Subject: Eve Violet (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; India Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: The character Eve Violet went through a number of changes over the years and was always one I would come back to for whatever reason. I guess she would be my mascot character. My Mickey Mouse or Mario but with boobs. *shudder* Scary thought! She originally was more of a cool "goth chick" and less glamorous, less...curvy than what you see here. She was more likely to rock a black trench coat and Green Day t-shirt than a low-cut top and be featured in much darker, less colorful settings.
I never really gave her a real definitive backstory, so that sort of allowed me to throw her into whatever situation or attire or body-type I saw fit without worrying about it being canon or not.
Subject: Cypher Divine cast (original characters)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: This is a my cast of medieval/fantasy characters at a progressed stage of development. At this stage they have taken on a slightly more realistic look as far as their proportions go. They originally had the larger head/shorter body look seen in a lot of anime. A lot of my characters made this transition around the same time including Eve Violet. Not sure what influences signaled the change in my approach to character design, but looking back these same characters looked quite different the year prior ('96). Male characters became more muscular and ladies became more full and voluptuous. I'm saying this like it was involuntary and I had no hand in it, but it is interesting to see the transition take place.
I remember being quite fond of this piece, and it was a mainstay on my bedroom wall for quite a while. Back then, I could be very hit and miss when it came to how good the finished product was. I still have my occasional duds nowadays, but they are far less frequent. At some point you gain enough experience that you start to get a better sense of what works and what doesn't. You can better visualize and plan the outcome, or just in general carry out your vision in a way that your younger, less-experienced self couldn't.
Subject: Ryu, Chun-Li, Donovan and Morrigan
Media: Pen, Airbrush, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Ingrid (original character)
Media: Pen, Airbrush, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Zelda and Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Kaolvin a.k.a. Kao (original character)
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: The more I used the airbrush, the more I started to develop a sense of what does and doesn't work for me. Rather than using only the airbrush to apply paint, I started using more of a combination that utilized the paintbrush as the foundation and then airbrush for added smoothing and effects on top of that.
Subject: Eve Violet (original character)
Media: Airbrush; India Ink & Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: After becoming enamored with fantasy airbrush artists like Olivia De Berardinis and Hajime Sorayama around this time, getting an airbrush of my own became a bit of an obsession of mine. Of course being a kid with no real sizable income presented a problem. Luckily, my always supportive mother came through and got me an airbrush and air compressor around income tax refund time. God bless her.
As I recall this was my first real attempt at a complete airbrushed piece of artwork. Results weren't stellar obviously. Lots of spotty areas of paint. But it is a learning process, and airbrushing isn't an easy tool to get the hang of.
Subject: Nameless Kickass Rocker Chick (original character)
Media: Pen, Color Pencil on Poster Board
Subject: Ingrid, Kao, and Meadow (original characters)
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Kaolvin a.k.a. Kao (original character)
Media: Pencil, Color Pencil on Paper
Subject: Diva Xero's "Dawn" (original character)
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Lara Croft
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Goku (Dragon Ball Z)
Media: Pencil on Paper
Subject: Princess Zelda and Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Diva Xero (original characters)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: "Diva Xero" was a group of exaggerated form girls with guns. Kind of Jessica Rabbit meets a more racially diverse Charlie's Angels. In fact the original idea came from a desire to create an extreme female form that had that "jaw-dropping" factor that Jessica did.
What you'll find during this period of time is noticeable overspray from airbrush coverage. This highlights one of my frustrations with the airbrush early on. I didn't enjoy the extra preparation time that needed to be set aside for masking sections of the image for the sake of getting clean edges. As I got better accustomed to it, and developed different methods (and more patience) it wasn't as much of a chore as it initially was. As in this piece, I would often just freehand a lot of it which yielded some admittedly sloppy results.
Subject: Meadow (original character)
Media: Pen, Color Pencil on Poster Board
Subject: Wu-Tang Symbol
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Morrigan (Darkstalkers)
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Storm (X-Men)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Diva Xero character (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Nameless Sci-fi Heroine (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Media: Airbrush, India Ink & Watercolor on Poster Board
Synopsis: This is another very early attempt at airbrushing. Still coming to grips with trying to apply the paint smoothly. In my inexperience I remember having problems with spray control. Not being accustomed to using it makes it hard to judge how much distance needs to be between the nozzle and the artwork and also how much pressure to put on the trigger. That's something that comes with time. But here you can see a wide spectrum of my issues. Too spotty and light/feathery in some areas, while too heavy and thick in others.
What I was going for here, as far as lighting, was a light source on each side with the left one being the dominant one. My airbrushing skill level wasn't quite at the point where I could pull that off as well as I would have liked.
Subject: Kao, Meadow and shirtless guy (original characters)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Cypher Divine Cast (original characters)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Diva Xero's Dawn
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: The inspiration for this set of characters was alluded to in a previous post (here), but this piece is a direct reference to Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The exaggerated female form is taken to the extreme here, according to keikaku†
No internal organs were harmed or removed in the creation of this woman's waistline. The Jessica Rabbit influence was still alive and well with me some nearly 10 years after first seeing it in the theater. Which was quite the experience in and of itself. I saw it with my cousins and their mother at a local theater. I can't begin to describe how awkward and uncomfortable I felt when Ms. Rabbit's first appearance/performance came on screen. But I'll try. *ahem* It was a cross between internally wanting to jump up out of my seat with a creepy Joker grin while externally slouching down in my seat and feigning disinterest. "Boobs?...whatever...who cares?"
