May 25th, 2005diana

I wanted to draw a huge ladybug initially because I thought it would make a rather amusing opponent. But now we get here in the story and it looks almost the same as the opening to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind! Yikes, I really love Hayao Miyazaki's work and it's inspired me quite a bit but I didn't plan on mimicking his scenes like this. In retrospect, it might've been better having a lizard or mammal as an opponent. They are immensely easier to find reference photographs of and I would probably have avoided the inevitable comparison with that Japanese story-telling giant.

Now to focus on things I might be doing well. I'm rather happy with how my jungle backgrounds have improved, especially the general plant shapes that I put behind stuff. The first pages have fluffy, rounded bushes and look very temperate. Changing those into pointy shapes helps make the jungle tropical. Take note, aspiring jungle illustrators! ^_^