Art and Lore - April 4th, 1999

Billy "Studmuffin" Black in Xenogears "Departure" done in pencil sketch and Photoshop Art by Blademoor Waiiii! Billy is TOTALLY the coolest guy in Xenogears! *DrOoOoOoL* (end girly outburst) heh, sawwy, had to say that. You can probably guess that Billy's ousted Bart from Lorelai's "Favorite Character" RPG shrine. I love this picture, particularly for its wonderful gunslinger portrayal. Anyone think of "The Usual Suspects" when they see this fanart? You're amazing, Blademoor ^_^ Kudos to your glorification of Billy!

Billy "3,000 a night" Black from Xenogears "The one i care about" done in pen, Paint Shop Pro, Prang color pencils Art by W. Lorelai Wu What can I say...I submitted my own art again...But I did work really hard on this one! I spent a heap of time on it, actually; time that shoulda been used..elsewhere...at least it came out rather nice, in my opinion. Except for the fact that I hacked away a bit too much of Billy's holy habit...oops. This pic was reflecting the fact that pretty boy Billy nearly sold himself to help raise his sis Primera. My conscience bugged me to do this pic forever, and so, here it is. Note the new layout to my ongoing theme, "the one i care about" has infiltrated my old Bart and Margie pic too ^_^

Elly "Gazel" Van Houten from Xenogears "Solaris Officer Elly" done in pencil Art by Jen M Jen says: Not to downgrade all the really great anime artists out there, but I finally have had enouch of trying to make characters appear EXACTLY as they look in the game. I've seen some realistic pictures I've truly admired, and decided to give it a go myself with nothing but a blank paper, and mechanical pencil. Proportions might be off, but I didn't care. It was the emotion I try to grab in a character, not duplicate game portraits.

Elly and Sophia from Xenogears "A Legacy of Kindness" done in Corel Xara Art by Young Wang Young Wang says: Miyaa!Ê The last one took 4 weeks, this one took 4 days!Ê Then again, I had spring break to do it! You know though, after watching Saber Marionette J, Elly looks JUST LIKE Lorelai from SMJ.. except Lorelai has green eyes and Elly has blue.

Emeralda "Nanomachines" Kasim "Angel of Silence" done in unspecified medium Art by Amber Michelle Emeralda is such a sweet kid...I don't regret slogging through that blasted Lighthouse for her awesome scene! (Mmmm...G-Godfather...) Amber, of course, does a great job in portraying this technological wonder - you simply have to see the whole thing, just the thumbnail does it no justice. Besides keeping up with the fanfics on RPGamer, Amber also has a ton of awesome Xenogears fanart on RPGamer as well as her own webpage (note: Artist of the Week!)

Fei "mentally unstable" Wong and Id from Xenogears "Juxtaposition of the Souls" done in unspecified medium Art by Lacan Wow. Double Wow for the awesome juxaposition of Fei and Id. Ok, so you've been warned that this week's fanart is a spoiler, but hey, I'm still not spilling any beans here. Instead I'll just ramble on and on about how Ramsus is really Elly's brother-in-law when Fei's long lost cousin from (SLAP) Ow! Amber hit me! (Clear throat) Ah. Well, this thumbnail took out some vital eyecandy, so be sure to view the whole thing and then congratulate Lacan for an awesome fanart.

Fei and Elly from Xenogears "an existence known as True Love" done in colored pencil, PSP 5 Art by V00d00babe VooDooBabe asked me to comment on this picture, and I'm happily obliging. It skipped the Critique Corner for certain reasons: (1) It's totally great! (2) It's Xenogears week! But anyway: I only can suggest practice; practice controlling fine lines, practice in human proportions, and also logic (i.e. shading, hair volume, placement of facial features) other than that...you're on a roll, babe!

Krelian from Xenogears "A Burden" done in pencil Art by Jen M Jen Says: This was my first attempt at drawing Krelian. I really did feel sorry for his character, I think he meant well but was one of those people that had no idea of how to obtain their happiness, or let alone not sink into major depression mode. This portrait shows a kind man, who has the hint of worry, sadness, and strain on his face. I guess ruling the world is a hard job...

Shitan Uzuki / Citan Uzuki / Hyuga Ricdeau from Xenogears "Scholarly Solarian" done in pencil and Photoshop Art by Minmei Minmei says: I was trying to create a portrait with a vintage look but it didn't work too well it seems..O.o

Lorelai's ending comments:

I am forever changed by Xenogears. No, really! It's so much more than an RPG for me, it's an inspiration, an epic, a totally awesome source of entertainment, art, and religious munchies for thought. Xenogears set me thinking about a lot of things, some more profound and abstract than others. And to think I was unimpressed by it's demo. Ahhh, curse me. To think I bought this game for my sister...AH, double curse! Now I can't take it with me to Berkeley... ^_^;;;

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this week's installation of Xenogears-specific fanart. Maybe i'll have more themes in the future; meanwhile, I'm gonna try and get back to Friday updates so I don't have to do them on this blasted, snail-speed laptop. Oh yeah, and critique corner will be making an appearance next week...I'm sorry for letting it die.

- W. Lorelai "I want an ether-gun for my Birthday" Wu