I’ll be brief today: I’m starting to get a better handle on this vector stuff, i think. I’m satisfied with most of my color choices and gradient placement on this one, but I need to work on my vector drawing skillz–I should probably start playing around with different brushes rather than sticking to strictly uniform lines. As for subject matter, this cow has no particular significance–just a little doodle that I decided to vectorize.
Sketched loosely in Photoshop, and inked and colored in Illustrator. After my previous attempt at vector illustration, I decided to make things simpler and more stylized. Though I think in this case, I went a little too simple. Ah well, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I shaded this guy using some techniques that I have observed in the better executed vector illustrations of others. As far as the colors go, I’m basically satisfied, though I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the gills (and I think it shows) and the eyeballs lack the illusion of depth that I was going for.
More vector stuff to come. By the way, in case you didn’t know, that thing on his head is an ankh.
Post Script: Charles said he was going to write a profile for this little guy, but he’s been having some computer troubles, so there’s gonna be a little delay on that. I will post an update when he can get around to it!
**EDIT**
Well thankfully, Charles got his computer in order, and he posted the mystical fish’s extensive background story, entitled “The Children of the Gods”!
Go read it! Go!
A little something different–today’s illustration was sketched loosely in Photoshop and then inked and colored in Illustrator (I did also do a few tiny touch-ups in Photoshop). For those who don’t know the difference, Illustrator is a Vector-based graphics program, while Photoshop is a Pixel-based graphics program. This page gives a quick overview about the differences between the two, and you can read here if you want more details.
The colors are not quite what I expected–they looked different after I imported the image into Photoshop. I think maybe I need to adjust my color profile in Illustrator or something? Maybe someone who, unlike me, actually knows what they’re talking about could offer some helpful advice about this issue?
The whole purpose of this was to practice my vector skillz, and on that note I think this drawing/concept was just a little too involved for a vector rookie like myself. To achieve what I’m envisioning in my head (in terms of vector illustration), I need to learn to simplify shapes a bit more, and general simplify and stylize my drawings. I am however, happy with the way the bamboo “print” on the tunic turned out. It’s far from perfect, but as an experiment to gauge what I can do with vector illustration, it was a success.
Since the completion of this piece, I’ve done a few simpler vector sketches, which I will, of course, be sharing over the next few weeks, dear reader.
I was watching my She-Ra DVDs, when something about the villain Hordak caught my eye–what’s up with his crazy duck feet? Check out this post on Busta Toon’s blog to see what I’m talking about. Anyways, a hilarious image popped in my head and I came up with this:
I actually drew this several months ago, just after Christmas, I believe, and had left the colors in mid-progress. But when Super-Munkyboy started an art jam challenging entrants to turn a superhero or villain into animal, vegetable, or mineral, I thought this would be appropriate. I will update with a link when Super-Munkyboy posts the other entries.
The colors on this sucker follow Hordak’s animation model pretty closely. Same with the costume details, with the exception of the obvious, you know… duckification. I’m happy with how the smoke turned out–I’ve been playing around a little with incorporating gradients recently, rather than sticking strictly to two-tone cell-shading.
So originally this was intended to just be an anthropomorphic version of Hordak, but then I got to thinking–given the level of silliness in the old He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, Horduck could easily be incorporated into that universe! And so:
PROFILE: As a result of his technological and magical enhancements, HORDUCK is capable of shapeshifting in the same manner as Hordak, though his range is more limited. He has enhanced strength and stamina, and possesses thermal vision. Horduck is a classic bully with a Napoleon complex. He sincerely idolizes Hordak, and Hordak, as a result of a huge ego, humors this behavior. However, Horduck and Imp loathe eachother, as Imp percieves (correctly) that Horduck seeks to usurp his position as Hordack’s trusted messenger and protege.
HISTORY: A sickly slave from Hordak’s homeworld, the tiny despot who would become known as Horduck was the subject of experimentation by Modulok. Emerging from the experiments with enhanced powers and strength, he was raised by Shadow Weaver and Hordak, and indoctrinated in the ways of the Horde. Although he constantly claims to be a “Ducktator” of the outer territories of Etheria, in reality he’s merely the officer in command of a small Horde expeditionary force. Currently, he and his squadron are terrorizing a colony of Sagarian Trobbits. The Trobbits however, have allied themselves with the local Twigget population, and a group of Eternian Widgets who’ve found themselves stranded on Etheria.
Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here.
And so, DUCK WEEK(TM) draws to an epic conclusion! In case you missed it, I did post a Duck-related review on Wednesday–scroll down to check it out. Stay tuned for more Bootleg Sketch Mega-Events(TM) in the near future!
- Dungeon Volume 1: Duckheart (96 pages, full color, $14.95)
- Dungeon Volume 2: The Barbarian Princess (96 pages, full color, $14.95)
- Dungeon The Early Years Volume 1: The Night Shirt (96 pages, full color, $14.95)
- Dungeon Twilight Volume 1: Dragon Cemetary: Duckheart (96 pages, full color, $14.95)
- Dungeon Twilight Volume 2: Armageddon (96 pages, full color, $14.95)
Please note that these are only the volumes available in English, and as of this writing, there is one more English volume that I have yet to obtain/read–expect another review in the future!
A fantasy adventure peppered with RPG references and filled with slapstick comedy, Tom & Jerry-esque violence, dark humor, and absurdism, Dungeon nevertheless depicts a complex world populated by sympathetic characters with great depth. The dramatic moments are poignant and never over-done.
Verdict: Awesome. It’s really tough for me to convey just how much I enjoy this series. Economically, the comic book industry has been very healthy for the past few years, but in terms of content, there hasn’t been much that has appealed to me. Dungeon is a very compelling breath of fresh air–the closest comparison I could draw is the widely lauded Usagi Yojimbo, another comic book tale of an anthropomorphic warrior in an ancient time. At any rate, Dungeon is highly recommended–give the first volume (Duckheart) a try! Just one word of warning–these books aren’t necessarily for kids! Give it a read before you hand it to a wee one.
For More Duck Adventures In Sequential Art: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, by Don Rosa (256 pages, full color, $16.99)–the title pretty much explains it all!
Pencil-Ninja was having a Disney-themed jam over at Deviant Art, and around the same time, old buddy Gavin added in the comments section, “enough with the He-Man! … [I’m] jonesing for a Disney Afternoon something or other…” On the one hand, the words “enough” and “He-Man” don’t make any sense to my brain at all–but on the other hand, I too “jones” for the golden age of the Disney Afternoon. And so, to kill two proverbial birds with one stone, I set my sketch-sights on Fenton Crackshell AKA Gizmo Duck, a later addition to the cast of Ducktales:
I stuck with my own style and I changed a few details here and there, but this is still a pretty straightforward interpretation. Incidentally, if it’s not obvious, Gizmo Duck is supposed to be screeching to a halt. I’m happy with my color selections, though the shading, such as it is, is very basic. The background color was a last minute addition to distinguish Gizmo Duck’s white armor from the white background.
Check out the other entries in Pencil-Ninja’s jam at this link, and stay tuned for more DUCK WEEK(TM), including a bonus review on Wednesday and another Duck-Sketch on Friday, right here, on this very Blog! BELIEVE IT!
My previous fan characters, Trakka, Rayn-Ja, Mekorset, and Starburst were all created for re-design challenges. My version of Stridor, could certainly be considered a fan character, but he too was created for a re-design challenge. Malbino was a fully formed character in my head, but the motivation to actually complete his illustration was for the sake of yet another challenge. However, my offering today is particularly nerdy, because it is a fan character, created by me, without any outside prompting whatsoever:
Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here.
War-Tiger is, of course, just a re-color and slight tweaking of He-Man’s fearless friend, Battle Cat. After I decided to give Faker a similar pet, natural colors seemed like a fitting contrast to Battle Cat’s outlandish pelt. I’m satisfied with the overall results of this illustration–particularly with the way War-Tiger’s color scheme matches Faker (see my version here, if you missed it). Sometime after I came up with this idea, I came across a picture of a bootleg (heh) He-Man toy that came with a yellow tiger Battle Cat in Red Armor–a picture of the item in question is linked in this post. Eventually I’m going to have to come up with a name and backstory for that version too!
PROFILE: WAR-TIGER is a terran tiger of unusual size, power, and intelligence, as a result of specially prepared treatments administered to him by Skeletor himself. He and Faker apparently share a limited psychic bond, which Skeletor and Evil-Lyn can find no explanation for. Unlike Battle Cat, War-Tiger cannot speak, though it is clear that he can understand Faker’s commands.
