Dune FanArt || Alia,The Abomination

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The character I'm about to describe in the context of my drawing is very complex and I have rather ambivalent feelings about her, but I find her thoroughly interesting, and I hope you will too.

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Alia

is the daughter of Lady Jessica and Leto Atreides The First(she was born after his death), she is the sister of Paul(later known as Muad'Dib, Usul and Prophet). Alia is one of the so called pre-born.

Alia - The Pre-Born
This means that her conscious awakening developed before birth. In 'Dune', the term 'consciousness' has a much more complicated meaning than its standard etymological definition.

Consciousness, and conscious awakening in Dune universe
is what differentiate humans not only as a species, but also distinguishes individuals as outstanding, as well as seeing beyond the mediocre and beyond the present time. The awakening of consciousness here means deep knowledge, one that is beyond the wisdom of a single individual and a vision of what is past and what is yet to come.

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Alia was not pre-born by her own fault, however. Her mother Jessica (pregnant at the time) agreed to a ritual to transform her into a reverend mother for the Fremen tribe with usgae 'Water of Life'. During such a ritual, her predecessor Reverend Mother - passes on all her knowledge to new 'mother'. But these are not just facts and whispers of history. The Reverend Mother is like a vessel - storing not only history but the previous lives/incarnations of the Reverend Motheres, and many other shadows of past entities.

Alia absorbed this information together with her mother while still in her womb. Happily Jessica and Alia survived the process, but the joy did not last long.

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She was different from birth. Her behaviour since the cradle surprised and very often frightened others. Several years old children, who formulate their thoughts very clearly, can throw us off guard. Imagine a few years old who not only quotes from books which have long ceased to exist, but lectures and ridicules you.

She was not only extremely intelligent (not even taking into account her young age at the time) but had access to the knowledge of thousands of people who were 'alive in her'.

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The following paragraphs contain some spoilers, so consider if you really want to read this.

Alia, not yet 10 years old, took part in the Battle of Arakin. A clear indication of her character, despite her age, is the fact that she was in charge of killing the wounded and marking the bodies from which the water was to be 'taken back to tribe' (Water on Arrakis was the highest good, and surrounded by a great cult. Thus even moisture was recovered from .... yes, from the dead.)

Besides, it was she who dealt a fatal blow to the then greatest enemy of the Atreides - Baron Vladimir Harkonn, with the help of a poisoned needle 'Gom Jabbar'.

Although at first it seemed that Alia was coping well with the constant presence of her ancestors - her personality began to fall apart. Other voices took control of her, the main one being Baron Harkonnen, who - even more frightening in the context of her story - was her grandfather (Jessica's father). Then, more and more often, other characters referred to her as The Abomination.] This is the spoiler content.


I will not spoil much more for you, because I hope that at least a handful of you will pick up the books and get to know her fate first hand.

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About the drawing

As I mentioned when drawing Baron Harkonnen - the author of Dune doesn't give much indication as to what the characters looked like. However, in the book it is repeatedly emphasised how captivatingly beautiful Lady Jessica, Ali's mother, was. So we can forseen with high degree of probability that Alia was also a beautiful woman.

However, Alia was after all first 'Abomination'. Apart form that she lived many years with the Fremen, so her eyes were 'blue within blue' and she learn to fight and survive on the desert.

Her fate makes it very difficult to think of her in terms of a woman or simply a human being. She was more than human and at the same time lost much of her humanity. I wanted to show that she still had the 'clothes of a human', but what is most important is what was going on in the depths of her soul, or rather souls.

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I leave you today with a short quote from the book:

"The Fremen see her as the Earth Figure, a demi-goddess whose special charge is to protect the tribes through her powers of violence. She is Reverend Mother to their Reverend Mothers. To pilgrims who seek her out with demands that she restore virility or make the barren fruitful, she is a form of anti-mentat. She feeds on that strong human desire for the mysterious. She is living proof that the 'analytic' has limits. She represents ultimate tension. She is the virgin-harlot - witty, vulgur, cruel, as destructive in her whims as a coriolis storm."

