Xenogals: 'Xenogears'

"Xenogals: 'Xenogears'"
(Xenogears)
 
You already know my love for Xenogears, and also female characters. And a long time ago, I wanted to do personified versions of the various gears in the style of Mika Akitaka's MS Girls (which in turn are based from Mobile Suit Gundam). I decided to re-explore this though, starting with the titular gear.
Every time I draw anything of the Xenogears gear, I gain a new understanding of its complicated form, and this one probably gave me the least issues with its pointed glory. Obviously, I based the base girl off of its pilot and main protagonist Fei. Something I'll probably continue for the duration of these illustrations.

July 13, 2016
  Sakura Pigma pens, normal pens, Prismacolor Markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

First and Last

"First and Last"
(Xenogears, Elly, and Fei from Xenogears)
 
February 10th, 2016, marked the 18th anniversary of Xenogears release in Japan of 1998. And it's one of those games where you either never heard of it or it became one of the largest, most narrative-driven, and controversial JRPGs you've ever played, especially at its time. And I still feel it's a game that does not get near the amount of love it deserves, from either fan or its own rights holders, though it plant the seed for Tetsuya Takahashi's two spiritual successors series, Xenosaga for the PlayStation 2 and Xenoblade for Nintendo systems.

For this piece, I wanted to focus on the last scenes of the game, which involved the ultimate reunion of Fei and Elly in the dimensional rift of the final battle. I'd been wanting to do an illustration involving the titular mecha Xenogears for quite some time, however, this proved difficult as it's by far one of the most complicated designs I've ever seen, and can look really strange from the wrong angles... Fei and Elly came together with surprisingly minimal complication, though the lighting style started to baffle me as I approached the lighter shades.
Also, I threw in a hidden "character" for this piece; one that only people who've completed the game would recognize, and even then, may have a hard time recalling. (lol)

 February 16, 2016
Micron pens, Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, gel pens, and chalk pastels
on 8.5x11" cardstock.