Guardian

"Guardian"
(Final Fantasy VIII)

This is a piece that has sat shelved for almost 5 years, now, but recently found again. I had considered starting it over from scratch with actual inked lineart, but decided to finish the piece as is. It was meant to be a sort-of self-gift for my wife and I's wedding, however my inability to complete it until now makes it an early fifth anniversary present.

The lineart of this was done in colored pencil, somewhat color-matching the held colors, akin to what I did (technically later) on my fist Breath of the Wild piece. I believe my original plan for the background is what lead me to walk away from this piece for so long, as I intended to fill the grass with flowers matching the petals blowing around the foreground of the image. In order to finally finish this pic, I ultimately scrapped that concept, as I had no practical way of accomplishing this effect confidently.

May 13, 2018
Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, chalk pastels, and gel pens
on 11x17" cardstock 

Crisis for the Planet

"Crisis for the Planet"
(Final Fantasy VII)
 
This is a redo of a much older piece. I had it in mind to go back to this one for quite a while, however, the original had a lot of motifs I feel are now rather cliche of me, so I wanted to find a way to make it fresher.
Firstly, I changed the poses held by the two characters, putting Aerith in a prayer stance (which doubles as covering herself, lol), and placed Sephiroth in a powerful outstretched arms pose. It's minor, but adds more dynamics and personality to their presence. I also ditched the Advent Children-esque look for somewhat more classic-faithful models, which I also tried to replicate in the coloring style, mixing markers with colored pencils for a recreation of texture found in Nomura's character illustrations.
Losing the yin/yang motif, I moved the Materias to the sides, being "cupped" by the ends of the central glyph, which to keen eyes is recognized as the symbol used on the title card and opening credits. For the background colors, I wanted the base colors of the materia to start around their locations and swirl into a mix as they approach the opposite, invoking a sort of color wheel look.
As a final touch, I put my signature at both ends so there's no "real" top or bottom to this piece.


March 30, 2018
Micron Pen, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock 
Paper texture added digitally via Photoshop Elements 7.0

The Planet's Battle

"The Planet's Battle"
(Emerald Weapon, Ultima Weapon, Ruby Weapon, Sapphire Weapon, and Diamond Weapon from Final Fantasy VII)
 
This one took me quite a bit longer than I thought! (lol)

I always liked the concept of the Weapons from FFVII. Something about a "natural mecha" was very interesting to me, especially when I was younger. That giant-robot-meets-kaiju appearance and backstory made these unique in the Final Fantasy realm, as well as their almost ambivalent purpose.
I threw in the battle between the White Materia Holy and the Black Materia Meteor, using the Lifestream versus Sephiroth's Negative Lifestream. So it was a theme of black vs. white, green vs. red, and the Weapons as the neutral middle.
 
I started this one only a couple months ago, getting the lineart done in only a couple of days, with full satisfactory. but coloring it had me stumped. I had roughly two other attempts, with one getting rather far before I started to feel unimpressed with the turnout. To be honest, even this final one doesn't quite feel like it's anything like I envisioned. Perhaps something like this was better left to digital mediums. (lol)

Unfortunately, the worst part is some of the finer coloring details may have been lost in the scanning process, due to my scanner washing out light colors. Something I can usually correct in post-scanning, but the complexity of the outline rendered that difficult, if not, impossible.

August 24, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Buster Vine

"Buster Vine"
(Final Fantasy VII / Vinesauce)
 
A quick illustration I made for Vinny of the video game stream site Vinesauce, who's recently been playing Final Fantasy VII, Ironically a few weeks prior to the announcement of Square Enix's remake.
I decided to make it look like the loading screen image, but placed his signature Vineshroom next to Cloud's Buster Sword.
The main illustration is done in my usual traditional means, however, I did some extra digital work to my submitted versions on the Vinebooru, to be used either as wallpaper/splash images and also as a "BRB" during their intermissions.
Sadly, whether he ever actually saw the pieces is forever a mystery to me. :\

June 21, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

"Buster Vine" & "Buster Vine (Ver.BRB)"

June 21, 2015

Compiled and edited on Photoshop Elements Editor
Cursor sprite taken directly from Final Fantasy VII game assets

Those Chosen by the Planet - Set 4

"Those Chosen by the Planet" (Set 4)
(Vincent Valentine, Cid Highwind, and Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII)
 
Part 4 of the FF7 project. This one finishes off the playable roster with Cid and Vincent. I managed a solution to keep this from just being two characters and to pair with Zack, I brought in Cloud in his Shinra Guard uniform from the Nibelheim incident, looking all mopey and ashamed. (lol)

While I anticipated keeping all the textures of black material diverse on Vincent to be a challenge, I did not foresee Cid's design being so complex in its color palette. He also features several interesting efforts, such as the lenses on his goggles, the light from his cigarette, and the patches on his bomber jacket.

June 21, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Those Chosen by the Planet - Set 3

"Those Chosen by the Planet" (Set 3)
(Zack Fair, Cait Sith, and Yuffie Kisaragi from Final Fantasy VII)
 
Part 3 of the FF7 project. This set introduces the secret characters into the mix, with Yuffie. However, when I realized that the numbers were gonna be off by one if I just stuck with the playable characters, with 3 to a sheet, there'd have only been one person on the next set. So, I opted to add bonus characters, starting with Zack, Cloud's friend from SOLDIER (As well as the protagonist from Crisis Core). But with Vincent and Cid left, that's still only two characters for the fourth set... Or is it?

I never noticed how much color separation Yuffie's outfit has until I went to color this piece. Needless to say, she was the hardest on here. However, with the added pencil hatching effect on her fishnets and the tassels of her headband, I think the effort shows more, as well. Sadly, in the case of Zack, I'm not positive I color matched the blues I used on Cloud's picture very accurately. :\

As mentioned with the previous sets, I am hoping to sell these as individual prints, later down the line, probably as 5x7's.

