Hiiiii :)

(small rant below, skip for drawing!!!) (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

Seeing this reblog opened my eyes (tysm vinesandbones!!!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)<3). I made a sketch a while ago in my notebook during that part in the novel! Worked on rendering it digitally, which took an embarrassingly long amount of time (6 hours sorry for the delay;; (⁠ꏿ⁠﹏⁠ꏿ⁠;⁠) ) , but it's pretty much done! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠) It's more of a general piece rather than being focused on a specific chapter, since I really don't remember anything! ^⁠_⁠^ (Which is why there's the Dawn set and long hair lol) (I was going to add a battlefield on the bottom, but a combination of laziness and lacking memory of the novel stopped me (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠) )

Anyways, here's the drawing!!!!

I hope y'all's like it!!!!!! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

Here are the other versions:

Sketch!

Vers without the lighting overlay!

No clouds!

Test Sheet! (Planning)

I have absolutely no idea where to start explaining but if you can't tell, pictured above is Lee Hoyeol and Grandfell (with the difference in hair color and apparent contrast in color)! ^⁠_⁠^

For the pose inspo, it's mainly supposed to resemble an eye (which will be the title because I was lazy), so that's why there's that weird square in the middle, which is like a pupil of sorts. Moving on to the inspiration from the novel and series, I tried to detail and separate their outfits to the best of my ability, the dark blue being the Dawn set, and the black is Grandfell's suit or whole ensemble in Arcana. The background shape is a six pointed star, which is supposed to represent the hexagram brooch from the novel, which I will give a further visual on later! The background colours are pretty much based on the manhwa cover! (LHY = Red, GCAR = Blue) (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

Base pattern! (3 editions)

This is the main version I printed three times! Larger version of LHY, which means I was able to add more details to the print, such as adding folds, the buttons and tassels + ropes on the suit! Also I cut out the outline and hands first thing to keep it clear since the white ink isn't that effective! (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Experimentals! (4 versions!)

1. Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo

Experimentals were basically do whatever you want, so that's where to put the most references! (⁠^⁠^⁠) My teacher showed us this large bin of different colored papers and patterns and when I saw this sheet I genuinely started salivating a little;;;; (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠) I got to add a lot of details!!! my goal for this particular copy was to highlight Grandfell's relation to Claudi, and also just his atristrocatry! My teacher really loved this one and I was trying to stifle a laugh. Blue and Silver??? No way it's literally the thing!?!?!? [Mind blown] I was very glad with how the white ink overlayed with the bottom layer, since Grandfell has silver hair in canon, not pure white. ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

2. Lee Hoyeol

Found a cool floral print, but it was a bit too large, so I used some of the components to make a collage of sorts! It reminded me of all the early season joy/happiness and I miss his whimsy so much;;; I could even go as far as to make the connections to the novel like how the light background represents Lee Hoyeol's early past, which has been stained by all his sins from his regressions. And like trust the eye is a window into the soul or whatever they say! (⁠ ⁠；⁠∀⁠；⁠)

3. The Player Hides His Past

Really excited for this one! Based on the manhwa cover, which is pretty obvious, so I was really happy to find this red and blue patterned paper! It isn't really visible, but the background for the print is in red and blue ink respectively, but it's less visible since it's semi transparent. Very pleased with the simplicity of the process and how it turned out! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Manhwa cover for further comparison!:

4. Tea for Two

Here is the amalgamation of references into one edition! I put the visual layout below, but it was a blast trying to combine both references to the series and personal experiences while reading it! The whole shape is a teacup, a callback to the series and Grandfell's love for green tea, but I used a music sheet to place the print, and I wouldn't be able to create the shape without cutting into the print itself, so I used spare materials from the bin! So fun fact, this teacup actually has a silver coloured backing! (Yet another reference!) (⁠・⁠∀⁠・)

Extra: Explanation Chart

🩶: Six sided star is referencing the hexagram brooch/pendant that appears in the series! Only added both of the novel covers but it has already made an appearance in the manhwa a while ago! (I just forgot to find the screenshot) (⁠^▽⁠ ^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

🟩: Tried to recreate the teacup on the cover to the best of my ability! Made the tea bag and handle also! I really love how important tea became in this series in regards with character dynamics and further in the story! ◉⁠‿⁠◉

🔷: Sheet music from my ensemble (a spare copy)! My favorite cover of this song (which I was really stupid to realize a few months after playing) is from The Bachelors, who also covered Tea For Two! Got both of these songs in the phhp playlist!

