Odysseus' art dumping ground

[Odysseus]

Okay here's something different. I've been working on another book, this one compiling a web-comic based on the SNES game Earthbound, and as part of that book I decided to create fake advertisements. For reasons. Here's a few of my favorites (THEY'RE BIG AND I AINT RESIZING THEM lol) :

Spoiler

Just got done with that second one. I'm kinda proud of it.

Spoiler: context for anyone interested

So these aren't just random. The Earthbound comic is mainly hosted in a thread on Starmen.net, so readers made their own edited images as the comic went along, usually based on jokes in the comic. I wanted to include them too, since I want the book to capture the "forum reading experience," so to speak, but there was a bit of a problem. A lot of these images are... less than presentable, and just having random pages dedicated to fan art would disrupt the flow of the comic, so, with a little nudge from @Shademp, I came up with the idea for fake ads. Earthbound is a very 90's game, and it's based all around Americana. The game's instruction booklet is based around a travel guide and had its own in-universe ads, so I thought this was in-keeping with the spirit of that. It's like reading an old comic-book or magazine.

For refrence, here's what I started with:

This one was fine already, I just thought adding screaming children and Jesus would be funny
It's based on a joke from the comic itself if you're wondering.


Yeah this one sucks. I came up in the forum right at a point where the characters in the comic were visiting a building that had an arcade in it, and I was committed to using ALL of these pictures one way or another, so I ran with it. I blew out the image so much you can't see the basic-ass font or jpeg compression anymore lol. Here's the picture I used for the arcade cabinet:

finding a high photo of this cabinet was impossible lol.

 

[Odysseus]

Hey there kids, anybody's eyes want to bleed?

This started as a sequel to my previous drawing with Sephiroth, but it didn't stay that way lol. Instead we got neon summons. I dig. I tried some new brushes this time, courtesy of my usual partner in nonsense, and I think they added some nice texture. Also thanks to Shademp for the Japanese on the Moogle's headband.

 

[Rydeen]

I have always liked your use of color and I’ve definitely noticed a lot of improvement over the year in general!

 

[Odysseus]

I have always liked your use of color and I’ve definitely noticed a lot of improvement over the year in general!

Thanks! I've been worried I leaned too hard into garish bright colors this time, but I guess it's fine lol.

 

[Shademp]

I appreciate the huge variety of textures on Bahamut and Leviathan in particular. The patience spent on each detailed patch of skin/scales/bones pays off. The Chocobo also pops out nicely with its feathers and shiny beak.

 

[Odysseus]

I appreciate the huge variety of textures on Bahamut and Leviathan in particular. The patience spent on each detailed patch of skin/scales/bones pays off. The Chocobo also pops out nicely with its feathers and shiny beak.

Leviathan is probably my favorite thing in the drawing, she's so prettyyyy. Bahamut I had to play with because if I kept it his default Remake colors he would have just been blue also, and that wouldn't look great against the already blue big snek. I guess what I ended up with is a little closer to how he looked originally though.

 

[Torrie]

Cloud's hair is truly like "Let's defy destiny gravity together". Love the anime-ish vibes that it creates. Also love the neon glowing so much!

I don't know how you managed to make chocobos even cuter than they are but well done

Leviathan is probably my favorite thing in the drawing, she's so prettyyyy.

Wow, I never thought Leviathan was a "she"

 

[Odysseus]

Cloud's hair is truly like "Let's defy destiny gravity together".

What can I say, I like drawing Cloud's big stupid hair lol. I was always sad it got smaller with his more realistic design, so maybe I'm compensating lol.

Wow, I never thought Leviathan was a "she"

"she" seemed more appropriate here for some reason.

 

[Odysseus]

After a lot of malaise and lack of motivation, I finally got off my ass and drew something again

Spoiler: pencil only version for comparison's sake

Aaaaaaaaaaand it's more boobs. A certain someone I know has been drawing a lot of lewd Tifa and I wanted to join in, but then I ended up taking it way too seriously in the coloring phase and the picture ended up with an oddly melancholic vibe as a result. I guess the impeding doom in the sky doesn't help much with that.
This is supposed to be what happens under the highwind after the fade to black, but I got lazy and didn't draw the highwind. It's in front of them or something, I dunno. The sky looks nicer on its own anyway.

