New stuff from Seven

[Seven]

So, last night, I felt bad about pretty much having not drawn something I liked since summer, so I tried to force myself to have inspiration. I got it from looking at a picture of an airship, which gave me the idea to draw a picture looking up in perspective, of a boy being shadowed by a giant airship above him. That never quite happened (perhaps due to my in-expertise in drawing airships). Mostly though, it didn't happen because I suddenly realized I was drawing IC's "Chosen One."



Okay, Chosen One in an alternate dimension where he's anime style and wears his hat the right way like a good kid. I was amused enough last night to go ahead and draw him in his original style.



Mostly, I feel rather proud of myself because from bottom-to-above perspective is something I've always struggled with, and I think I managed to get it here, which is even more amazing since I didn't use any reference (ah right, I didn't mention, but I was probably drawing since my internet was dead last night).

Anyways, today is Aka's birthday, and Trefoil started pestering me, demanding that he wanted to be a scrawny, angular cartoon. We had to compromise a little. He's not as super anorexic skinny or angular as he wanted to be, but still pretty close.



When I look at him now, I realize that he should have pointy boots. And considering that it's a cartoon, it be great if they were curled in pointy boots.

[Asila]

*squeals* Trefoil is so sexy! Gotta love everything that looks all dark, mysterious, and intense. Why don't you like this character again, Seven? I think he's awesome. I'm really loving the style you drew him in. I think it's a perfect balance between anime-style and the stream-lined, modern toon style. I really love it. I'm totally going to rip it off and draw a few of my characters in that style. You know, since I seem to be good at adapting your awesome styles of drawing to characters that I invent. I love you so much for giving me material I can steal from. *glomps*

Also, I am definitely digging that first picture. The perspective is great and the pose is pretty loose, casual, and fun. There is such a strong sense of movement in the precarious way Chosen One is balanced. And I think it's fun that you drew him in his original style in the exact same pose. I got a few minutes of entertainment out of that because I felt the need to scroll up and down as I compared the two. All three of these pictures are well-drawn! You make me want to draw more so that I have stuff to post, too.

[Seven]

Thank you for all the compliments!

I love how Trefoil is the show stopper. It's because he's my best looking character, isn't it? *grins* Doesn't matter if he's toonier or semi-realistic animesque. What I've learned lately is that drawing people in a toonier fashion makes it a lot easier to figure out little things about character design, since toons are pretty much just exaggerations and caricatures. As for why I have issues with Tref? Probably because he looks so god damn awesome. I can't roleplay up to the expectations his looks put out. My lousy writing can't compare. Also, the irony that he looks all intense and dark and mysterious, but he's actually just a nice, pretty normal guy. He's like, poser dark and mysterious and intense. Even if he's half-fox. I need to find a way to rectify the conflicts in my mind on what his personality and actions should be like. Even so, drawing him looking so neat makes me want to write a short comic staring him. He looks too good not to. In fact, if IC ever goes anywhere, I want Tref to be a cameo.

But anyways, I'm glad you like the toony-anime style so much! I've been enjoying the hell out of it. It's cute, but not sickeningly so like chibis can end up. Plus, exaggerating is fun. Feel free to mimic--they say imitation is the deepest form of flattery after all, and I'd love to see what you come up with! I think I'm going to have to draw the rest of my newer in this fashion. I feel like it's a lot more creative than straight up anime, where people tend to start looking alike with the only real differences being hair and eye shape. I think anime Chosen One is a bit of a good example of that. He doesnt' look bad, but he does look like pretty much any other anime boy--though perhaps in a bit more of a dated style (late 80s-90s?). He took way longer than toon Chosen One, though I'm not sure if that's because he's the one where I experimented with perspective one, because he's more realistic and therefore harder to draw, or some combo of those two and more. Whatever the case, I feel that toon Chosen One looks better.

( I know---maybe it's just that Chosen One's clothes look a lot dweebier when you draw them realistically. He's wearing what looks like "Mom Jean Shorts" I think....)

[Asila]

YES. DRAW A SHORT COMIC STARING TREF. YOU MUST. Also, I think you would be surprised by the effect if you did draw him in a comic. I mean, his appearance speaks for itself so you wouldn't have to try and force it into your writing. He could be the nice guy in words and deeds, but he'd have that intense appearance to contrast his niceness and give it an edge. I think he'd actually be at his strongest in comic form. And yes, you should totally make him a cameo character in an IC episode. Or two. Or three. I am all for this concept.

Again, love the style. It's definitely unique and highly expressive. I noticed that making unique characters with that style really is a lot easier and more fun when I was drawing the Dead Cat band members and I would love to apply it to all my other characters. I should try and get a start on that tonight, since I'm feeling all anti-homework after the long day I had today. As for Chosen One, you know, he does look trendier in the IC-style drawing. It's kind of funny how drawing him realistically really does make him look kind of dweeby. I mean, I noticed that he had a different attitude when drawn realistically, but I didn't quite understand that impression until you nailed it for me. It's really fascinating how big a difference the style something is drawn in can make for the tone.