Seeing ANYTHING sexy in a movie with an adult around was enough to make you want to instantly end your entire existence...but I could not wait to see it again. Preferably without adult/parental guidance.
†keikaku means plan in Japanese
Subject: Various
Media: Varies
Subject: Stephen and Defender-1 (original characters)
Media: Pen, Color Pencil on Poster Board
Subject: Goku (Dragon Ball Z)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Diva Xero's "Dawn" (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Diva Xero Characters (original characters)
Media: Pencil or Paper
Subject: Diva Xero's Myka
Media: Paintbrush, Airbrush; Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: I was becoming more influenced by fantasy and pin-up/cheesecake art around this time in my life. This is very much in that vein. I've always loved the look of the rounded form coupled with flat areas as seen here. Some of Olivia De Berardinis' classic pieces featured this same technique.
Speaking of...I remember a time there was a new comic-book store that had opened downtown. They carried some really great stuff that was harder to come by in my area like Valiant and Darkhorse comics. Like I mentioned, I had really gotten into fantasy and pin-up art. To my delight they carried packs of different fantasy art trading cards. I was hugely into Boris Vallejo and Olivia De Berardinis and they had their trading cards there. Awesome, right?! The thing was while Boris' art occasionally featured nudity, Olivia's FREQUENTLY featured nudity. I'm not talking anything gratuitous, but still it was blatant sexy nudity... and I'm a minor.
In my crazed fan-boy collector's mind I NEED these cards, but I'm a shy kid not nearly bold enough to slap these naked lady cards on the counter in an attempt to buy them. #Dilemma What do I do? What do I do? ... I say screw it! I'm going for it. I go in, linger around browsing items nonchalantly. Pick up a few innocent G and PG-rated comic books, casually slip in some packs of the Olivia cards into the bunch. Walk up to the counter, and lay it down. Avoid eye contact. Heart is beating fast. Starting to sweat. But I play it cool. I just KNOW the store owner wasn't gonna let me walk out of there with those scandalous items... Then what do you know? He let me walk out of there with those scandalous items. The audible sigh of relief could probably be heard for miles around. Score!
By the way, I don't think it was my "clever" technique that made a difference or anything. Most likely it's just that this was an upstart and he was reluctant to turn down legitimate business. I even went back other times to buy more of them, up until he unfortunately went out of business.
Shout out to that shop owner who looked the other way. I may not be the same artist I am today if not for you letting me buy things I had no d@$# business buying just so you could make a quick buck. Cheers!
Subject: Eve Violet (original character)
Media: Pen, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Eve Violet (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Final Fantasy VII Cast
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
In-depth: Like everyone else, I was HUGELY into Final Fantasy 7 around '97. I had played FF6 on the Super NES and loved it, but never finished it (it was a rental). But part 7 changed everything. Thing is... I had an N64, but not a Playstation at the time and nor could I afford one. As always, I devised a plan! I would rent a Playstation console from Blockbuster Video and play through the game I had been desiring. This would be a long-term plan, and I knew the anticipation level would be through the roof by the time I finally would get to play it.
While the full console and game was out of my price range, I did scrounge up enough to get the strategy guide. Once I had that, I saved up to rent the console for several days. Long enough to theoretically beat the game. The strategy guide was to ensure it didn't take forever to do that. Once the adequate funds were saved up, I secured a ride for my younger brother and I to Blockbuster from my Uncle. It's around holiday time and I was beyond hyped. The months of reading and drooling over the game in gaming magazines would finally come to a head. The car ride felt like forever, but we finally arrived. I walk in and immediately check to see if the game or Playstations were rented out. They weren't. Score!
So I roll up to the counter like a superstar and ask to rent a Playstation. The lady at the counter starts the process and when it comes time to pay she informs me of some unadvertised costs. Apparently a returnable deposit for the full retail cost of the Playstation console is required for insurance (in case someone doesn't return it or wrecks the thing while they have it). Which makes sense to me now, but at the time I couldn't wrap my head around it. Like, if I had that kind of money, wouldn't I just buy the dang thing outright?! *sigh* My hopes and dreams were destroyed at that counter that day. The consolation prize I walked away with was a rental of Diddy Kong Racing for N64, which I ended up loving. But the heartache of not getting to play FF7 lingered for a long while.
With all hope of playing it lost, I proceeded to read through the spoilerific strategy guide like it was a novel. Because it basically was like a novel. Full storyline walkthrough and everything. It was a surprisingly fun read, although not as good as playing. When I did eventually get a Playstation and the game later on I did end up regretting spoiling the whole story for myself. Especially the major shocking plot event involving a major character featured in this artwork. It was still an amazing adventure and one of my favorite games of all time.
Author's note: The bad karma Blockbuster received from breaking my young gamer heart would eventually catch up to them as they went out of business several years later.
Subject: Nameless Rocker Chick (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Ingrid (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Ingrid (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Kim Wu, Black Orchid, Maya (Killer Instinct)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
Subject: Nameless Lady Ninja (original character)
Media: Pen, Paintbrush, Airbrush; Ink, Watercolor on Poster Board