 

[Shademp]

Not sure if intentional but the way that Cloud's back looks all roughed up makes it appear as though he has a fair share of scars on there. Given everything that he goes through, the presence of scars make sense. It's refreshing to see a partially undressed version of Cloud who actually looks battle-worn (and/or worn from the experiments performed on him) rather than Cloud being a spotless statue of muscle.

The sky is very enchanting. The clouds forming concentric circles that lead up to Meteor in the middle was a good framing choice to make your eyes follow a trajectory up to Meteor.

 

[Odysseus]

Not sure if intentional but the way that Cloud's back looks all roughed up makes it appear as though he has a fair share of scars on there. Given everything that he goes through, the presence of scars make sense. It's refreshing to see a partially undressed version of Cloud who actually looks battle-worn (and/or worn from the experiments performed on him) rather than Cloud being a spotless statue of muscle.

Part of it is definitely just my sketchy style, but I did choose not to erase some of those lines just so his back would look a bit more warn. Guy's been through some shit.

The sky is very enchanting. The clouds forming concentric circles that lead up to Meteor in the middle was a good framing choice to make your eyes follow a trajectory up to Meteor.

That was something I came up with while coloring. I decided to try to do the sky purely digitally rather than drawing it in pencil first like I usually do. I realized "oh yeah Meteor should be there" and that shaped the rest of the image around it.

 

[Cat on Mars]

Aaaaaaaaaaand it's more boobs.

おっぱい!

I like that this "boob pic" is more than that, is a scene with a very specific context. The melancholy is stronger than the horny in this one.

A certain someone I know

Ooh, mystery~

It's refreshing to see a partially undressed version of Cloud who actually looks battle-worn (and/or worn from the experiments performed on him) rather than Cloud being a spotless statue of muscle.

This is actually an interesting concept that doesn't get much attention. Magic is a very convenient way to have scar-free, fair skinned protagonists, but at the expense of narrative. I'd sometimes prefer that these characters had some scars as visual reminder of the shit they're been though...

 

[Odysseus]

おっぱい!

I like that this "boob pic" is more than that, is a scene with a very specific context. The melancholy is stronger than the horny in this one.

I'm not good at doing horny lol. Everything must be moody!

Ooh, mystery~

Oh my, whoever could it be~

This is actually an interesting concept that doesn't get much attention. Magic is a very convenient way to have scar-free, fair skinned protagonists, but at the expense of narrative. I'd sometimes prefer that these characters had some scars as visual reminder of the shit they're been though...

Maybe I should have given Tifa the scar across her chest from when Sephiroth slashed her. I know that's a popular bit of fanon.

 

[Shademp]

Makes you wonder if Zack kept his chin scars intentionally and if a dose of Curaga would have fixed that right up when the wound was fresh.

 

[Odysseus]

Makes you wonder if Zack kept his chin scars intentionally or if a dose of Curaga would have fixed that right up when the wound was fresh.

He just wanted to look cool.

 

[looneymoon]

images are broken for me?

 

[Odysseus]

images are broken for me?

https://www.deviantart.com/thestrifeisrife/art/More-than-just-Words-869629062

 

[Torrie]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the realistic depiction of the areolae? Also, the scars. And the blush. And the meteor. And the moodiness. I wish I could be as eloquent as Shademp, but I can just go aaawwwwww.

Makes you wonder if Zack kept his chin scars intentionally and if a dose of Curaga would have fixed that right up when the wound was fresh.

As far as as I observe, this is a popular headcanon in the FF ficwriting community. If healing magic isn't applied immediately, the longer you wait, the worse the healing process is. Also, it often depends on the caster's abilities. If a typical NPC or an infantryman uses a mastered materia, the return damage may be close to lethal.

