Samael Waits for You

"Samael Waits for You"
(Hellsing)
 
Casually speaking, I'm not usually one for violent supernatural thriller series, anime or otherwise, but something about Hellsing -or more specifically, its OVA- stood out to me. I don't know if its how well its story is told, the interesting mix of supernatural creatures and military, or even its surprisingly apt grasp on history and the woes of churchdom (on more than just Catholicism, at that). Or maybe it's how well Team Four Star had been doing on their Hellsing Ultimate Abridged. I dunno, but it was definitely a series that actually stuck with me in a positive way. My wife enjoyed it more than me (Which is saying a bit), so she commissioned this piece from me... Back in January.

Needless to say, like many pieces I do that are of the larger format, I got overwhelmed and shelved the piece well into the inking phase. But, of course, I decided to pick it back up and finish inkin as well as color it all in one day. I should really stop caving to my anxieties.

The many eyes, as well as the shadow matter they dwell within, were my biggest issues with the piece, but all came together pretty well. I remember feeling a little "unwell" after doing all the impaled bodies on the right-hand side of the piece, but I tried my best to keep them more silhouetted. A lot of this picture took me outside of my comfort zones, so hopefully they don't come off as too subdued.

September 23, 2017
Normal pens, Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and chalk pastels
on 11x17" cardstock

Gunship 4x4

"Gunship 4x4"
(Metroid series / Rocket League)
 
Metroid's been getting a lot of love, lately, eh? Two new games -one of which is out now- and also a "cameo" in the extreme fantasy sport game Rocket League; who's Switch port has exclusive cars based on Mario, Luigi, and Samus' Gunship. Admittedly, I let the idea of a pin-up illustration run away with me, to which, here we are!

I will say, I haven't seriously drawn a real car in a long LONG time, so this was a daunting endeavor, but I found just enough references to make the thing work with minimal guess work as to shapes and details. I'd say the biggest challenge was deciding to still go with traditional for the piece, but I think it adds some character I know would have been lost had I attempted digital. The colors all balance really well, which I am proud of, especially going with Samus' Fusion ending suit, compliments the orange of the car.

September 21, 2017
Micron Pen, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, Sharpie Neon markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

Dreams Come True

"Dreams Come True"
(Sonic The Hedgehog series)
 
Admittedly, I'm not a Sonic fan. Or rather, I never grew up with Sonic. I played a few games here and there when visiting friends and relatives who had a Genesis, however our household was SNES. That being said, my small time with those classic cartridges made me understand why Sonic is so revered by his fans... And why the 3D generation has had them so downtrodden over the franchise. I still have yet to play Sonic Mania due to the PC version delay, however, I am definitely on board the hype train for it, especially for my wife, who had grown up with Sonic and knows Sonics 2, 3, and 3&K  like the back of her hand.
Oddly enough, I had this picture in mind for quite a while now, but kept it stewing until it bubbled over. And I'm glad I did, because the final product is bounds over the minor ambition the original plan was. I tried my best to let the colors do the talking rather than thick dark ink lines and crisp cel-style shading. The background had a LOT of ambition poured into it, but I think despite my many flubs and supply issues, it still turned out well.
Trying to imagine what the Chemical Plant Zone would look like from an outside view was kinda difficult, so I kinda tucked it away. lol

August 17, 2017
Mechanical pencil, Copic pen, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pen
on 8.5x11" cardstock

Xenogals: 'Vierge'

"Xenogals: 'Vierge'"
(Xenogears)
 
Almost forgot about this project! lol Well, a year later's better than never, right?
The Vierge is main female character and love interest Elly's gear throughout most of the playable game. It has a very feminine design that made translating it to Mecha-Musume rather easy, so I decided to have fun with it by having her/it do its rare Aerod (Funnel) attack. It gave me a chance to give this one some personality, and I think it makes it my favorite of the four done, thus far.
I think the bright colors turned our better than I had thought they would. My pink selection's limited, and the Vierge has 3 or 4 differing tones of pink on its body, but I think I managed to separate them pretty well. Especially compared to the Weltall's 4~5 different blue-greys...

July 30, 2017
Sakura Pigma pens, normal pens, Prismacolor Markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

*Determination

"*Determination"

(Undertale)

 
What can I say about Undertale that hasn't already been said? It's the most amazing indie RPG I've ever played, and love its twists in both gameplay and narrative, and I love how much the game is actually playing you, in the end. It's weird how attached you can get to characters in what feels like only a 7-10 hour game.

This piece started as a simple sketch. The human handing the monster a flower. The best part of this concept is the duality of the symbolism, especially depending on how you run the game. It's one that hit me hard in conceptualizing, and had to get it out quickly. I had no intention on coloring it, so instead I just did some digital shading on the piece, transferred it to a copper parchment texture, and erased part of that around the human (I'm intentionally being vague with the characters, as playing this game I feel is best to go in with as little idea as to what it is as possible). I only colored the flower, giving a bit more power to its presence, as small as it may be.

July 8, 2017
Pencil and Photoshop Elements3300x2550 pixels (native)

The Chozen One

"The Chozen One"

(Samus Aran from Metroid/Original Concept)

 
I'll be honest, this isn't the most original idea, as I've seen other knight armored Samus' in the past. But with the Varia Suit design updated for the upcoming Metroid: Samus Returns, I love the layered armor look that they did for it, and it made me want to convert it into a more traditional armor set. And yes, I even opted to make sure the entire body was covered, if not in armor, than in cloth and chain mail. I did a lot of gaps in the armor simply to keep Samus' agility and acrobatics intact, but decided to give her under garb akin to her zero suit. I really like the sword, designed to look like her arm cannon, and the cape, which has the silhouette of a familiar nemisis...

Rather than inked lineart, I just did it in pencil, to keep it relatively soft. I reprinted it onto ivory parchment paper (with a slight brown hue to the lining) and colored it with my standard fare of Prismacolors. I tried to keep the shades soft, as well, going for more typical older medieval fantasy art. I only used a white charcoal pencil for highlights here and there.

July 6, 2017
Pencil, Prismacolor markers, and charcoal pencils
on 8.5x11 parchment paper

Komm Süsser Tod Ver.:||

"Komm Süsser Tod Ver:||"

(The End of Evangelion)

 
A redo of a piece I had done way back in 2005, this piece was both a nod to one of my favorite movies (still, to date), as well as an overall visual of how far I've come in the last 12 years. I saw The End of Evangelion in my late teens, so I definitely feel I saw it at the ideal point in my life to have the biggest impact (heh), and that it did. Evangelion as a whole influenced a lot of my current social perceptions, and rightfully shaped me into who I am today (for better or for worse).

While the prior version was inked on a legal size (14x8.5) sheet and colored digitally, this version was done on 11x17, and traditionally. Kind of an incidental flip on the franchise's current trends. My understanding of anatomy has improved dramatically, but I've seemed to have lost the ability to mimic Sadamoto's linework styling (though saying my first version was a successful attempt would be an attack on his talents).

Things like the background were much more fleshed out, and each character has been added some dynamics to their prior stoic and bland forms. The Eva's wings have also lost the inked lining to their shape, and are now all colored and a brighter color. The starburst around the sun was the riskiest part, but I feel it paid off when viewed with the whole of the work.

May 29, 2017

Micron pens, Pigma pens, Prismacolor markers, colored pencils, chalk pastels, and gel pens

on 11x17 cardstock

"Komm Süsser Tod"

(The End of Evangelion)

Unknown, 2005
Normal pens and PainterClassic

1307x800 pixels