Wednesday Update

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  Good afternoon you all; the middle of the week is upon us and you know what that means...yep, nothing much lol.  Who ever REALLY goes into Wednesdays expecting them to rock their world?  Oh but don't feel too bad; I'm here to try and inject a small dose of X...and not the kind to lead to wild kinky night you-know-what [if you're looking for that try the blog three jumps forward ;].

  There are a few pictures I'll be posting.  Well, more like a few sketches and some progress for my Bilstein image.  I could mention about the shitload of other pictures being worked on, but for me art is more the process of showing, and everything else is either too little or too far completed to show off today.  Anyway, now that such has been established, let's cut to the 'ish.

   I've been doing some massive reading on the Battle Angel Alita graphic novels since a while ago, as I attested to in the previous blog.  It's good-fashioned cyberpunk sci-fi seinen [I think it classifies as seinen, since it-in my opinion-is a little too complex and violent at times to be shonen, even if most of those injured or kill are cyborgs...cyborgs got feelings too ya'll] and was something I had been wanting to get the full story on since seeing the OVA some years ago, and again just recently.  If you haven't already, check them out, especially if you're hoping James Cameron's adaptation will live up to the source [I'm hoping so, squarely off his work on the Terminator films...oddly I still have zero interest in watching Avatar, maybe the material doesn't strike a strong enough cord w/ me just now].

   Before too long I knew I'd wind up doing some Alita sketches, which is what I have here posted above and below.  They aren't anything special these sketches; still trying to work out varying issues of perspective and anatomy, only using a recognizable character this time.  Since these ones are sketches, there's no telling if I'll complete them or not, but if I do I'd rather save the final versions for some sort of sketchbook.  In fact, that likely will be the new plan w/ this; post w/e sketches are around for the week and finish them for inclusion in some form of something later on down the road.  That way I can do new sketches for each week rather than reposting updates. 

   I will, tho, be posting some more progress for this sketch as it's turned into a full inked and colored image.  Alita is quite gorgeous, but it took me a volume or two to really notice.  And those pouty 'octopus' lips just make her even sweeter to me.  There was one graphic in the extra stories graphic novel where Alita [in some revealing short-shorts] is posed ready to battle a quite formidable nemesis.  The pose and overall composition and foreshortening work on it inspired me to try a recreation of that image, my own way, and altered enough to not look like a copy.  It'll also give more good practice on many things, too numerous to mention.

  I just started drawing this one yesterday admist completing the Avatar image and working on other pictures [not to mention attending to ho-hum chores and duties], but so far we atleast got a head and upper torso defined xD.  Still figuring what I want the full shot to be in terms of a background, lighting, color etc, but for now I'm just gonna concentrate on getting the pencils laid fully by Friday.  If it's alright, I might start uploading progress at each big step w/ this picture, just to give an indication of how my process is like, altho I know there will be quite some hurdles along the way that could make that impossible, but oh well, it's worth a try.

  As for this big lug?  Well he's still waiting to get finished, but one thing Mr. Bilstein needs to understand is that he's possibly the most complex-designed character I've ever tackled, and stupid me had to throw this overly extravagant chair into the mix as well.  I have had some lousy luck in finding really good reference shots for him, so some details are being made up, others taken liberty of, etc, but there isn't any major compromise in that regard.  I wanted the chair to look more Egyptian, but...well, meh, I could use some studying of Egyptian architecture sometime if in case something like this pops up again.  Full-blown work on this one probably won't start until I finish the Mai image this week, but once it does, it should go by fairly quick, hopefully just a week or so, which would complete the dude right on time.

   So that will finish the updates for this week.  Well, I will upload the Mai image btwn Saturday and Sunday, so this technically isn't it.  But until that time comes, I wish the best of prosperity for everyone out there, just so long as you do what you love.  Truly, life isn't worth a damn if you hate what it contains for you day in and day out.  Oh, and put down the Iphones for a while eh; Jobs wants you all to stop texting him so much in Heaven already. 

   L8r.