Some art, for fun · 1:51pm Aug 23rd, 2020
Hey hey folks. Quick update; I've been back in the lab, and since access to the lab is still very limited it's been very much a 'I go to the lab and do nothing but lab work whilst I'm there', so I've had less time to read and review some of the contest entries I wanted to. That said I'm hoping to have two things published soon; an entry to Krazy's warm and fuzzies contest, which is nearly done (just have to finish the resolution then go through it with a couple of edits) and an entry to the Cozy Glow contest, though that one might be a bit trickier to write up in the week-ish that I have remaining. The priority is the Warm and Fuzzies contest, even though warm and fuzzy is very much not my typical vibe.
This week-end I got up to some art. I don't typically share the art I draw, mostly because frankly I'm not terribly good at it. I don't take it especially seriously nor do I try too hard to improve on it. That said I do have a fondness for drawing (I find it relaxing) and like to make my own coverart when possible as well as draw my own avatars. Outside of MLP I also sketch characters for D&D (that I dm). I'm going to share most of these here, because maybe someone will find them a bit interesting, and go over the backgrounds for each of them, starting with my new avatar:
I've wanted to replace my old avatar for a while, mostly because when I drew my previous one I didn't think the general vibe turned out that well. It's mostly the same format, with RD in the centre looking thoroughly weathered, but the colours are brighter and I played with a softer outline. She also has a recurring feature in my avatars, which is a AJ X RD mug.
This one was supposed to be the cover for the Warm and Fuzzies contest, but I think I'm going to need to redo it since it doesn't really fit the vibe of the story any more. I also wouldn't mind something a bit more vibrant and colourful, and perhaps a bit more dynamic too. Still I think it turned out okay, minus the slightly-too-large head.
This one I mostly did for fun. When I made my new avatar and tried a soft outline deal, I also wanted to try the opposite. Also I'm an incorrigible weeb and wanted to have fun. Pose is a bit weird, I'm not too chuffed about the clothes on the right hand side, and her stare is a little... creepy, but frankly I'm rather happy with this one. I tried to adapt Rainbow's hair in a bit of a less overt style.
The above lady is Jacqueline Earnest. She's an NPC from a DnD campaign I run, and she's one of the more fun characters I get to play. She's a spymaster in a Lawful Good civilisation, and is a lot rougher and more cunning than most of the knights she's surrounded with. She's also pretty crude and has this whole tortured past with a knight-turned-traitor who happens to be one of the major villains of the campaign. The campaign has been running for like two years now, from levels 1 to 10 currently, and it's a completely homebrew world to play in. Jacqueline's job was mostly to give the party quests and stuff that'd lead them to the various dungeons, and the party would report to her. It worked well for a while, but now the party have struck off on their own!
This unfriendly looking fellow is Zerdax, and archmage from the same campaign as Jacqueline. He's actually not an outright bad guy; the character was largely inspired (ripped off from) from the character Zardas, a necromancer from the really good Gothic games (seriously, if you like RPGs, play gothics 1 & 2 at least; they're some of the most immersive rpgs you'll find, despite their age and rather clunky combat mechanics).
This is an elf villain named Shiree. Remember I mentioned Jacqueline had a tortured past with a traitorous knight? This is her. She had her throat cut by Jacqueline during their break-up, but now she's back to continue her nefarious plans. She's currently got the party slightly by the nuts as she's kidnapped Jacqueline (they're trying to get her back) but the party is quickly catching up to her the more quests they do...
That's pretty much most of them. Hopefully soon I'll have some story related stuff to announce or review, but it was rather nice to play around with clip for a bit instead.
Good luck folks!
