Sins and Virtues

Today I turned in my last assignment to my Independent Studies class. It was the 7 Deadly Sins, oh boy isn't that over done. We had a choice to do 3 Deadly Sins or 3 Virtues, OR 3 Deadly Sins with there counter Virtues. Now I like a challenge, so I picked the last one, totaling 6 characters. My median was watercolor pencil and ink pens. 

Now I thought this project was going to be really easy, but it wasn't! I was really confused how I was going to draw the sins and virtues interacting, playing there respective roles. At first I was going to draw them in my cute people style.

  

So that was my Lust and Kindness, they don't go together. But yea, needless to say the teacher wasn't buying it. So I had to scrape this idea. I started to do research and get really serious about the project. I looked up color association, sayings that would go with the sins and virtues I was doing, activities the sins and virtues might be associated with. It was a little hard, since I didn't grow up in a super religious setting. I didn't know the in depth meanings, I only knew the basics. But that wasn't enough, the basics weren't enough. 

Some Notes 

So after a while I decided my sins and virtues. My sins were Sloth, Envy, and Pride, the virtues connected were Diligence, Love/Kindness, and Humility. I hate doing over done stuff, so Lust was out of the question. Go to any art site and see how many pictures of Lust you'll find, it'll be in the thousands. I didn't want to do Greed, all I could think of was money and I know that's what people except of it to. Anger would just be an angry person, where's the creativity in that? And then there's Gluttony, so someone stuffing there face? I wanted a challenge, so I gave myself one.

After doing the research I did, I found it very hard to give the sins and virtues a human appearance. To give them a real face, clothes, bodies, human colors. All this would mean to me that a sin and a virtue could be a person, but sins and virtues aren't people. They can't be singled out to one type of person, with a look, and a face. To me sins and virtues are emotions to be felt and acts to be done through humans. I can't give emotions and acts a body or a face, only a scene. But I would have to make a scene that would show the sins and virtues without human bodies. And that was my challenge and that's why I made them blobby creatures, demons of a sort.  

I also couldn't view a sin as a truly bad thing, or a virtue as a truly good thing. In my mind they all have there gray area's. Diligence for example may be busy doing things that need to be done, but may look over truly important things like a loved one or family. Sloth may be so lazy that they never move but may observe everything more clear then Diligence ever will.    

Diligence and Sloth

Pride and Humility 

Envy and Love

Pretty cute huh? ^_^ I honestly love them, but I only truly fell in love with them at 4am in the morning on my day the project was due and I was still working on them. 

Here's the finished work 

 I love how much each piece changed, the class and the teacher helped give some suggestions as well. But this is Diligence and Sloth, playfully annoying each other. Lets explain them now. 

Diligence - Virtue

Always moving, never stopping. "The oil that keeps the gears moving" that's the saying I found on Diligence. So that's why there's gears and screws and oil everywhere, wouldn't want him to rust. The color of energy and alertness I felt was yellow. Lots of eyes for lots of looking, lots of hands for lots of handling, and lots of things to keep Diligence in line. But he is not beautiful, he has lumps and growths along with disfigurements. Because he is a human act, and mindset. And everyone knows that humans are not always beautiful, even when they have the best in mind. 

Sloth - Sin

Lots of nothing going on here. He does nothing, but sit there and grow....things. As well as slowly observe the world. But is to lazy to do anything about it. He is never stressed, never rushed, and the only time he is bothered it when Diligence is trying to get him to move. Light Blue is associated with Sloth, meaning frozen. The color of cold frozen water, never moving. 

Pride/Vanity - Sin

The animal that's associated with Pride is the Peacock. The color is violet. "Look at all I have gained, look at my rings and jewels, look at how beautiful I am" I imagine that's what it is saying. Pride never gives, just takes and then flaunts it. 

Humility - Vanity

"Seeing ourselves as we are, and not comparing ourselves to others." Humility want's nothing but a simple life. Wants nothing more then to help others even if that means helping Prideful people. Colors for Humility were red and gray, but I picked gray so not to confuse people and gave him red flowers. Humility will often be seen with flowers. 

 Envy - Sin

"Eat your heart out" was the saying I found connected to envy. Envy wants what envy desires. And sometimes desires come from the heart. Green was obviously the color . 

Love/Kindness - Virtue

"Love is Blind". And sometimes it truly can be. Sadly Love and Kindness can be to good for there own good. With charity and compassion Love will give it's own heart to Envy just because that is what Envy desires the most. Love can't see the evil and most times with refuse to see any bad in any person. People die for love and get hurt to. 

So that's it, my cute little monsters. 

Hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have. ^_^