So I love Dungeons and Dragons, and I love Equestria Girls. Which is why, of course, I had to mix both in one series of images. From Twilight Sparkle the Sorcerer, to Pinkie Pie the Bard, this is one party of adventurers that is sure to have fun no matter what.
It’s been a while since I find an anime series that really captures me. I wrote a couple of articles about Kakegurui for Honey’s Anime last year, and got completely hooked on it. Sure, it only lasts 12 episodes, but the Manga is longer, and now there’s a drama coming. It has a lot of fanservice (Which surprises me, as I usually dislike fanservice) and it’s a bit overacted -even in the manga- but it’s really fun and you just want to keep on reading to see what kind of bets are going to be made to try and stump Yumeko. So I of course, had to try and draw her.
Done with Touch markers, in Copic marker paper (which is REALLY thin, but has little bleed)
When I drew this 9 images, I was still on top of my inktober deadline. And that was even stopping to read some of the books that I hadn’t read in a long time.
Some of these are my favorites, like Carrie and Margaret White, and of course, Annie Wilkes. Again, what I love about Stephen King is that his women are full characters, not just cardboard tropes.
Anthropomorphization is really fun. I get why people draw animals, emotions, objects, and even subway lines as people. Me? Well, everyone knows I love Stephen King´s books so I decided to go ahead and turn some of his most famous haunted houses into people.
This original set is only four houses, but I might do others later on. I kind of have my heart set on making Room 1408, the Marsten House, the Pet Semetary and Al´s dinner.
29 Neibolt Street used to be very unknown to the non-King reading public because her one appearance had been cut from the 1990 It´s adaptation, but she was rescued from oblivion by the 2017 adaptation. Neibolt is a very old house, that even in the 50’s was completely abandoned. But just like Pennywise’s disguise, her depilated appearance was a magnet for adventurous kids. Of course, this makes her even more dangerous, as most adults didn’t even consider warning their kids away from her. After all, going into an empty house was kind of a fun dare back in the day, wasn’t it?
The Overlook, on the other hand, is probably the most infamous of Stephen King’s Haunted Buildings. And for very good reasons. Even when “dormant”, this hotel has had his share of victims over the years, and while some say that it’s “mostly” safe, it seems that no one leaves untouched one way or another (For that, read Misery. Or Dr. Sleep. Or the actual chapter in the book where the story of the hotel is explored in depth). Like Hotel California, for some people, once you check in, you can never check out.
Rose Red is also not very well known, because she’s not exactly from a book. She’s from the TV miniseries of the same name written and produced by King, and heavily based on the Winchester’s House. I love her because she’s a bit of a brat, demanding attention in some deadly ways, and throwing tantrums when she doesn’t get what she wants. She was also the house that inspired me to make this series, because although we see a ton of ghosts inside her, the series makes it clear that she’s a different entity, and a very malicious one at that.
Finally, for this series, we have Dark Tower. Now, she’s not technically a haunted house, but she is a King building, so… she’s here. Also, she’s the center of everything, so she stays.
She also is not evil, depending on when you reach her. Or where you reach her, so I had to show that too. As you can see, I had a lot of fun with her and her hair.
I love Batgirl. She and Wonder Woman were the very first superheroes I ever saw in my life, and both taught me that girls can be heroes too and don’t need to be damsels in disgrace.
First it was Barbara Fierro (Mexican Dubs back then changed all the names, so the Gordons became the Fierros), and her ballet dancing style. Her secret hideout behind her vanity, the fact that she could fight with a long wig… I loved her so much that I was devastated when I started reading comics and found out that I was a bit too late to read Batgirl’s adventures as she had been crippled by the Joker (Later on, I found the glorious pre-crisis stories where she fought, among other things, snake women and teamed up with Supergirl).
But as I read more and more comics, and time passed on, she became Oracle, and kicked ass. She was better than any superhero in my book, because she used her own smarts and not powers granted by biology or luck.
A new Batgirl arrived. And I have to say, I liked Cassandra Cain (not portrayed here) but she wasn’t completely my Batgirl. As much as I love Oracle, I missed Barbara.
Then came Nu52. And while I am not very happy about the way Barbara was magically cured (We do also need heroes in wheelchairs), I can’t deny I was thrilled at seeing her take the cape again, and written by the amazing Gail Simone.