HISTORY: When Skeletor’s inner circle travelled to Earth in an attempted negotiation with Carnivor’s Aracnos forces, Faker was separated from his party, and stumbled across an orphaned tiger cub. Faker found his way back to his allies, but the negotiations went poorly, and all-out hostilities were narrowly averted. However, Faker’s skill in combat and empathy for his newfound pet earned the deep respect of Felinor, General of the Aracnos Earth division. Since being brought to Eternia, War-Tiger has been raised to adulthood by Faker, and the pair has clashed several times with Battle Cat and He-Man.
My version of Wraptor is definitely meant to be in the style of the classic cartoon, while the others are done in the style of the 2002 revamp. I had seen Bearshow’s design already, and Patreek had given me a sneak peek of Buffalo Bill Man’s work-in-progress for reference. Their designs and final renderings were fantastic and done firmly in the style of the recent version of He-Man. Putting Wraptor into “classic” mode really just meant simplifying some costume elements and leaving out the skeletal snake appendages. The colors are heavily influenced by Bearshow’s version, though I simplified and brightened the colors somewhat, to give Wraptor the cartoony feel of the old series. I added the horny ridges on his brow just because I thought it made him look more dinosaur-y, and simplified the whip so that it wouldn’t distract from the snake-bandage-tendril-thingees. The snake-bandages, by the way, are something taken directly from Patreek’s earliest version of the character, and are my favorite thing about the character, along with his perfectly punny name.
Please check out the awesome renditions of Wraptor by the other artists, and definitely read Wraptor’s bio! And thanks to Patreek for inviting me to join in on this!
Fun Fact: Wraptor’s blade is a khopesh!
Faker’s original title was “Evil Robotic He-Man Imposter,” but in Faker’s single appearance in the classic He-Man cartoon, he was identical to He-Man and conjured by Skeletor with magic. Combining the technological and magical origins of Faker, and envisioning my take on the character as something of a cross between a zombie and a Terminator, I gave him the title “Evil Relentless Doppelganger.” Relentless is, of course, a nod to how Terminators are frequently described, and doppelgangers are creatures from folklore and, um, Dungeons and Dragons.
This one is a little unusual for a few reasons–for one, I don’t usually render shadow with line art, and as you can see, one side of his face is pretty heavily hatched. Also, the way I drew and colored the highlights in his hair is different from the more simplistic way that I usually depict hair. I think it worked out alright.
Some notes on the colors themselves–the power sword is supposed to be a mystical construct, generated by Faker’s battle aura. This was an idea I came up with to explain why Faker’s sword would be bright orange. Faker’s green gem and green eyes are supposed to be a callback to my take on Skeletor–if you refer back, you can see that I colored Skeletor’s gem green as well. The idea is that the gem is not merely for show, and serves some kind of mystical function. Since Faker was always something of a cross between He-Man and Skeletor, perhaps it is through the twin gems that Skeletor imbued part of his essence into Faker. If you look to this week’s earlier post, you can see that I gave Evil-Lyn a green gem and green eyes as well–the idea is that she’s drawing on a similar source of power as Skeletor.
Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.
I spelled “doppelganger” wrong in the picture. I’m too lazy to change it. I am a bad person.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL—
With today’s post I’ve completed color sketches of Skeletor’s primary cronies, which is something of a mini-landmark achievement for me. I had always intended to try and make a wallpaper out of them, so here it is, dear reader:
As my sketches accumulate, you can expect more themed wallpapers in the future. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums in this thread.
Post Script: In case you missed it, I posted a DVD review on Wednesday. Check it out!
This review is not timely by any means, but I enjoyed Advent Children enough that I thought it merited a review. To quickly summarize, Advent Children is a direct to video computer-animated movie that acts as a sequel to the Playstation game Final Fantasy VII (FF7). I’m familiar with the basic story of FF7, but have never played through the game due to the fact that I lack sticktuitiveness, and therefore am a poor candidate for completeing RPGs. But even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I wasn’t crazy about the character model for the main character, Cloud, at first, but it had grown on me by the end. The animation is very smooth for the most part (a definite improvement over Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), but the movements of background characters can be a bit marionette-like at times. Advent Children has a lot of atmosphere, and plenty of action (I guess some would say too much–but not me). The battles gleefully defy the laws of physics, and are truly epic in scope.
