"One late afternoon when the sun was spreading honey-gold over the autumn trees, Ash lay on the riverbank beneath an old oak whose limbs grew nearly down to the ground to form a splendid, secret room. She had been reading an old fairy tale that afternoon, and when she finished the story, she looked up through the leaves across the river and saw a woman there. She was kneeling on the edge of the opposite bank with a dripping hand raised halfway to her mouth, and she was dressed in hunting gear. The woman drank from the water in her hand and then flicked the rest away, the droplets scattering like crystals in the slanting light, and when she looked up she saw Ash staring at her."

My Color Works class final: a set of 3 illustrations for "Ash" by Malinda Lo. I was super excited that my professor gave the OK for illustrating this story; it's a retelling of Cinderella in which the heroine does not fall in love with the prince, but is torn between her fascination with the world of the fae and her growing feelings for the Royal Huntress. The book is an interesting blend of Chinese, Japanese and Western culture, a world where faeries ride around carrying off the dead, and sometimes the living. And sometimes stepsisters aren't really evil, they just have their own goddamn problems to deal with. And sometimes ladies kiss other beautiful, awesome ladies, and nobody has any problems with it because really, ladies should be able to kiss anybody they want. I really like this book.

Inked with Microns, then Shopped. Illustration 1 of 3.

In the Wood
The Huntress: https://yutaan.deviantart.com/art/The-Huntress-279369396
Ever: <fav.me/d4n5pd1>