The most recent trade I've done once again thrusts me into new areas of content--this time, *Violence* (Yay!)

Here is my rendition of Malkavia, a creation of Ankat/  yatenstar. A two-sided personality, she can be saintly one moment, and posessed of limitless cruelty the next, effortlessly murdering anyone unfortunate enough to be within reach. In my depiction, some unlucky suitor has met his messy demise at her hands, and she has spun around (hence the spattering of the blood puddle) to confront the viewer, who has about .05 seconds left to live.

This trade was completed to an unprecedented extent, not only did I recieve pics of Tina, Neichelle and Tanya, but also the original real-media artwork of all three :D. (I, in return, sent a CD with the full-sized uncompressed pic (2552x3300, 24MB) as well as the development sketches that went into this design). And as a bonus, all three characters are scheduled to "see" their renditions (and be suitably ticked pink) in an upcoming installment of my VCL-based comic, due to resume right after I complete the Tina-Kritter side story.

New to my repetoire is the use of smooth highlighting on a dark-furred character and the satiny look of her bows. Another one is the reflection of her boot in the puddle. Now, I know how to draw shoes accurately (it's something I noticed nobody else does), but making that reflection wasn't so simple, as I had to draw the *underside* of the high-heeled boot and add it in after coloring started. The effort was worth it, though. Also, I can't forget the blood effects. First time doing that too. Ripping into your partner with such gusto can be such a messy business. It's not too obvious, but she's also stomped a few more holes into her victim with those stilleto-heeled boots of hers (evidenced by their liberal coating of blood), something I might've depicted had I the presence of mind to design an appropriate victim for her to kill. All in all, a most enjoyable trade. The only thing I might have done differently would be to make the knives more detailed.

Technical: Brush inked pencils colored with Micrografx Picture Publisher.