Verdict: Awesome. My only caveat is this–Advent Children is not for those who dislike anime or “wire-fu” martial arts movies. Granted, there are no wires, but the wildly exagerrated aerial fights certainly draw inspiration from the wire-assisted gravity-defying stunts of martial arts movies. In other words–if you hate the general awesomeness of anime and kung fu movies to begin with, don’t come back crying that it was melodramatic and the fights were unrealistic!
For More Awesome Martial Arts Battles: Kung Fu Hustle. ‘Nuff said!
I confess, I am not crazy about how this one turned out. The colors are alright, but the pose is awfully awkward. I actually did a lot of futzing with this in Photoshop, adjusting the position of her arms and literally rearranging her face. The result is better than what I started with, but nothing to write home about. In the plus column, I do think I did a decent job of giving her distinct facial features while keeping her attractive, yet evil-looking.
This was also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.
Pencil-Ninja happened to be having an 80’s cartoon Art Jam over at Deviant Art so I submitted this to him as well. Check out the other entries here.
Fun Fact: Evil-Lyn has white hair–this was first revealed in the episode “Witch and the Warrior.”
And, my creation:
Malbino is constructed from the following parts:
I already had this character pretty fleshed out in my head before I heard about the contest. The original motivation behind creating Malbino is that I wanted to create characters to wield the various accessories from the classic weapons pack. I hadn’t planned on getting around to this sketch for a while, but COTU’s contest seemed like a perfect place to present Malbino. The pose and concept are very similar to my version of Felinor, due to the fact that the existence of each character revolves around a duplicate Power Sword. And the name is, of course, a terrible pun in the great tradition of Masters of the Universe. Whaddaya know, I just happen to have a complete background written up for him:
PROFILE: MALBINO is a virtually unrivaled master of stealth and the sword. His sole concern in life is furthering his mastery of the blade by annihilating any and all who would be his rivals. As a result, he is unapologetically belligerent, even towards his so-called allies. He is armed with a replica of He-Man’s power sword, forged by the same master sword-maker who created Felinor’s counterfeit blade. It is unknown exactly how many of these forgeries exist. Intense light has been known to blind Malbino temporarily, but due to the fact that he is an expert blind-fighter as well, this knowledge is of little use.
HISTORY: Originally hailing from one of the most remote corners of Eternia, Malbino studied swordplay under the same teacher as his bitter rival, Tri-Klops. He has travelled the world, seeking out and ruthlessly slaying anyone whom he considers a master of the blade. In spite of having carved a bloody path of destruction through the martial world of Eternia, Malbino is little known, largely due to the fact that he has no interest in public glory and rarely leaves witnesses. Having heard that his old rival is engaged in on-going conflict with He-Man, owner of one of the true power swords, Malbino travelled to Snake Mountain to offer his services to Skeletor, determined to kill the opponent that Tri-Klops has failed to defeat. Malbino’s violent and efficient methods earned Skeletor’s respect, and in spite of Tri-Klop’s warnings, Skeletor has made Malbino one of his lieutenants. However, the wandering swordmaster has no real interest in Skeletor’s conflicts, he is merely interested in finding more masters of swordsmanship to vanquish. In addition to He-Man, Malbino has set his sights on She-Ra, and a skirmish with the Aracnos forces introduced him to Felinor, whom he took great interest in, for obvious reasons. Even amongst Skeletor’s other lieutenants, Malbino has made few allies–he has nearly come to blows with Ninjor and Blade on numerous occasions. However, he has also told Tri-Klops this: “Out of respect for our Master, I will kill you last. For now, we are allies.”
Tight pencils (in my less often seen anal-retentive style) with the usual Photoshop colors. I was afraid this was going to be another bland one, but I ended up being happy with how it turned out. Or maybe I just like the color blue? The pose is a little static (he’s supposed to be poised to make a powerful sumo palm-strike) and the hands are a bit clunky, but I think I did a decent job with giving a sense of this dude’s volume.
As you can see, I drew Jack in my own style, rather than matching the look of the show, and I was a little pressed for time, so I “cleverly” figured out a way to avoid drawing Shredder (except for his arm, obviously). I think it more or less works, though I really feel like my recent stuff has been suffering from a certain degree of blandness. I think I need to try something completely new to shake things up here.
Post Script: Oh yes, and for those who did not make the deduction, I started a Deviant Art (DA) account which you can find linked on the sidebar. But if you don’t want to move your eyeballs 15 degrees, just click here. Anything I post on my DA account will show up here as well, but you may be interested in going to my page to check out my Favorites, so you can see other people’s art that I’ve been drooling over recently.
