Hello Steem peeps and fellow artists,
In the spirit of Halloween that is around the corner, I wanted to share with you a character that has been looming in my mind for a while - that I was finally able to spend some time this week sketching and developing.
I find that storytelling helps me visualize the character's appearance, but once the character emerges through graphite on paper, it takes over the story and can go much further than the initial idea...
Gale
The female Lycanthrope (werewolf)Gale is a Lycan of a very rare kind... She doesn't have a human form.
She cannot escape her animal self to live with humans, and she is also an outcast among her own kind and other creatures of darkness as she is so different from them. So naturally she is a wild-child, unsocialized and accustomed to solitude... though she is not quite alone...
At this point, I had a very faint notion of how Gale should look, but I know the personality and the kind of body language that she exhibits. So I started with some rough gestures using a pen and then pencil:
Though she appears feral, Gale has a master to whom she is a loyal and protective, despite his distance and neglect towards her because of her odd characteristics as a werewolf. Most of her days she spends dwelling in the woods on her own, like a pale ghost in the white of the winter forest, satisfying her curiosity and learning from nature. She preys on deer, rabbits and anything injured - wintertime causes her to be slightly undernourished. But the human remains that her master leaves for her, she discards in the forest without eating...
I tried portray her as a monster and the animal that she is, but also in balance with her effeminate face, expressive eyes and a dash of attractive. This has been a challenge to draw, and I'm still not sold on any of my attempts here.
Her figure is tall and slender, with an arched back or a hump that is commonly attributed to werewolves, but due to her lighter bone structure and smaller frame she is more flexible and less brutish than other Lycanthropes. Her arms are long and muscular - allowing her to walk on all four; her hands are large and strong, and her long fingers end with razor sharp claws.
Though smaller than a typical werewolf, she can still appear rather menacing. And although her master doesn't expect much of her, she is eager to protect him, despite him being almost as strong as her.
Here I drew her a little more muscular than I intended, but at the same time, succeeded in capturing her ability to be a threat. The image on the left is the initial sketch, and then the one to the right is after a short battle that took place between my pencil and eraser.
So this was the last sketch I had done before making this post (below). There is something cat-like in this version of Gale that I will keep tweaking, but otherwise i'm happy with the results. I was initially going to color her as an albino but then ended-up making her more like the Arctic or the Tundra Wolf - with a pale coat and amber eyes.
But there is much more to Gale than what is being said here, and then what Gale knows about herself... So stay tuned for more backstory and illustrations that will be coming shortly.
Meanwhile, I hope you find this interesting... intriguing... and all that :)
Thank you all for reading.
Nice !! 👍
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thank you!
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I want to get in your head for a few minutes and experience first hand what goes on there. From this character (sketch and backstory), it seems like a whole lot. Really impressive!
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haha, thank you @misterakpan! my mind is like a junkyard of ideas that keeps piling on... luckily there is Steemit to help me sort through all the piles of characters and visuals one at a time :)
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Upvoted. I'm going to resteem this now :)
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appreciate that Mr @ipkiss! btw sir ,you go one of the best usernames on steemit imo!
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Oh so cool story telling and drawing ✍️ this is fun I see her in my mind as you paint with your words. I too saw her albino in nature with the fur of a wolf situating accenting exaggerating her shape adding more growl to her otherwise soft nature being caught between two worlds. Love the play. Longingly awaits next post...
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Thank you! definitely, there is so much to work-on here... i also think her hair is a little to neat, and would add a lot more character and growl if its was messier and less even... also there need to be some other imperfections that a character in her world would undoubtedly acquire... so definitely more is coming up soon.
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So interesting, so intriguing and all that!!
Amazing talent @ankapolo. Nice to meet you. +1 follower
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haha! thank you @mr-Monk! nice to meet you too and all that :P
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Very cool character. Are you developing Gale for a novel or comic or something?
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I would love to do an illustrated novel... its a lot of work though, I hope I bring myself to work on something like that in the future... perhaps with the help of other steemians. but for now i'm just working on the setting for a story.
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Well it looks like you have put a lot of thought into it. Thanks for sharing.
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This post recieved an upvote from minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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I love the way the sketches become the final character. Really cool technique. It's kind of the opposite of watching a sculpture emerge from the rock, but I can see the genesis of the creature happening. Would love to see a gif of the transformation!!
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that's a great idea - to do a .gif of the transformation.... i will try it next time! Thank you so much @Justafrood!
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dude! i love your animations! and the gif ^^^ really cool idea!
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thanks man, if you're interested in getting one made for yourself, let me know
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i think i might have gave you the idea ;) upvoted your post too: https://steemit.com/creativity/@laabo-afolabi/i-m-making-custom-animated-gifs-for-fellow-steemians-perfect-for-leaving-in-your-comments-or-adding-to-your-posts
This definitely seems like something you can specialize in!
And thank you for the offer, certainly will consider!
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Lol, it was the idea from the start but you definitely encouraged me. Thank you, i really really appreciate it.
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Great concept, irremediably it made think on this 😢
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is that the full metal alchemist?
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yep, saddest part of the anime heh
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any chance you remember the # of the episode?
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https://ww3.gogoanime.io/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-dub-episode-4
there you go
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Yossss! thank you! will check it tonight :)) also may I recommend the website https://9anime.to/ - they have the best quality in anime and also update sooner than most other sites :)
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😁 Thanks!!
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that was a good episode... I kinda stopped watching this anime cause it felt like there were too many side stories... but i think i might give it anther chance.
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of course..:D
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@minnowpond1 has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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That is so awesome. I am very grateful for that! Love it.
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thank you so much @gamzeuzum!
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@eileenbeach has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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Congratulations, your post received one of the top 10 most powerful upvotes in the last 12 hours. You received an upvote from @curie valued at 51.36 SBD, based on the pending payout at the time the data was extracted.
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Congratulations @ankapolo, this post is the most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a User account holder (accounts that hold between 0.1 and 1.0 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by User account holders during this period was 1152 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $1549.13. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.
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OMG, that is amazing, i'm so grateful to @Curie and the guild! you guys really helped me since I started in the community!
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cheers
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:)
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Thanks for sharing this, I found it very interesting.
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awesome! thank you for reading!
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great concept..how about trying a female vampire next..? :D
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thank you! there will be vampires soon :)
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She looks horrible!
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haha, thank you!
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spooky ...brrrrr..great drawing but scary for me totally..so you done it great :)
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thank you @Jungwatercolor :)
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Wow, these are some great sketches, @ankapolo
Animation in the works?
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thank you! though i studied animation, I've forgotten most of the knowledge i'd need to make an animation... :P
but with more illustrations coming up, I plan to do some digital painting... and may be at some point will try some 3D modeling again...
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Cool. I see a lot in the drawings.
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I'll take a look at this my brother... :) Think he will be surprised by your talent...
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thank you @malinamoss!!!
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This is great! These skecthes have so much movement and life!
So amazing to see the growth of this character in your latest post!
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