Honorable mention songs! (Songs that stood out to me but I didn't add to the playlist for reasons listed below):

1.

For very obvious reasons, this song fits extremely well with the series. But I didn't really want to listen to this song every time I started playing it! ┐⁠(⁠‘⁠～⁠`⁠;⁠)⁠┌

2.

a) I really like this song, it's one of my father's favorites! I also think it fits really well with the whole ship dynamic, but I miight have listened to Olivia Newton John way too much back in 2020, and it would be kinda hard to add her back into this playlist. (Silly reason sorry (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠) )

b) It fits on multiple levels, but again clashes with the playlist itself due to the difference in genre and time period.

c) One of the recent song examples I was talking about earlier; I listened to it a while ago and I could still see some connections today when Spotify decides to play it, but it would just clash with the rest of the playlist;;; (Might make a semi modern song playlist vers for phhp? If anyone is interested enough because I don't know a ton of songs)

3.

I really like this song, but the subject matter is very ooc (out of character). I typically avoided adding songs where the angst or blues come from:

- Partner cheating

- Finding a new lover

- Losing feelings

- Partner is just pretending to love

- Partner is being manipulative/using the singer

The disconnect just hits really hard with these topics for me (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

This is also why I didn't include the following song! :]

4.

I really enjoyed The Crew Cuts and their harmony in this song, but the novel has proved on multiple occasions in the past, present and future that disloyalty is not in the picture at all. Again a really good song but too ooc to be added to the rest of the playlist.

5.

I could really see this as like a comedic portrayal of Grandfell's noble behavior and language, but at some parts in the song I really felt like I was stretching it, so it wasn't added (Johnny Mercer's other song 'Candy' was tho). (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

Key songs!!!!! (Songs that really changed/enhanced the way I read The Player Hides His Past, and also made me go 'oh my gosh this is their song') !

1.

The Bachelors just absolutely carried my entire novel reading experience. One of the main running jokes in phhp is tea, and the real cherry on top is the novel containing multiple important scenes pertaining to tea drinking together (cough cough chapter 615-617 (⁠╯⁠︵⁠╰⁠,⁠) ), that really enhance the correlation between this song and the actual series. It gives me hope for a happy ending. •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀

2.

I also greatly enjoyed Vic Dana's album, and this song and its imagery really gave me a clear scenario picture. ( It's one of my digital WIPs! I might post it as a WIP and finish it later (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) ) The romance in this song's instrumentals and lyrics are so good I swear;;

3.

I really associate this song with The Player Hides His Past's arcs and storyline the most, based on the connection to action and fantasy themes. The imagery is really strong, and the further I read tphhp, the more every single line and lyric started to connect with the actual series. I could genuinely write an entirely separate post analyzing each lyric from this song and how it compares and connects to The Player Hides His Past. Genuinely a great experience being able to listen to this and read the novel in the early morning at my bus stop while the sun is rising. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)

4.

This song is really amazing with its musical dynamics, and The Mills Brothers really achieved a great vocal harmony and tempo. Regarding the thematic connection to tphhp, I associate it (and many other songs related to time in this playlist) with

*SPOILERS*

the regressions that are revealed to have happened, which is kind of a stretch, but the original meaning of the song also fits too. ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

5.

Oh I cried

I cried real bad.

This song played when I was reading chapter 616 & 617, and The Vouges did such a great job with this song, the vocals and musical dynamics enhanced the heartbreak and angst to a staggering degree. The absolute devotion in this song is just so amazing, and pairing it with The Player Hides His Past is such a diabolical combination. (⁠'●⌓●⁠`) (In the best way possible)

Number 6 would be Warm by The Skyliners but I ran out of images!!!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) Again another great song to read the novel with in the early morning when the sun is rising!!! (⁠✷⁠‿⁠✷⁠)