June 20, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Those Chosen by the Planet - Set 2

"Those Chosen by the Planet" (Set 2)
(Barret Wallace, Red XIII, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII)
 
Part 2 of the FF7 project. I decided to wrap up the crew gained in Midgar, as well as Sephiroth.

I had a bit of a difficult time with Barret, largely due to me not having perfect colored markers for his proper palette, but I think I got it close enough. Sephiroth provided some further worry, mostly because of his all-leather ensemble. But, once again, I think I pulled it off with minimal gripes.

As mentioned with the previous set, I am hoping to sell these (as well as the rest of the cast when I get to them) as individual prints, later down the line, probably as 5x7's.

June 7, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Those Chosen by the Planet - Set 1

"Those Chosen by the Planet" (Set 1)
(Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII)
 
A project I thought up a bit back to make illustrations of the FF7 cast in art styles reminiscent of their in-game field models, but didn't really have a complete execution in mind. I just decided to do individual character pics, with roughly 3 per sheet.

Since these three are arguably the main characters within the protagonists, I did them first. While I started them based on those blocky, Popeye-armed renders, I decided to give them some visual aesthetic to make them more pleasing.

I'm in progress of doing the rest of the main cast, and am hoping to sell these as individual prints, later down the line, probably as 5x7's.

June 7, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charchol pencil, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Seventh Heaven (Redo)

"Seventh Heaven" (Redo)
(Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII)
 
I admit it. Growing up, this was likely my first fictional crush. Of course, I was also 12, at the time. 
Among many, MANY things Final Fantasy VII is known for, it's safe to say that Tifa is arguably one of the most popular outside of the gamer stratum. At a time where kick-ass female characters were starting to emerge, she also had the deep personality and character to keep her from being just another pretty face.
I did this picture digitally back in 2007, so almost 8 years of new techniques and broader study of anatomy and "physics" made this picture a "Definite" on my redo list. This one also challenged me with the lighting and shadowing, to which I think turned out far better than anticipated. The biggest change to the old one was sort of me trying to blend her original appearance with her Advent Children one, going for her white top and miniskirt with the apron/cape and pink ribbon being the only tack-ons from her movie visage.
Also note the barely visible "VII" in the background...

April 24, 2015
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Eyes on Me

 "Eyes on Me"
(Final Fantasy VIII / Original)

The key illustration for the invitations to our wedding. It was difficult capturing just the right emotion for us, but in the end, I believe turned out almost exactly as planned. I was aiming toward a more watercolor-look with the colors... While I think it could have been better, I don't feel it was a failed attempt. And, yes, my fiance and I are getting married dressed as Rinoa and Squall, respectively, as it's our favorite love story from our favorite Final Fantasy game.

June 19, 2013
Ink pens, Micron pens, Prismacolor markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

Angel of Death

"Angel of Death"
(Kuja, Vivi Ornitier, Zidane Tribal, and Freya Crescent from Final Fantasy IX)

As a "classic" Final Fantasy fan, I never understood why FFIX never gets more attention. I mean, it had everything that makes A Final Fantasy a, well, "final fantasy." But I digress.
This illustration was an attempt to redo an older piece I did way back in 2004, now that official art has finally been released publicly. However, with even my composition understanding broadening, it can hardly be tied to the old drawing.
This one also had an experimental purpose, where I tested using a white chalk pastel to mimic rain bouncing off of surfaces. Stuff like this really gets my brain going, and I love it. Though I'm sure I forgot some places...

April 21, 2013
Micron pens, Prismacolor markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and chalk pastels
on 8.5x11" cardstock

Just a Puppet

"Just a Puppet"
(Sephiroth and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII)

Probably the most risque picture I've done (publicly ^_^;), but wanted to show how much I could get away with without showing really anything. I gave this one a similar visual style like I did Seventh Heaven, despite the large time gap between the two pieces. I don't really have a lot to say about this piece as I don't really recall too much around it. All I know is it gives all my friends nosebleeds.

February 20, 2008
Ink pens, PainterClassic and Photoshop 7.0
1283x2000 pixels

Seventh Heaven

"Seventh Heaven"
(Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children)

While it's rare for me to do a picture like this for sheer sexuality, I feel this one achieved it with some fine class. I did the final layout to look similar to the promo images for FFVIIAC. While not perfect, I still think it's got a nice fun look to it, which is quite contrasting to Tifa's character and role in the movie...

 ‎July ‎29, ‎2007
Pencil, PainterClasic and Photoshop 7.0
1426x1956 pixels

CALLING

"CALLING"
(Final Fantasy VII Advent Children)

Originally done for a contest held in the now-defunct PSM Magazine, this was a collage involving almost all the major players of the movie. For a piece that's now 7 years old, I still feel it's within my current high-standards, and is likely something I could never replicate, today.
For those curious, I have no idea who won, but I can tell you I didn't. I'd very much like to see the piece that did, but I'm not sure if the contest ever finished, to be honest...

October 14, 2006
Ink pens and PainterClassic
1755x2340 pixels

Cetracal Balance

"Cetracal Balance"
(Sephiroth and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII)

Originally designed to be a back tattoo piece, I love images that compliment itself with its own contrasting elements. Light and dark, male and female, top and bottom. A lot about asymmetry can actually work to create a balance, which is what I aimed for in the execution of this piece.
There's a lot I would change about this, now, however, since my understanding of human anatomy has improved greatly in the last 7 years...

August 12, 2005
Ink pens and PainterClassic
1005x1500 pixels