[The Imfamous AKA]

Yes, I know, I'm hijacking Seven's thread. But she hijacked my brain, so it's only fair! She asked me to try drawing a cartoon character from BB, and when she did, little mister pay-attention-to-poor-old-me here decided to volunteer and wouldn't go away. SO here. Be happy.

[Asila]

I LOVE THIS DRAWING. And I'm glad you posted it, because I can see his shadowed eyes clearly enough to be certain of what I'm seeing. I still love that glowing eye effect. It's classic, and always creepy and deranged-looking

Also...HA HA SEVEN I SAW IT FIRST!!!! *was totally not told to gloat by Aka*

[Seven]

OH MY GOD YOU ACTUALLY LISTENED TO ME AND DREW? *squeee* THIS MAKES ME HAPPY!


By the way, WHY DO YOU NOT DRAW MORE? THIS LOOKS REALLY GOOD! YES I AM TALKING IN ALL CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!

He is skinny. Skinny like Tref. And adorable. Is this Benedick? It looks like Benedick! I can't think of anyone else who'd be shoeless and in prison rags with a champagne glass of unidentified liquid with glowy eyes and looking so smug. Because if there is, I would like to know now. Well, whoever he is, he looks great. I wish the picture was a bit clearer and brighter though--taking pictures of pictures with a camera sucks, no?--so I must come pester you in real life to see it. HOLD ONTO IT DAMNIT! Actually, maybe you can trace it onto white paper, and color it! That would be awesome.

Also Asila.... on you. I was busy taking a test today. A horrible test that wanted me to do a microscope section without a functioning microscope.

[Asila]

It's Benedict. At least, Aka told me it was Benedict. And I hope I didn't annoy you too much with the teasing. I was just trying to be Aka's good little minion and follow orders.

[Seven]

Anyways, guess what?

If you guessed, "Seven has more new stuff," you win a prize! Scroll down to check it out.







Now you guys can play the guessing game, though it should be pretty freaking obvious. Well, to those of you who are familiar with the content. Sorry that the picture is a bit blurry. Taking pictures of pictures is not fun.v

Well, whatever the case, he suddenly makes Trefoil look very not anorexic at all.

[Seven]

So, basically, I was supposed to study today, and I didn't. Instead, I drew. A ton. Like, serious a ton. Denresh up there was just the tip of the iceberg.

It began (Denresh included) last night when I tried, and failed to draw cartoon Crevan Todd. It was an epic fail. I drew his body. His drew the head 3 times. I hate it, it's not going on here. So then today, I drew Denresh instead, which I was happy with. Then, I decided to go ahead and do Lief. Lief, who is apparently bumming a t-shirt from someone, cuz I couldn't be bothered to come up with mystical magical clothing. He's not really either anime or toony in this pic. This pic just happened. I guess it's in between.



I always debate about drawing Lief with fox ears. Because fox ears are cute, but I know that that's not how kitsune actually really work. But I think it's a temptation I always end up giving in to. Next picture!



No, he's not wearing a fishnet shirt. I just wanted some sort of texture to distinguish between his hair and his shoulders. Anyways, he's supposed to look demure here. Actually, what I was thinking of when I was drawing this is the opening scene where Lief met Malevolos (back on ADS, Darkness vs. Defiance), where Lief essentially tricks/charms Malevolos by looking innocent and pretty enough. You know, right before he explodes something at him, stabs him with a poisoned dagger, and runs away. And yes, I reverted back to anime style.

Just like with this one.

Yes, Crevan again. As Crevan, and not Lief. I guess I was just have a kick with this character today. I know that some lines look sort of miscellaneous in the photo, but I think it works better seeing it in person.

And finally, I just had to do this:



I'm only sorry that the shot isn't better. And that a bunch of lead remained smeared and refused to erase. I do love Tref. and Denresh. They're good together. And if you're wondering why Denresh looks slightly better dressed in these, I'd have to say it's because it's from book 2 and on, where he has his wife to make him presentable. I realize there's also an interesting parallel between toon Tref and toon Denresh. They both have the part of the face the other one has hidden.

Also, I think that from now on, how angry Trefoil is should be measured in how close he came to losing his hat. See? He's pretty angry here. He nearly lost his hat--you can see part of the upper part of his head.

[Asila]

*predatory smile* I would totally jump Lief/Crevan in all his forms. *blinks* No. No no no. Must be abstinent. Pregnancy is horrific, and I WILL TAKE NO RISKS! NONE!!!!