St Alia-of-the-Knife as taken from The Irulan Report

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I hope you have great rest of your week,
Yours,
Strega Azure

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I used pencils: 10B, 8B, 4B, 2B, F, 2H, 5H, 8H, metallic gold Sharpie, gold acrylic paint,
watercolour pencils.

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Drawing & pictures are my authorship if not stated otherwise,
all rights reserved @strega.azure ©

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P.S. Just dropped Official Trailer of second part of cinematic version of 'Dune'

YouTube link here



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She's beautiful ! The effort you must have put into this has definitely paid off, especially the way her eyes act as such an intense focus for the whole piece 😀

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Thank you! It's very important to me that this is how it is seen, because that was my intention!
Alia was a very mystical and mysterious character, that's why I wanted to put focus on her fremen 'blue within blue' eyes. Thank you for stepping by!

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I am impressed that as a result of a story like Dune, you take such an exceptional drawing, you are very talented, I love seeing all your drawings, but without a doubt this is one of my favorites so far

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Thank you for your kind words! Dune series is one of my very favourite books, and I wanted to draw the characters long ago, but their stories in books are so complex and their stories very intricate, making it very difficult to capture their essence in a single image.

I will probably still try to make a portrait of her that could be created in the book after her death. Her character was surrounded by a great cult. I think that some kind of icon would be in order:)

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It's really quite something how you draw; took me a while to go through these. The blending of colour into pencil, most particularly her eyes is so well done. I've never blended colour with pencils like that when drawing, so I've had to really pause and zoom in to look at how you've done it. Beautiful.

Her eyes have an emphasized otherworldly and old feeling, holding hidden secrets. There's a generalized sufferage in her expression, most strongly about her mouth, none of which takes away from her beauty. There's both young and old in one. The hands influencing her are interesting, very much coming across as controlling influences. What is that unusual ornament on her finger?

It's been so long since I read Dune, I won't mention how long. Quite a treat to read what you write, which is reminding me.

Alia - The Pre-Born
This means that her conscious awakening developed before birth. In 'Dune', the term 'consciousness' has a much more complicated meaning than its standard etymological definition.

I definitely need to read them again with a different set of eyeballs.

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(Edited)

I am glad you find my technique interesting! I am trying not to think too much during the process itself, so that my movements aren't somehow artificially trained, but intuitive. This way I feel the drawing itself is more honest if that make any sense :)

I have used pictures of Gene Tierney as a reference for face. She was as an American film and stage actress from golden age of Hollywood. I've chose her exactly because her features are both - young and old, sad and hopeful. Apart form this - the actress in Lynches' Dune that was cast for Jessica(which in my opinion was really well casted) resemble same beauty type. I though it will be good match:)

I definitely need to read them again with a different set of eyeballs.

I have read Dune first time in high school, and although I liked it, I don't think I actually understand much from it. Now I find in these books something completely different, a timeless beauty and many unsaid elements which allow us to build further storylines on the top what Herbert has created:)

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Impressive match, I just looked at photos of Gene Tierney, since I'm not familiar with her. I get the impression there's a fair amount of consideration in your selections.

I am trying not to think too much during the process itself, so that my movements aren't somehow artificially trained, but intuitive.

That's it exactly. Train and practice until there is just a being, doing, that place that is purely intuitive. I liken it to entering a river and moving with it.

I've noticed how one's growth shift one's perspective, so having the Dune books be something completely different is a another level of experiencing them, therefore greater understanding. I often wonder about people who create in the manner that Herbert has, what deeper knowledge they have and how they came to have it. There's a lot of examples I could cite, but I'll bet you get what I mean already.

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Gene Tierney as many others actresses from that time has this sadness in her eyes. Even when she was very young she looked very seriously and maturely. I don't know whatever that was trend of this time, maybe it has been somehow desirable pose of those times, but I find it very interesting.