Post Post Script: And if you scroll down to the post just below this and read the comments, you can see that me and a few of my regular commentors are having a grand old time! Check Mark’s Hale’s blog for more.
Post Post Post Script: Last one, promise–I caught up on replying to comments, all the way back to the Bumblebee post!
Okay, so the the 2008 Olympics are going to take place in Beijing. Anyone who knows me knows that sports are the last thing in the world that I care about. I mean, I like watching martial arts, archery, boxing, wrestling, and fencing, but that’s all stuff that can be used for ass-kicking, so it’s cool.
I’m straying from my point here–what caught my attention is that apparently the mascots for the 2008 Summer Games are THE BEST MASCOTS EVER:
While not a fan of sports, I am a fan of awesome character design, and these little dudes (and dudettes) definitely fit the bill in that category. As a broad generalization, I would say that most mascots are designed in a manner that is technically competent but super bland. However, these “Fuwa” (as they are collectively called) combine sharp, modern design, with select traditional cultural elements, to create a striking and unique feel. The Fuwa could easily pass for characters from Wind Waker–a video game with art direction that was under-appreciated and ahead of its time.
But wait, there’s more–if you take a look at the official site, on the right-hand side there are icons of the Fuwa pertaining to each event of the Olympics! I thought these were really cute, so I saved them and posted some on my friends’ Myspace pages where relevant–basketball for Vinny, swimming for Annie, etcetera. But then, a genius idea sprang into my head… Revised Caption + Photoshop = HILARIOUS REMIX!
A little something for wrestling fans Josh and Charles:
And something for my Dungeons and Dragons homeboy Jacob:
While I had run out of friends to send fitting remixes to, I had not run out of hi-larious captions and a desire to procrastinate and absolutely ensure that I never accomplish anything productive ever, and so, more were born:
Last but not least, my personal favorite (a gold star to anyone who knows the quote):
In case anyone is interested, the original Chinese text is intact on all images except for “Dual Wield” and “PWNED.”
I realize probably no one finds this obscure crap as funny as I do, but nonetheless, enjoy, send ’em to your friends, and make your own, if you feel the holy spirit compelling you to. In fact, if you do make your own, post them in the comments!
For more on the Fuwa (and believe me, you want to know more–the red one is basically a fire elemental):
The antelope is my favorite.
Sometimes I get an IM first thing in the morning from Kevin, and he says something like, “I need you to draw Lawyerbear real quick,” without offering any further explanation. Frankly, no further explanation was needed:
I’m proud to say that the black and white version of this sketch was the very first illustration of Lawyerbear. You can see it here.
Proof that Kevin is Lawyerbear’s daddy is here.
Be Lawyerbear’s internet predator/fakefriend here.
And most importantly, visit the official site for more Lawyerbear art: www.lawyerbear.org
A gold star to anyone who knows where I got the title to this post. Hint: it’s from a long-running TV show.
Anyone call for a webslinger? This sketch was done completely in Photoshop (2-3 hours). Spidey‘s fingers are too chunky, and it looks like he’s doing jazz-hands… but for a quickie, I’m happy with it. In case you can’t tell, the green background is supposed to be an abstract representation of his Spidey-Sense.
Oh, and if you missed it, I also put up a bonus post and review. Scroll down for more, sucka!
This is an older illustration, from early 2005. These are pencils, scanned and colored in Photoshop–one of the first un-inked pieces that I ever colored, and for those who have not seen anything in the more anal-retentive style that I have mentioned previously, here ya go. As you can see, unlike most of the stuff that I’ve posted, this is a fully realized illustration with multiple characters and a background. The drawback of course, is that this thing took me forever, as opposed to the sketches i post regularly, which usually take a couple of hours of actual work.
The piece has some problems (particularly in the color department–almost no variation in value), but overall, I’m still fairly satisfied with it. I don’t often do complete illustrations like this, with a background and all. I need to start doing more! I do have plans to eventually follow this with similar illustrations of each of the turtles.
Clearly, between the orange headband and Michelangelo’s opponents, this pic is inspired more by the cartoon than the comic, which I guess might be considered pretty sacreligious by some. But I needed an excuse to draw Bebop and Rocksteady, so there you have it. In my head I’ve sort of re-wardrobed each of the turtles into different outfits, and the results for Michelangelo are seen here. Oh, and for anyone who cares, Mikey is wearing a Lance Armstrong bracelet + buddhist beads on one wrist, and a G-Shock wristwatch on the other. It all seemed appropriate for his personality.