*clears her throat* Riiiight. Now that I've gotten the chaos under control, I would like to say that LIEF IS FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!!! I can see why you like to stick with the fox ears. Fox ears are cute. I'm always tempted to give Asila a tail, even though her character doesn't have one, because tails add a fun extra element, so I totally get the desire to draw the ears. I think they look fantastic. But yeah, the way Lief is looking at the viewer in the first image? I would totally do something to humiliate myself if a guy that sexy was looking at me that way. Examples include: 1.) literally choking, even if I have nothing to choke on 2.) staring blankly without realizing time is passing and I'm being awkward 3.) Blushing a bright red, looking at my feet, and giggling while trying to talk at the same time 4.) trying to save myself embarrassment by fleeing, which would surely result in either a.)running into something or b.)tripping over something...

The list goes on. I just know that the one thing I wouldn't do is manage to remain composed. Another flawless toon victory in that first Lief image, by the way! This one fits the theme perfectly. And even though you don't like you're first Crevan picture, I can see how it inspired Lief's face in this one. So see, even the pictures that don't turn out the way you'd like them to lead to great things! *more staring at the picture* God, I love his body type. And his sexy pose. And his hair. And everything about him. That t-shirt really gets me. I actually love how casual yet elegant it looks on him. It just makes me want to hug him, press my face close to his chest, and breath in-

OH MY GOD. NO! WE ARE SOOOO NOT GOING THERE, BRAIN! *cat fight within skull* MOVING ON. To the next picture.

...see, this is why Molly couldn't help but feel attracted to/charmed by Lief. His beauty just defies mere gender barriers. He's simply gorgeous. And that is another sexy look. He just looks so vulnerable, innocent, and sweet. And his hair just dances around him, as if of it's own free will. And his eyes seem to shine, even though it's just a line drawing and there is no color involved and minimum shading. This is just epic. I'm cool with the anime style, as well. You KNOW you can pull it off.

CREVAN!!! Not as beautiful as Lief, but still so, so cute. There is something more roughly hewn to him, more coarse than perfect, that makes him look sharper, edgier. Sexy. And don't think I can't see how you did adapt the rigid fox-outline of Crevan's hair in that picture you hate to this one. (See? There's no such thing as failure in art! Only discovery!) I like that you took the fox-ear element out of it, though. Looks more natural this way. *studies Crevan picture* The beautiful eyes remain. *excessively girly, whimsical dreamy sigh* ...*shifty eyes* So. I love this picture. I love the ruffled t-shirt. (Yay t-shirts! I should draw Molly in a t-shirt...) I love how he hangs his glasses from his t-shirt. It's a really charming touch.

Your picture of Denresh is also great. I don't really understand the comic with Denresh and Trefoil, but it looks like fun. I'd say more about them, but my brain has completely fried out thanks to you and your eye candy pictures of Lief and Crevan, so SHAME! SHAME ON YOU, SEVEN!!!

...*glomps* I love you...

[Seven]

Well, you know what they say about fox...or I guess you don't know what they say about fox, since you say that. According to legend, they (or, technically, a number of other species, including humans) can only steal your energy if their partner climaxes, but they don't. Or, as the saying goes, "they leave nothing behind." Then, stealing energy might be another reason why you wouldn't want to. The more you know!

Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you so much! I feel so flattered. There was a lot of going back and forth between these pictures, so even though the toonish one was the first one I started, it was also the last one I finished. We can go ahead and claim that the t-shirt is yours, since when drawing the t-shirt and the expression, I sort of envisioned that it might be some weird case where Lief just got his curse lifted, him and his allies had just escaped their enemies (Molly!), and regrouped at Elina's house. Where he got to borrow clothes. Totally the story now. I almost didn't finish that first picture, but I'm so happy I did. I was really frustrated with the arms, oddly enough. Mostly because I had gotten the hair down just right, and loathed the idea of his arms covering it back up. Just couldn't allow that.

Demure Lief is the one I'm least pleased with. I don't know what it is, but something about it just seems off. Maybe I'll chalk it up to "Lief is acting" and therefore doesn't look quite like himself in any sense. *grins* But I am laughing at your phrasing of "Molly couldn't help but feel attracted to/charmed by Lief."

Crevan: *raises eyebrow and smirks* So he was attracted, hm?

I know, I'm just teasing. I'm sure Molly is exceedingly straight. Also, you should draw him in a t-shirt. Okay, I just had a very random thought of him and lief having a wet t-shirt contest. Seems your "shame on you brain!" is rubbing off on me.

As for the hair, I told you, I drew Crevan (as Crevan) one before--I already sort of had the concept for the hair, even if I hadn't mastered it. But I'm glad you like it anyways. Also, from what you told me about toon-Crevan, I thought you'd be disappointed by lack of fox-ear-hair. I didn't like it much, and it wasn't in the original concept drawing, but you seemed cool with it. In fact, drawing this Crevan, I was going, "I don't think I can do fox-ears...they'd look funny. I wonder if Asila will be disappointed in me for taking them out for not being able to pull them off and look natural...."

