Hello friends, sending you all a big hug from afar. The other day I showed you a drawing I made of a harp. That harp was one of the rare ones you can find in Rising Star. Well, today I wanted to show you a close cousin of the instrument: another rare deck, the Guqin. As you can see, it's similar to the harp, but it's not a sibling; it's more of a distant cousin, and I'll tell you why in a moment. If you want to buy this deck for your collection, the number used to identify it is R249. I think it's an excellent option; it also offers 50 Luck per card, so it's a good one. Before I talk about the instrument, I'll show you the first images of how I drew it.
Well, friends, the guqin is similar to the harp because it has a somewhat similar string system; the strings are tensioned at the ends, and both are made of high-quality wood to produce the best possible sound. The difference between them is that they are played differently. The guqin is placed on a table, which is why it has one flat side, while the harp is held in the hand or, like the one we saw the other day, played on the floor. Unlike the harp, the guqin's origins are uncertain; it is known to have originated in China.
The artwork on the deck itself already gave you a clue because, if you look closely, there are Chinese characters and Chinese calligraphy. That makes it very beautiful to look at. By the way, this reminds me that a few days ago I also showed you another drawing that was Japanese and had Japanese characters. Rising Star never ceases to amaze me; there are so many incredible decks.
I've had the opportunity to hear the guqin a couple of times, mostly on Chinese programs I've watched on TV. I remember seeing a cultural segment on a news program and a short documentary about Chinese music. This instrument appeared in that documentary. Seeing it today reminded me of that program and others I've seen.
So, I'll give you a quick recap of the drawing because I imagine you're curious to know how I drew it. Well, look at the first images I posted above. As you can see, this is how I did the pencil sketches of the guqin and the deck's base. I always start by drawing the deck's title and then the base around it. I always do it with a pencil and then go over it with a marker. I don't go over it with the marker first because if I make a mistake, I can't erase it. That's why I do it the other way around.
In the other images, you saw how I used my set of colored pencils to color everything. But there's something else you need to see: the highlighting with a black marker and the finished piece.
Thank you, friends, for joining me again today. I'll be back soon with a new drawing for you.