Princess Kitana, A Most Dangerous Adversary

"Edenian Princess - Kitana" final

Princess Kitana.  Fans of Mortal Kombat know her as the ninja with the sweet bladed fans.  Any time I see a fan that folds up, I immediately think of it as having blades.  This was my 2nd attempt at drawing the lovely Edenian Princess.  My original effort a couple of years ago had some major anatomical issues.  This one is far better in every respect.  My primary difficulties I had with doing this picture was the perspective of her arm and subsequently her fan blades (which is why they look really big).  I had to pose a model in DAZ Studio to aid me with getting the perspective right.  The background was a modified stock photo I found on Deviant Art.  I had originally tried to draw a waterfall and mountain side behind her, but it didn't come out so well.

I really like my color selection for her clothes and her skin coloring.  Getting skin to look right (especially when so much of it is shown) can be quite tricky.  I've been studying some of the colors by Peter Steigerwald and Nei Ruffino for pointers on how I can improve my own coloring.  Anyone who's ever tried coloring knows that it can be difficult to get right.  But no matter how good someone colors, the anchor of a picture will always be the line art.  I've always said that no amount of coloring can save a bad picture. 

Still Kickin!

"Samus Aran - Birthday Suit" sketch

After what's quickly becoming a routine hiatus of not updating this blog, I have returned yet again this time bearing brand new art.  This sketch to the left marks the first time drawing the Samus Aran character.  Yeah, yeah, another naked woman.  I've drawn many naked women before, but what I strived to do differently with this sketch was to create an original pose from my mind, try to draw decent water, and to try and draw somewhat smoother and cleaner line art.  For the most part, I think I achieved those things.

When I got the idea to do this sketch, I was thinking about how Michael Turner could make things such as water and movement seem so effortless and smooth.  So when drawing this, I made my best effort to make everything appear as streamlined as possible.  The hardest part of this sketch was in getting her outstretched hand to look good, and even then I'm not sure I did the best I could with it.  However, I couldn't derail an entire drawing for a lone hand, so I rendered it as best I could and moved on.  All in all, another solid sketch if I do say so myself.  Drawing is a lot more satisfying if you feel that you're improving and are producing good work.  I plan to add colors to this soon.

Music To Draw To

Like many artistic types, there are certain things that help get the creative juices flowing.  One such thing for me is listening to music.  Most often I'll listen to instrumental music when I'm drawing as words can be distracting.  At the time of this writing, I'm listening to the Armageddon score (from the 1998 Michael Bay film of the same name).  I always thought the film was a masterpiece and a lot of that is helped by the music from Trevor Rabin (and I believe Harry Gregson-Williams as well).  I'm not entirely sure why music helps stimulate creativity, but it always has for me.  When writing stories, I use music to help set a mood.  When drawing, it just serves as fuel to push me along.  Here are some soundtracks from films, television, and video games that I often listen to:

• Armageddon
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• Transformers (2007 film)
• X-Men
• Robin Hood (Russell Crowe film)
• Batman (1987)
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Chrono Trigger
• Donkey Kong Country
• Perfect Dark

The Witchblade Beckons

"The Witchblade Beckons" final

Here is the colorized version of my picture.  The armor was probably the toughest piece of doing this drawing and though I didn't do as well as I've seen it done, I didn't think it was bad for a first attempt.  Will of course do better the next time around.  There isn't one consistent version of the Witchblade armor, so it leaves space for interpretation. 

Drawing beautiful hair is perhaps one of the most challenging things when drawing any female character with longer hair.  If not done right, the hair can look flat and boring.  I don't think this is some of my best hair, but I am always learning.

A Labor Of Love

"The Witchblade Beckons" sketch

This particular picture holds a personal meaning to me.  Most images I draw, colorize, and then forget about.  No deeper attachment or meaning to them than that.  What makes this picture special is that it was a character made famous by the masterful hand of the late Michael Turner.  I decided a long time ago that he was the standard to which I would hold myself and I dared not attempt to draw a character he did so well until I felt I could do it justice (the character in question is Witchblade's Sara Pezzini).  I felt my abilities were strong enough now that I could do this picture well and I did.  Granted, it's not a perfect picture (there never is), but I feel it's a great example of the strength of my talent and I am very proud of it.  Coloring it will probably be a pain in the butt, but I'm very pleased with how it's come out thus far.