And its okay that you can't say much about Denresh and the mini comic. Aka felt pretty much the same way with Lief/Crevan stuff. I got compliments about the BB-related stuff from her. As for the comic, it refers to the fact that when Trefoil and Denresh first met, it was by Trefoil kidnapping Denresh, and due to a bunch of misunderstandings and highly unbelievable truths on part of Denresh, Trefoil got extremely pissed off. But afterwards, they basically became best friends. Not much of a comic, I just felt like drawing them together, and then I felt like drawing an angry Trefoil. On an unrelated note, trying to draw someone looking happy without use of lips is awfully hard.

*hugs* Love you too. And implanting dirty thoughts in your head.

[Asila]

Now I remember that bit of info about foxes. It just slipped my mind. Probably because the idea of a female climaxing while the male holds back is a novel one to me. I have to admit, though, that the stealing energy thing doesn't seem like a bad trade-off to avoid threat of pregnancy. Because let's face it, pregnancy and child-rearing is a twenty-year energy drain, so sacrificing a day's, or even a week's, worth of energy for one helluva good time with no risk of pregnancy....well, it just sounds like a party to me. ;D

I mean, maybe I'm just saying that because my body bounces back from a physical loss of energy remarkably quickly. My lack-of-energy problem comes from self-defeating thoughts, which is purely psychological.

Also, OH HELLS YEAH, THE T-SHIRT IS MINE!!! I'll totally rock that idea. B)

There's one more thing I want to comment on, even though I wanted to keep this short so that I can focus on more homework. I did think that the fox ear shape to Crevan's hair was really interesting and fun, but I also didn't think it lined up with my mental image. But this is where I have to admit to being overly nice and with-holding part of the truth. I didn't want to say Crevan didn't quite look like Crevan because I wasn't going to assume that I knew better than you. I don't like being too bossy about the designs of other people.

Now I just can't wait until this semester is over so that both of us can draw more.

[Asila]

Well, since Seven's drawing spree inspired me to have my own drawing spree, I thought I'd post the drawings that resulted. In order from most recent to least recent. (I want to post the newest first because I'm most proud of it)

So, here's Saika, making her first appearance in my sketchbook.


About this picture...I can't decide if Saika would be a larger dragon than the picture implies or not. I mean, Malevolos is a huge dragon. At this size, watching her try to take on Malevolos would be like watching a seagull trying to take out a lion. Things wouldn't look so good for the seagull. But I have to admit to liking that dynamic. It makes Saika's courage and tenacity feel more legitimate. So I'll probably go ahead and officially announce that Saika as a dragon is about the same size as she is in the picture. Perhaps slightly larger...but not much.

By the way, this picture started out as the most confusing sequence of curving lines, and I don't think it's much better now. This one would definitely benefit from some color.

Here we have Asila as a lion.


Her lion form is the most flattering one.

I'm going to mess up the order now by posting the Asila drawing that inspired me to draw her lion self. The text says "transform swirl!" because I'm a spaz.

I drew cat Asila as an afterthought, but since Seven thought she was adorable and loved the idea as Lion Asila I drew Lion Asila. I put way more time into the lion than the cat. It shows. Oh, and Asila totally has Jareth hair in this one. I guess she always has (though I never planned the resemblance) but it really shows in this one. Plus I'm watching Labyrinth right now.

Back to the orginal order, we have Malevolos while he's looking demony.

I still think I would have done much better on this if I'd drawn on larger paper, but for a cramped picture it turned out pretty well. I like it.

Aaand I drew my character avatar, Ellina. I put the least amount of time into this one. I think it's cute, though.


I think the first two pictures are the most worthy of this page, but I thought I'd post the rest so that the other denizens of Foxflame could see them. Enjoy!

[Seven]

So... I didn't bring my sketchbook to Utah, because I couldn't find where I had packed it in time. However, while at the mining company we visited, I stole a piece of computer paper. And the paper just happened to be 8x14 rather than 8x11, which inspired me to do something with at least two characters. So I did. I finished just today while at the laundromat... and since there was a huge delay at the laundromat (since every machine was taken) I went ahead and tried to add in a background.



The image is supposed to be in Lief's home, back early when Molly and Lief first met. Lief is playing the shamisen in an attempt to be all charmy schmary and such. I tried to make Molly look younger, less refined (hence the eyebrows and scruffier hair.) Some of the details don't show up as well, given I took the picture with my phone, but Lief is supposed to be sitting in a circle of small flowers with a few liliacs in the back/foreground. There are supposed to also be a small, harmless blue fires to light the path in the background and the entrances of the bridge (yes, that is water in the background....) It really is a picture that lend itself well to color, if only I could be bothered.