Art trade with  oddensesantly. Odd's bio states that this character, while not actually capable of flight, *is* capable of leaping tremendous distances/heights, giving the illusion of flight. I'll assume then that jumping off buildings is no big deal for her :) . Here, Odd crouches in anticipation for another flying longjump. While inking this piece I came up with another dramatic-looking pose that begs to be made into a complete pic, but that'll be a gift/fanart image (already cleared) that I'll do once my current backlog settles down. This trade was completed, I recieved a pic of Nei'chelle which you can find in my Favorites gallery.

Technical:
--Considering the dramatic manuever she's about to execute, I flared her costume wings for an additional flourish, and guassian blurred the rowhouses in the background to make her stand out more. It doesn't really show as much here, since this is a reduced-size version and the linework was smoothed out in the process, but on the original 2552x3300 pic, the effect is very evident (yes, I archive the original-size bitmaps of my works--all 24 megs of 'em)

--This pic, which I completed during C-ACE in Ottawa, Ontario the previous weekend, marks a return to brush inking. I'm glad I bought a new brush for this one, as it really gave the linework a boost. Post-production was once again via Micrografx Picture Publisher. If it has layers, I haven't discovered them. Digital work was straight-up single-plane work without any exotic digital dog-and-pony antics. Some folks seem amazed at what I turn out without the benefit of any PhotoShop exotica:

--There is a bit more digital embellishment here than the pic might indicate. In the original lineart (viewable in the Sketches folder on my VCL gallery--for fun, bring up both pics and flip back and forth between them), only Odd and the building ledge she's standing on were drawn by hand. I didn't really know what else to put into the backdrop until I started coloring. The rowhouses forming the current background were done entirely digitally, mostly with a straight-line tool, then various elements converted into independent shapes and pasted about for consistency (after resizing for perspective)

--Proving again that I can draw footwear, Odd's boots differ from the ones in other renditions of her. I picked a style from Airwalk that was popular around here last winter. Referenced from a Payless flyer, I changed their color to match her costume as the real ones only exist in black or tan.

(Edit 12/06/06: Today I spotted someone wearing the pink Airwalk boots (no black straps, tho'). So I guess my version is accurate after all)

Lighting is a little different this time. Main lightsource is afternoon sunlight diffused through light cloud cover from the front, with more light reflected off the sky behind her. Hence my attempt at shading + backlighting. I don't claim to really know what I'm doing, but it's a start :)