adamwarren
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DISTRESSED DAMSELS: A new(-ish) SHASTI vs. ANGELS color commission!
🕑 Added 2023-03-13 13:01:01 +0000 UTCBehold, a semi-recent commission in my old, two-color "Con Sketch" format depicting That Darn Shasti once again getting the better of Dirty Pair's Y*ri and Kei. (BTW, I do like the idea that Shasti might have difficulty telling these two apart from their hapless alternates Rose & Lily, as she can victimize the "real" Lovely Angels almost as easily as their distress-prone iterations.)
Note that using the catastrophe-prone K&Y to supercharge a bomb's yield has appeared in commissions before, though I don't care to look up which old Distressed Damsels post previously featured the concept.
Roughed this out full-size (8.5" X 14") on a cropped piece of ledger-size paper, rather than screwing around with scaling up a thumbnail or the like.
Note that Shasti's outfit is very loosely based on an obscure variation of mascot character Super Sonico, which I happened to spot in an impressive cosplay video t'other day. Howeva, I soon gave up on trying to copy the annoyingly complicated costume's patterns and just "freestyled" the bulk of the design.
Just after finishing Shasti's lettering, I belatedly realized that she should've said, "BOMBSHELLS AWAY." (Oh, well; perils of analog media, folks.)
'Twas a serious mistake not to leave the bomb's line art "open," which would've popped it much better from the dark background below. On the other hand, this approach does "pop" the Lovely Angels' figures more clearly, which is also a valid consideration.
Briefly considered coloring this illo entirely with a "low-light," even more blue-skewing palette, but decided to err on the side of rosily-shaded damsels and Shasti. Note that the image above lacks the white-out sparkles and extra city lights seen in the final version.
TBH, I didn't really have the free time to work on this commission, but had to take a break from working digitally for a while; and quite a while did this illo indeed take, as it's far more detailed than any other pseudo-Con Sketch of late, and required over two full work-days to complete. (Ouch.) And now, back to the digital-medium salt mines!
NEXT TIME ON THIS HERE PATREON: Not sure at the moment as to exactly what's coming up in the next M/W/F slot, TBH. Let's find out together, shall we?
Comments
Eric
I actually have a question on this piece and will hit you up in a PM
KranberriJam
Love seeing the in-progress shots. Everything looks fantastic!
Aidenke
Man, these con-style commissions are beyond stunning. I'm really glad that you were able to sneak something in between all of the other projects (and the cold winter storms) that are flying around on your to-do list. I hope that once things calm down, we could see some more of these happen here and there again (gonna have to prep a few half-ideas to pitch if that happens)!
Strypgia
Wouldn't be out of character for Shasti to tie it as shown anyway through a combination of 'they're gonna die in a minute when I drop the bomb anyhow', arrogance over 'I've kicked their ass so many times, not a threat', and sheer esthetics. K having to untie her hands and save them both while they're in the middle of an involuntary Dr Strangelove joke is right on brand for them too, as would be Yuri having to disarm the bomb on the way down, hahaha.
DimZebra
Fantastic work, Adam! It's always a joy to see Kei and Yuri's run-ins with Shasti and the usually mortifying outcomes, I'm rather keen on that idea that she has difficulty telling the pair apart from Rose/Lily with how easily she tends to restrain them. Shasti has such a wonderfully creative mind for doing it too, I'm especially fond of the "Kicked by Shasti" signs plastered to both of the angels' wriggling rumps, it's a lovely extra touch of humiliation. The whole scene looks great with Yuri and Kei strapped down over the bomb in their respective positions with those dotted city lights sprawling far beneath them, it's an excellently detailed piece of art.
The Silver Socialist
I'm love to see Emp subdued by Shasti.
Adam Warren
In fairness, the original idea was to have K's wrists & arms drawn down to be more or less wrapped around the bomb (still faintly visible in the rough), but the pose didn't work out as well as this less, ah, "realistic" one.
Burninator
You know, there's something suspicious about this scene. If Shasti's giving the go-ahead to set off the warhead, which it sure sounds like she is, then why is she standing next to it? My guess is that Shasti has in fact stolen the actual warhead, either for her own no doubt nefarious purposes or simply to resell it and get paid twice (or as many times as she can pull off the same wheeze), and plans to use a computer simulation similar to the one from Quick and Dirty to fool the client before absconding with the booty. Heck, it could very well be possible that the girls we see tied up are actually Rose and Lily posing as Kei and Yuri and in cahoots with Shasti. Edit: Well shit, somehow didn't notice that they were in an airplane (thought it was a Generic Warehouse or something), and Shasti's standing away from the bomb doors. That kinda makes all this speculation pointless. I suppose I got distracted because there were rather more interesting things to look at than the background.
Eric
The Lovely Angels can win this, I'm sure of it!
andrew
Very nice!
Strypgia
At least Shasti screwed up by tying Kei's hands in front of her, so she can get loose. All three of them look good in this shot. And loving the step-by-step look at things.
JoJack86
Wow, this looks amazing! Really appreciate getting see the same art at different stages.