But it wasn’t until Batgirl of Burnside when I got to have FUN with Barbara’s adventures again. I know it’s controversial to say this, but I adored the original run. It was everything I’d have loved in a comic when I was a teen and more.
Which is why, when San Diego Comic Con announced that they were having an anniversary special for Batgirl in their Souvenir Book, I had to participate. And I couldn’t just pick one version of Batgirl, as they all are important to me. So this piece was born.
So once I finished Hei Hei and K2So and started thinking about the way Moana and Rogue One managed to parallel each other, I got to Moana, Bohdi and Cassian. And well, they do fit too! Moana is a rebel that will stop at nothing to protect the people she loves -like Cassian- and at the same time, she’s a messenger who is supposed to take the savior from point A to point B -like Bohdi.
Originally I wanted to draw them all in the boat, taking it to beyond the waves in the stars. Unfortunately, for the size of my paper, it would’ve ended up in a way where you couldn’t see their eyes. And I really wanted to show their eyes.
Guess when I finish the series, I will do that other idea. Because I still think these three would travel to very interesting places if they met.
This started as a joke.
I went to watch Moana and fell in love with the movie. But in particular, I fell in love with Hei Hei because he reminded me so much of my cat, Dakota (Seriously, Dakota will lick the floor next to her full food plate. And get lost in a straight line with a perfect view of my apartment door). Next week, I went to watch Rogue One and cried my eyes out. My favorite character there was K2SO because I love surly androids.
Then I was made aware that both are voiced by Alan Tudyk. Of COURSE I had to draw them together. And as I was doing the design, I got the idea to make it like an old time tattoo. And while I was looking for a phrase to give them, I decided that both were quite heroic in their series (although I admit, my first sketch had K2 asking Hei Hei how it was that HE survived and K2 didn’t), and thus the True Heroes was born.
But THEN I choose to do it in colored pencils, which takes a while. And while I was coloring it… I realized that Moana and Rogue One had a LOT in common besides the greatest voice actor ever. So this became a series. Next post, you’ll see what I mean with that.
And here we finish the Wonder Princess saga (For now) with my favorite. Mulan.
I mean, don’t get me wrong: Moana is amazing and currently my #2. Rapunzel is really cool. Merida is great. But the very first princess that said “EFF this” to the whole “Damisel in distress/finding true love” was Mulan, and omg, I loved her from the very first second.
And well, she gets my favorite suit for Diana ever. The gorgeous Diana Trevor armor that Diana wears during the trial of the Gods arc, designed by George Perez. An arc that finally explains why Diana’s suit is based around the stars and bars.
And well, with this one being the last, I’ve got to ask: Would you like to see them ALL together in just one image?
I’m going to be frank here: I only watched Princess and the Frog in Netflix about seven months ago. When it was in the theaters it didn’t call my attention (I am not a fan of the original tale of the spoiled princess and the dead frog) so I just let it pass. Man, was I wrong. After I watched it, Tiana became one of my top five favorite princess, hands down. She’s perfect in every way, and the only thing I am not happy with is that she spends about 90% of the movie as a frog (Also, Alan Tudyk made me cry, but that’s for a different post).
On the other hand, I adore the DC Bombshells. Every single issue is perfect, and all the stuff changed is great. I am pretty sure that no one at DC editorial reads DC Bombshells because there’s no way they would let a comic so perfect to keep on, with all the lesbian and bisexual heroines that are so cool. Diana in particular is amazing. And her suit is my favorite WW alternative uniform, so of course I had to give it to Tiana.
We’re almost done with the Wonder Princesses, so I hope you have enjoyed this ride.
Choosing Jasmine’s outfit was hard. I had already used the one with a bare mid-drift, and while there are a ton of other elseworlds outfits, none really fit the princess who wanted a bit more than just being trapped in a palace while being forced to marry a prince because that’s what the rules said.
Diana’s Amazonia’s outfit was chosen by accident, but as I reread that particular elseworld -which I don’t really recommend. I find it to be a bit of a waste of a lot of great ideas- I found out that they do have some bits in common. Especially the point about how women have to submit to a lot of rules that society doesn’t impose on men. Unfortunately, Amazonia doesn’t have many male characters that one would actually like, so that’s where the parallels end. Aladdin has some great male characters, and a villain you don’t want to be shot to the moon in the third page of the script.
Copic markers, glitter pen, and copic sketch paper.