TMNT (In theaters now… and in case you’re, like, totally not with it, TMNT stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
A fresh re-introduction to everyone’s favorite teenage mutant ninja franchise, TMNT delivers what it needs to, with plenty of style–cool ninja fights, crazy monsters, ancient warriors, and good characterization and interaction between the core characters. The character models and animation are fitting and well executed, and the direction and camera movement are very dynamic. There are a couple of minor plot holes, some expositiony dialogue, and some cheesy humor for younger viewers, but nothing too off-putting. As an added bonus, there are a few subtle nods to continuity, and an obvious set-up for a sequel.
Verdict: Awesome. I paid for full-priced evening admission, and I didn’t feel ripped off–these days, that’s sayin’ something! Your mileage may, of course, vary, but I think just about anyone who’s nerdy enough to be reading this would be happy with paying for a matinee of TMNT. My only significant complaint: Donatello didn’t get to do anything cool!
For More Misfits Fighting Evil In The Shadows of New York: You owe it yourself to try out Gargoyles, which was, in many ways, the superior spiritual successor of the Ninja Turtles in the mid-90’s. In terms of mood and plot, watching the Turtles’ most recent foray into the silver screen was very much like watching a couple of strong Gargoyles episodes, albeit with excellent computer animation. The first two collections of Gargoyles are available on DVD now!
Re-design challenge at the He-Man.org fan-art forums for the second half of March–my post is here and the original thread is here. The voting thread is here. I managed to land first place!
The subject is Starburst She-Ra, an action figure variation of He-Man’s twin sister She-Ra. However, my version has a bit of a twist to it:
As you can see, rather than drawing a variation on She-Ra, I tweaked the design so that she’s a different character entirely. I’m happy with how the sword and star field turned out, but other than that I feel pretty lukwarm about this one. Only one thing can save this–an elaborate and nerdy background for the character, written by yours truly!
PROFILE: Stoic and pragmatic, STARBURST is a woman of few words, as a result of her extended isolation in deep space. In spite of her reticent manner and her reluctance to trust others, Starburst is nonetheless a powerful ally to the heroes of both Etheria and Eternia. Her mystical cloak endows her with a number of powers, including super-natural strength and stamina (in the same league as He-Man and She-Ra), as well as flight, and the ability to traverse the cosmos freely. Her sword has a blade cut from a rare type of Etherian gem, and is charged with cosmic energy. The powers of the cloak have also slowed her aging.
HISTORY: Over a century ago, Etheria existed in an age of peace, and Starburst was Light Hope’s champion, watching over the planet, and maintaining the delicate blance of justice. A Cosmic Enforcer came to the planet, seeking Starburst’s aide in battling a marauding space fleet known only as “The Horde.” At Starburst’s request, Light Hope permitted her to leave Etheria, hoping that with her aid, the Horde fleet could be stopped before they reached Etheria.
However, the Cosmic Enforcer was in a fact a rogue who had betrayed his order, and he teleported Starburst lightyears away, behind enemy lines. Without Starburst to lead the forces of Etheria, the Horde was able to invade and gain a significant foothold. Light Hope was greatly weakened (a large portion of his power still imbued in Starburst) and could do little to help.
For one hundred years, Starburst has been fighting her way through Horde forces with little or no help, trying to get back to her home planet. In her journeys she has clashed with the legitimate Cosmic Enforcers, and later allied with them, after it was revealed that the Enforcer who betrayed her was a rogue.
Finally, she has returned, and none too soon–with the disappearance of He-Man, and the Horde invasion of Eternia, She-Ra has been desperately needed by Eternia and the Sorceress of Grayskull. With Starburst holding the Etherian front against the Horde, She-Ra has returned to Eternia for the time being. Accustomed to working alone, Starburst is finding it somewhat difficult to adapt to her position as one of the leaders of the Etherian Rebels. Her dedication however, is unquestionable.
Starburst is just the first in a series of “original” fan-characters based on existing He-Man/She-Ra toys. Look for more in the coming weeks.
I started off with a very rough pen sketch, which I scanned and inked over in Photoshop. The colors are a bit lackluster, and I think if I had to do it again, I’d leave the line art in black. I am a man of few words today. Go, and be merry, dear Reader!