This and that
Blessed BE the weekend.
I've got to work on a commission these two days, but at least I can do some from home. *groans* These past two weeks have been killing me, and as predicted, my health isn't 100% anymore. However, I'm managing, which is what matters most. :)
Nothing new from the school front - I teach, they listen (sort of), they work, I make corrections (loads of those) and the days go by.
From the art front, I'm doodling in what little free time I's got. Nothing big was finished lately, BUT I might post very soon a commission I made (my very first one! ^^). It was completed a few weeks back, but I didn't have time/permission to share, yet (and a detail had to be modified, too). It's a drawing of Erestor that shall soon become a tattoo. I'm so excited! XD
From the contest front... I'm done! Actually, I've been for a while (results/winners will be announched in approximately 5 days), but again, I didn't have time to share. *sheepish grin* Since I did, however, post a commentary on CU soon after I submitted the pictures, I shall copy/past it here:
*copy/pasta galore stars here*
It's done!
It was a tour-de-force, but I finally sent jgonzo the my entries for the Rockman/Megaman package contest. In fact, this happened two days ago (7th May) but it wasn't until today that I got enough time to write a word about it. *sheepish grin*
I really, REALLY enjoyed working on these pieces (two of them: one for each category), frustrating as it was. Taking hours upon hours to just paint down the basic tones (for example) due to slowing-down issues, crashes, freezing episodes and bouts of giving-out-general-errors was... not nice. *chuckles* But Junior and me make a damn good team, and I'll try to keep my PC for as long as I can.
I learned much from this experience... not the least of was to ink my art with the pen tool in Photoshop. XD;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Rules ask that a brief explanation is submitted along with the picture itself... so… it’s commentary time, I guess?
At first, when I spotted the news about the contest, I immediately got two distinct and perfectly clear images in mind, one for each category. It wasn’t completely intentional, but upon further inspection, both images are variations of the same theme: as you can see, Roll is in a position of relevance in both pieces. She’s the “core” or “heart” of the picture, placed at the point where all construction lines meet. Protoman and Megaman rear up behind her, drawn in a much bigger size... but so do the villains, all of them (and Bass, in the NA pic).
As for the styles, I decided not to try and copy the original one, as much as to incorporate it within my own style.
The result is something that’s distinctly “Neme”, but also immediately recognizable as Megaman material. I went for bright, vibrant colours and a dark BKG for the Japanese version - which is in tune with the game, and the franchise as a whole.
In the NA version I went for mellower tones, and a simpler colour scheme. It might be a risky choice, I realize; but it’s what my Muses dictated, and there’s no winning against the Muses. *chuckles* When it was time to paint the BKG, I was of two minds whether to use a dark or a light tone; the choice was between translucent skies and strings of clouds, or red flames on murky, pitch-black space depths. In the end, I decided upon a light background, with the space/night sky “exploding” from behind the whole cast.
Speaking of the cast, I had a blast drawing the Robot Master in a realistic style for the NA entry! It was really important to me to try and fit them all in. I wanted them look dangerous, vaguely eerie, but at the same time not to lose all those characteristic that are distinctive and peculiar to them.
So they have been given anthropomorphic bodies (apart from Strikeman, maybe?), and featureless faces with bright-and-cruel glass-eyes. Sheepman was turned into a sort of… sheep-taur? A creature with an animal’s head and a man’s body, like the minotaur from Greek Mythology.
SkullCastle was also a delight to design.
I couldn’t fit the in-game version of the foretress into my picture, so I re-invented Wily’s hideout in the shape of a (flying?) tower: an array of assorted pieces of hardware, metal parts, cables, tubes, etc, with the occasional skull poking out from here and there, grinning with wide, empty orbits into the depths of space.
Funny thing to mention: Bass has been drawn FOUR TIMES.
First, he wasn’t to be in the picture.
Then I hastily added him in.
Then I took him out for reasons of picture-balance.
Then I re-drew him.
Then I re-drew him again to try and make him look a little like the official Bass we can see in the pictures used as the Mega Man 10 box art and key art.
Then… I ended up fishing out of the trashcan the very first Bass, smoothing out the wrinkles, and furnishing him with that glorious purple visor seen in Gerald de Jesus (from iam8bit)’s art.
*copy/Pasta galore ends here*
The pictures themselves are up on CU, as prescribed by the rules. But they are also a bit... hidden. ^^;; If you go looking for them, the search engine will not yeld them, no matter what key word you'll use(package, contest, Megaman, etc.). In fact, I don't think anyone noticed them. I mean, apart from me, and the unity member I had to forward them to in order to enter the contest! XD;;;;;
Do you think that's a good, or bad thing? :/
No publicity means no votes, in case there'll be a poll on CU. But on the other hand, much publicity means much, or possible, tefth. not that someone'd be interested in stealing my art. But stilllllll... XD;;;;;;
They're on my gallery, and here's the links... but PLEASE, do NOT download/share them yet, okay? D=