I get your meaning. I have to say I am extremely jealous how those writers create visions like this. More so - many of them predicted the future quite accurately. It is incredible, and I am in constant awe reading books of futurists:)

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Interesting what you've described about her and other actresses at that time. I think you're correct from what I recall. It's been a long time since I watched films, but I used to enjoy ones from that time period. I'm not sure if it was a trend. That's a good question.

Yeah, these writers like that, truly quite the visions. I can see how you feel that way. To me, these things are so delicious, decandent. I really love being in the role of enjoying what others create, especially writers, the worlds they bring into being.

many of them predicted the future quite accurately

I'd suggest that they had access to information not available to most, based on my intuition, this is what I keep sensing.

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So as far as I know that old-looking adults were a thing because numerous reasons - there is a heavy makeup, that was and still is used for TV, a style of hair that makes even very young people quite old, and there is one more thing - drugs. Stars, not only women, but men too quite often were heavily drugged because the tv set was bought for hours not days or months, and they had to do as much work as soon as possible. So actors needed 'help' to stay awake and do their required amount of shootings. It was really bad.

I'd suggest that they had access to information not available to most, based on my intuition, this is what I keep sensing.

I often think the same thing, that it is no way, they just had to have some sources.

The same thing is with L.Da Vinci - there are many speculations that he had access to travel journals of sailors, and he was coping some technologies that were known already(in China for example), but unknown in Europe still, so he was called a 'genius'there, although many ideas weren't really his. But there is not much proof of that 'fact' and we will probably never know :/

Still I find it fascinating :)

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The make-up, the drugs, yes; had not thought of hairstyles making one look old, but yes, that also. Excellent point.

It was really bad.

I can imagine and I see nothing changes that way over time.

Da Vinci, most definitely one who had access to much, connected into many things, although I've not spent that much time looking at the complexity of all of it. All these things are an infinite spider web of infinite dimensions.

Yes, fascinating. Way too many fascinating threads. 😂

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Yeah, I don't really see much change either. More so - we can see younger and younger kids in show business, which is horrible. Back in the days director would chose adult person with child- ish features for the roles, but not today. Today is just normal that kids are movie stars. All this 'mickey mouse' club stuff just gives me creeps, not gonna lie.

Da Vinci

There are many indications that suggest exactly this. And I don't have in mind this BS books of Dan's Brown, I mean the actual facts. And facts are - he 'did' way too much for his or any person life time. Quite similar situation with Shakespeare - there are many poems and books that are assigned to him, but there are no proofs, he actually wrote those :D

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All this 'mickey mouse' club stuff just gives me creeps, not gonna lie.

Yeah. I'm familiar with way too much about some things that I don't touch on publicly (for many, many reasons). Suffice to say it's all by design and the far back big picture view is shattering.

Shirley Temple came to mind as I read your comment. I did get into a bit of her back story and again, same sort of stuff.

BS books of Dan's Brown

🤣🤣🤣
Best laugh I had today reading that.

he 'did' way too much for his or any person life time.

Yes. It's very obvious that that is the case. I've always had this intuitive feeling about something going on there with Da Vinci. There are facts though, as you say. Seen some of that in my wanderings.

Quite similar situation with Shakespeare - there are many poems and books that are assigned to him, but there are no proofs, he actually wrote those :D

I agree. Got that same feeling about him. There are no proofs as you say.

Ever looked at Hieronymous Bosch's work? Some interesting things going on there. Not much known about him. I really wonder how his paintings were created and who made them, if it even was him, or he even existed.

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Shirley Temple story is just tragic, I've seen many interviews with her... 😥

I am glad I made you laugh!

So with Bosh - not that simple story. Love this one, and I am in the deep with his story.

The chronology of the artist's legacy is contentious. His paintings are not dated, so most publications on Bosch do not give the year in which each work was created. Done by Tolnay's classic monograph has not stood the test of time. It was challenged by dendrochronological research and stylistic analysis. The breakthrough came with an exhibition of works in Rotterdam in (early 2000s), which completely re-evaluated the state of knowledge about the artist. So now we have 'unquestionable work' and 'questionable' ones :D

Plus one more thing - every artist has students, very often few. Like Da Vincie - was a student of Verrocchio(there were rumours Verioccio stopped painting because he saw his student was far superior painter then he was;/)
So Bosh - it is very possible he had a lot of help. None of great artist was giving credits his students, so I am not surprised - we know very little about it in general. Plus he was working in late gothic and early renaissance time, so I am not surprised we know so little about him.

