Oh nooooooooooooooooooooo! By
which I mean yes.
Admittedly, I’ve been on DeviantArt for more than
a year, but my page basically went into hibernation a few months after I got
started. That’s not exactly something
I’m proud to declare for a number of reasons -- the most obvious of them being
that I’m potentially hamstringing myself by not going full tilt with as many
online platforms as I can. If I’m going
to spread my message, my wares, and my very existence, I’ve pretty much got to
put myself out there...even though that DA page is already getting kind of dusty as of writing, but whatever.
Inevitably, that means that I’m going to embarrass
myself a lot. And thoroughly. And in ways I never would have begun to
anticipate. So you know what? Let’s bring the cringe-fest straight to my
virtual doorstep! Because at least it’s
not a burning sack of dog poo!
Or is it? #illuminati
This might come as a surprise to some of you out
there, but I’m actually a big fan of fighting games. Granted I’ve left a clue around here or there
-- posts on fighting games, mentions of fighting games, naming the blog after a concept from fighting games -- but when it
comes to DeviantArt, I try to take that appreciation to the next level. So at a base level? A lot of my characters -- a whole lot of them
-- either have fighting game elements to them or stick to certain
archetypes. Shotos, grapplers, zoners,
what have you; I’ve represented them in art, and then take it a step further by
representing them with hypothetical move lists.
I’ve made it no secret on this blog that my sweet
baby -- the story that I’ve got set and ready to go out the door to some
willing agent’s hands -- is Dead on Prime. So naturally, I’ve got semi-recent versions
of the core eight cast members fully-represented (though I reserve the right to
lie if and when I’m able, for fear of spoiling plot elements). As a demonstration: here’s an iteration of
the cast’s heavy-hitter and kinda-sorta-but-questionably-chosen one, Coil.
But whatever. Don't worry about him for now.
I wouldn’t say that’s the dedicated or even ideal
art style Dead on Prime would have; I
can’t help but envision a cleaner aesthetic, along the lines of Durarara or Under Night In-Birth. But
for what it’s worth? It’s a style that I
can at least recreate fairly reliably, and it’s one that fits Coil’s rough and
tumble nature unusually well. (I’d say
that of the eight, he came out looking the best.) Besides, by the point in the story where
those appearances and move sets become relevant, things have already taken a
turn for the worse in terms of our heroes’ chances at protecting the
earth. That probably sounds like a spoiler, but don’t worry. A spoiler without context is hardly a spoiler
at all.
As for the
(BlazBlue-inspired) move lists? Well, there’s no guarantee that they’re 100%
accurate, or that they’ll even appear at all in the story proper. It’s not as if the story’s just a string of
tournament battles, and even then plenty of things are subject to change. (I can think of one guy that’s due for an
entirely justified overhaul.) With that said, it’s useful for me to consider
the way a character moves -- what sort of strategies they’d focus on if they
were in a fighting game…or potentially, a 2½D brawler a la Viewtiful Joe or Muramasa:
The Demon Blade. Games industry, if
you’re reading this? Hit me up.
I’ve already written about each of the core eight
characters in the past -- with more to come in the future -- so I’m trying to
branch out and do more with them.
There’s a level of futility there, in the sense that I’m drawing
characters that’ll ideally show up primarily in a written, decidedly non-visual
format, but hey. It’s not as if
characters from stories have ever gone without being drawn in official contexts
-- and that’s setting aside the mountains of fan art out there for players
large and small. (Speaking of? I need to do a post on fan art one of these
days.)
So on that note, the next step is actually sharing
my wares with like-minded people -- people who also want to share their art, no
matter the form (or quality). That’s
going to be the hard part, I think; as I’ve found out, it’s not enough to slap
your works on DeviantArt and expect the accolades to roll in. Based on my understanding, I need to start
joining the myriad groups nestled within.
I’ve already woven my way into one, but there are so many that I can’t
help but feel overwhelmed -- not to mention that some of those groups carry
strict rules/requirements.
Then again, the alternative is to just randomly
flit around the site and mark others’ art with favorites and comments. It’s about as effective as you’d expect. So I guess I need to get some thicker skin --
or a suit of armor. Or a handful of
drugs.
The inevitable and eternal concern with DA posting
is the quality of my art -- but more importantly, there’s the question of quantity. My weakness in general is that I’m extremely
slow when it comes to most things; I always have been, and I probably always
will be. (Well, writing is probably the
exception, but I’m not convinced I have a good control or point of
comparison.) So keeping a steady stream
of art going is a serious issue that I’ll have to worry about; it’s not as if I
have some dedicated release schedule, which helps, BUT slacking off for too
long can help cripple whatever momentum -- if any -- I gain. It’s a tricky situation, which isn’t helped
by my art process (such as it is) taking what feels like thousands of years.
For what it’s worth, rendering my characters in
art form has its advantages. I’ve been
at it LONG before I started using DA, with the drawings to show for it. I’ve managed to dig up some of it and started
sharing it -- assuming the uploaded art isn’t THAT awful -- and posted it in
comparison to some of the newer stuff I’ve made. It’s really interesting to see “how far I’ve
come” in terms of the characters’ evolutions over weeks, months, or even
years. For example:
Once upon a time, Davis, Julia, and Kyoko were
Deias, Mel (not pictured) and Shingo (also not pictured...but yes, she started out as a he). By extension, they were 1) a fearless, heroic
swordsman with a short temper, 2) a wannabe knight with a strong body and a lot
to learn, and 3) a kindly, if clumsy, tech expert who stumbles headfirst into a
cyber war beyond his imagining. Note
that none of those descriptions follow along the characters as they appear in
this art, which goes to show how much they’ve changed while in the oven. Naturally, their physical designs have changed
to represent that.
So 2016 Davis is much more level-headed…
2016 Julia is at once motherly and monstrous…
And 2016 Kyoko actually has a personality outside
of being a cyber-ninja.
That’s overlooking some of the other guys -- like
Cobalt, who went from a Devil May Cry Dante
dead-ringer to a half-shark basket case with a bad case of resting bitch
face.
Or Rime (formerly Raiz), who went from punk rock
psychic Naruto to preteen psychic Solid Snake…and also the shadow leader of a
blooming army of esper children.
I want to write about all these characters (and
more!) someday, but BOY is it unfeasible for me to make any more than some
short stories for them right now. In the
absence of tens of thousands of pages detailing their exploits and adventures,
I’ve got to make do with what I can -- and committing them to virtual paper,
I’ve found, is more than good enough for now.
Granted I’m doing that by placing them in static poses, but that’s
largely to make sure I’ve got their basic designs down before I go any further. (And as you can guess, that’s EXTREMELY
subject to change. They already have, if
we’re being honest.)
I already have some of the move lists in mind,
because of course I do. Once I have a
full set of basic designs in place, the plan -- if one could call it that -- is
to show off some more dynamic poses. I
want to capture the essence of these characters in a single image, especially
if I can’t commit to wearing my fingers to the bone with a million billion
manuscript pages. Is anyone going to pay
attention to what I’ve got? It’s hard to
know conclusively. But even in the
worst-case scenario, I’m evolving. My
art’s only getting better, and my understanding of the characters has improved
-- to say nothing of the refinement of the characters themselves.
I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’m hoping that as long as I keep driving
forward, I’ll reach my goal eventually.
And who knows?
Maybe one day, I’ll actually be
able to draw hands and feet without brazenly BSing my way through each time.
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