song Erik and Christine sing to each other during a music lesson called "You Are Music". The main lyrics are as follows:

--You Are Music--

Phantom:

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Do re mi fa sol
Fa re mi do

"Now, you."

Christine:

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Do re mi fa sol
Fa re mi do

Phantom:

"Move the 'do'"

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Do re mi fa sol
Fa re mi do

Christine:

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Do re me fa sol

Both:

Fa re mi do

Phantom:

Oh, you are music, beautiful music
And you are light to me
Oh you are music, moonbeams of music
And you are life to me

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Take a breath one one
And after three

Christine:

Do re mi fa sol
Fa re fa mi
Breathing first on one
And after three

Phantom:

Breathing in the air, an ebb and flow
Breathing taking care...fa re mi do

Christine:

Breathing out the air from deep below

Both:

Ready for the run from 'do' to 'do'

Oh, you are music, beautiful music
And you are light to me
Oh, you are music, sunburst of music
And you are light to me.




Yes, I know it sounds corny - but it is REALLY moving when heard with the music. (Take a clipped listen: [link] )

Anyway, I will now explain the seperate symbolisms of either side of the mirror - as you can obviously tell, they are colored and outlined quite differently.

--

Christine:

The main emotion I wanted her half to portray was curiousity. She earnestly wants to know the voice behind the mirror; however, there are many other symbolisms in play here.

I will start with the background. The colors deepen, as does Christine's personality and perception of the world during the course of the novel/musical. The background also symbolizes how her voice matures under Erik's tutelage. The eventual purple shade represents the 'diva' - as in POTO, the diva is treated like royalty, symbolized by the colour purple.

I decided to shade Christine's dress with yellows to show her innoncence and purity, and also to contrast with the blue details. These symbolize the constant sadness and longing towards her deceased father, which she never fully seems to release during the entirety of the plot.

I've also found the perfect quote (courtesy of Susan Kay) to capture Christine in this moment:


Almost without knowing what I was doing I began to drift closer and closer to the mirror. I found myself imagining his face as that of a real living man and I felt a deep need to reach out and touch solid flesh. I began to explore the surface of the mirror with restless caressing fingers. All there months I have heard his voice in my sleep and woken with my hands reaching out hopelessly in the drakness. Again and again he has passed through my restless dreams like a winged shadow and though I have clutched with desperation at his fleeting image I have never, never been able to see his face.

Now I had the crazy sensation that this pane of glass was all that seperated us....


--

Erik

His main emotion is anguish. Erik can't believe that he is manipulating a young girl to believe him to be an angel, and yet, he finds himself falling in love with the beautiful Christine despite his honour and willpower. He is also despairing in that Christine is the first person to honestly love him; however, he knows that is because she has not seen his face.

I decided to shade his half in all different shades of blue (a huge first for me!) to truly bring out his thoughts and emotions. The background is supposed to represent mist and fog, which in turn symbolize confusion. Erik is truly confused with his conflicting thoughts about Christine. This is further shown by the not-so-clear outlines of Erik himself.

Once again, Susan Kay has captured a pretty good idea about Erik and his thoughts. This quotation takes place after he has forbidden Christine to see Raoul as something more than a friend - he knows that she will obey him, for she has waited for the Angel of Music all her life:


I've won for now, it seems, yet my conquest is a hollow victory that fills me with nothing but shamed despair.

I've taken her innocent, childish heart and cruelly twisted it into submission; and for every tear that has fallen down her pale cheeks I have shed a hundred in remorse.

This has to be the most wicked thing I've ever done in my life, but I can't stop...I can't let her go, I can't let him take her from me.

Oh, God, what a grim farce this has become!

Even if all things were equal, I'm still old enough to be her father!

But all things aren't equal. I know I haven't got a chance in a fair fight, so I'll fight the only way I know how and I'll fight to the death if I must.


--

Lastly, I wanted to note their hands, and how they are at the same place on either side of the pane. This symbolizes that they are both wanting to see one another - to embrace the relationship that is forming between them; however, they are both restrained on their respective sides: Christine, because she cannot physically open the mirror, and also because she is not mentally ready yet to see her Angel; Erik, because his judgement, emotions, and past experiences (Luciana) are holding him back.

I hope this wasn't too long of an explanation, but I truly felt the need to fully explain myself.




+Erik and Christine are (c) Gaston Leroux, ALW, Y/K, Susan Kay
+Art (Prisma pencils and markers, whiteout, sakura microns) are (c) moi
Image size
596x685px 254.62 KB
Make
HP
Model
HP psc1300
© 2005 - 2024 mayonakaryoko
Comments106
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LovelyLadyGray's avatar
I've really enjoyed the beauty, the emotions on both sides of the mirror reflect both light and darkness, innocence and anguish.  The mirror could be colored in with a silver colored pencil.  You did a great job with both the hands of a curious Christine and Erik reaching out in the hopes of making contact is very well-drawn.  When drawing an eye from the side in anime or manga: just add a tiny curve to the eyelid which gives it a bit more realistic feel.  I noticed that the back of Erik's head is a bit too small for his brilliant mind...just draw the circle of the head a little bigger.  (I used to run into this problem too when drawing in either realistic/cartoon or in the manga art styles.).  *I hope that my tips will be useful to help you to further improve on your artwork.*  Pretty good job on the symbolism.  Keep it up! :w0w: =D

Recently got back into the world of "The Phantom of the Opera" from seeing the Original 2-part silent black-and-white movie, "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925).  Really fantastic to see it.