 

[Odysseus]

Okay I'm just putting this here for the sake of having it all together. I originally drew this for Torrie in that "Newbie playing Crisis Core" thread, just for fun.

I'm getting to be actually okay at drawing with a mouse lol. Just gotta keep the style simple.

 

[HylianMogget]

Wait, you're using just a mouse for coloring/drawing digitally? Dang. If you can get a tablet it's going to feel like easymode in comparison.

 

[Odysseus]

Wait, you're using just a mouse for coloring/drawing digitally? Dang. If you can get a tablet it's going to feel like easymode in comparison.

For silly doodles like the one above, I do both drawing and coloring with the mouse. For my main pieces I do a sketch in pencil and then color it with the mouse. It was hard at first but now it's pretty natural to me.

 

[Odysseus]

I stumbled upon a silly old thing I drew probably like 7 years ago now. I tried to do a sequel to Obstinate Melon's FF7 comic, adapting Dirge of Cerberus instead. I only drew a few pages, only one of which even has part of Dirge in it, but I just think it's kind of funny since I ended up working with Melon years later anyway lol.

https://imgur.com/a/02pVDya

My art was raw fucking trash back then lol. not that is isn't nowwww

 

[Erotic Materia]

Hey Ody, would you have use for an Intuos pad?

 

[Prism]

After a lot of malaise and lack of motivation, I finally got off my ass and drew something again
View attachment 9083

Spoiler: pencil only version for comparison's sake

View attachment 9084

Aaaaaaaaaaand it's more boobs. A certain someone I know has been drawing a lot of lewd Tifa and I wanted to join in, but then I ended up taking it way too seriously in the coloring phase and the picture ended up with an oddly melancholic vibe as a result. I guess the impeding doom in the sky doesn't help much with that.
This is supposed to be what happens under the highwind after the fade to black, but I got lazy and didn't draw the highwind. It's in front of them or something, I dunno. The sky looks nicer on its own anyway.

The funny thing is that this comes off less like pornography and more like...I dunno, just an illustrated, emotional scene. I think it takes a certain talent to be able to draw nudity that way Nice abs on Tifa, of course.

I stumbled upon a silly old thing I drew probably like 7 years ago now. I tried to do a sequel to Obstinate Melon's FF7 comic, adapting Dirge of Cerberus instead. I only drew a few pages, only one of which even has part of Dirge in it, but I just think it's kind of funny since I ended up working with Melon years later anyway lol.

https://imgur.com/a/02pVDya

My art was raw fucking trash back then lol. not that is isn't nowwww

Nah, this art is awesome. I love stuff like this - it's not even as poorly done as you think.

As someone who used exclusively a mouse for art until very recently, be careful that using a mouse doesn't give you hand issues in the long run. Then again, maybe using a trackpad exacerbated that for me...
Still...

 

[Odysseus]

Hey Ody, would you have use for an Intuos pad?

Maybe, part of me has been afraid of trying to use a tablet at this point lol.

The funny thing is that this comes off less like pornography and more like...I dunno, just an illustrated, emotional scene. I think it takes a certain talent to be able to draw nudity that way Nice abs on Tifa, of course.

Thanks. I wanted it to be a sentimental drawing, since it was potentially the last night they'd ever have together.

Nah, this art is awesome. I love stuff like this - it's not even as poorly done as you think.

I had this really bad habit of putting mouths in people's chins back then, and I still end up doing it sometimes. Cloud in the summon picture up at the top of the page is a good example of that, his mouth is pretty misaligned with his eyes and too low. I always do enjoy seeing people's wonky high school art though.

As someone who used exclusively a mouse for art until very recently, be careful that using a mouse doesn't give you hand issues in the long run. Then again, maybe using a trackpad exacerbated that for me...
Still...

I was thinking after I posted that that you probably did your stuff with a mouse exclusively. I can see how that would be bad for your hand after a few years. What program do you draw your pixel art in?