Steiner, confronted with an opportunity that he's just dying to take
advantage of, but the
princess won't like it...
Steiner is my very very favorite character from FF9. Sure, I love Vivi.
Everyone loves Vivi.
But I've always had a severe weakness for really dorky characters,
and Steiner is nothing if
not dorky. He was always in my party, I loved the silly man to death,
and he was... really really
strong! So, anyway, the other day I was at the local Japanese import
stores, and they had FF9
keychains in two sizes: small and ugly, and larger and cool. So I bought
the larger Steiner
and put it on my computer.
Anyway, late one night when I was avoiding inking something else, I
picked up the keychain and
started playing with it. Eventually I started doodling it idly, and
since I had doodled his face crooked,
I got the idea to do this weird foreshortened pose. So I did. First
time I've ever done major
foreshortening. I've got to say, action figures and models are great
reference material!
No one ever draws Steiner. I had to fix that.
I love this drawing. I can't believe how well it came out. First there
was just the Steiner, leaning back
and looking up... then there was that cranky-but-thoughtful expression
on his face... then there was
what he was looking at. After that, the background just came together
really quickly (background!
I drew a BACKGROUND! Well, okay, I drew a path...) and inked it. Yes,
his chainmail is inked by
hand. No, I'm never doing that again. Ouchie, my hand. But it had to
be just right!
And boy, did that coloring job take a long time. I'm not just utterly
happy with the metal parts, but
they look more or less like armor, I guess. That belt is too basic,
though. The buckle needs more
shading, and so do the shoes. I'm not sure WHAT happened with the pommel
of his sword, either. Ick.
I'm really happy with the grass and the pathway, though. They look
good to me.
This is about the first art I've ever done that really felt COMPLETE.
It has a background and everything!
Here's the messy pencil sketch, at full size.