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You've spent more time on Shirley Temple than I and yes, very tragic.

I had a feeling Bosch was one you'd resonate with. That's some tidbits I didn't know about him, thank you.

'unquestionable work' and 'questionable' ones

This. Exactly. I question what known information is deliberately hidden. He would have had students/apprentices, so that's another aspect. Time period also makes it difficult to know information about him. I've been fascinated with his work for about twenty years now.

National gallery here thinks they may have one of his paintings, which I had the opportunity to see in person once. It was tiny, approx 6 inches by 3 1/2 inches in size. I can't recall details about the painting (it's an obscure one), other than I couldn't see a single suggestion of a brush stroke and as I stared at it for a lengthy time, there was a feeling of something otherworldly about it.

Verioccio stopped painting because he saw his student was far superior painter then he was

I didn't know that, that's hilarious!

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cough
@dandays

@corvidae, if I tag him, I must tag you, since you're the sassier one, right?

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I guess we were both off being our sassy selves, sorry I missed voting on this masterpiece though!

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Well I think you went far east to be sassy but not stay, from my brief look, you had a good excuse. My only excuse is that life is trying to kill me.

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Technically, as the plane flies, I went far west...

Sassy enough for you??

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As long as you stay within the bounds of the ice walls like a good girl, otherwise, you might disappear.

Sassy enough for you??

Getting warmer.

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It seems I have learnt many things today from your information. Good to know about it.

In case of your artwork, I am impressed. I prefer to say it as a masterpiece. It's indeed a masterpiece in my eyes.
!PIZZA

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So glad to see you here @intishar!
I am glad you like this one too:) With character like Alia I had to dedicate the post to her alone, since she was so complicated individual. I hope you have fund it interesting:)

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Fantastic piece. I love the beauty aspect that you have brought out and it is instantly recognisable as Dune fan art. I watched now the first part and agree it was a great film although with a few flaws, but overall very enjoyable. Somehow I am not liking Timothée Chalamet as Paul though. I can't wait for part 2.


I have picked this post on behalf of the @OurPick project which will be highlighted in the next post! Comment Footer.jpg

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Thank you very much @mypathtofire!
To be fair, I have to give Timothée Chalamet credit for this role, even without judging whatever his performance was good or bad. Paul is such difficult persona to introduce to people, he has god complex from the very beginning in the books. He as a character is just insufferably preachy and 'know it all'. But the thing is - he actually know all those things, so to portray such a individual, so the audience will not hate him right away was really hard, that for sure:)

Thank you for picking me! @OurPick

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that's good work.

for me it captures Alia a little older than her age by the end of the book, but that's my interpretation.

again, good work

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Oh yeah, I went for older one, when she was already established 'Abomination' and met ghola Idaho.
I initially started working on her as a child, but it gave me actual shivers. She was such a tariffing character, even as a child. I couldn't get out of my head kids form Village of the Damned(1960). I just couldn't pass it.

I will do more of her incarnations - as child and as a object of worship in her later years, but it is gives me too much creeps for now:)

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The talent leaves me speechless.
The pictures look so real and evokes all kinds of emotions from it's spectators. The hands around Alia looks dark and ominous. I simply have no words🌹

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Thank you very much! I actually though to add more of those ominous entities behind her, but it would took me few more days, that's for sure!
Thank you for visiting my bog.

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This is gorgeous. Yo be able to create your image from a book, that is a gift if you ask me. And I love how much effort you put in it!
#Dreemport

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Hi @deraaa!
I am very glad you like my drawing! With books like Dune is a lot of fun, because Herbert's writing is so enigmatic - it leaves plenty of room for my own imagination:)

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