Some different versions of The First (from the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) from the past X weeks. One with tattoos (like this one the best), with a different nose (not a fan of this look), a younger countenance from her days among Wavedancer's crew, and a fourth with some slapdash colors. And srsly, if I try to depict a 11,5-foot-tall stern warrior lady, I'm not gonna give her any vague, timid expressions, no matter how 'pretty' that might appear.
May contain errors.
characters (c) Stephen R. Donaldson
May contain errors.
characters (c) Stephen R. Donaldson
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the tattoos are very well-done, but my personal favourite out of this bunch is the coloured one. i think a smiling expression matches the spirit of the giants. if you combine the smile, tattoos and the small braids (without the bandana though), i think you'll have a winner
I was just ranting yesterday about the utter lack of diversity in female characters in modern media.
You rarely see a female character that ISNT a young adult... let alone a female character that doesnt dress like a harlot. c:
EVEN RARER do you see a woman who has weight or a decent build.
So this piece already has points with me for originality! XD
You did a great job creating a very believable character! VERY nice facial expressions.
She looks like she could rip an arm off too! Really cool XD
Y'know, variety's precisely the reason why I'm digging into the works of obscurer authors and older media. The series where she's from was written c. 30 years back, so no wonder most people here don't know what the heck I'm suddenly drawing. XD Anyhow, the lack of reference materials pretty much forces me to start from scratch with the appearances. The TC novels revolve around anti-heroes and the deconstruction of the Chosen One trope, so the reader meets less stereotypes. I'm not claiming these books are perfect, but nonetheless. The other main character besides TC in the 2nd Chronicles (Linden Avery) isn't a young adult either; she has lines on her face, etc.
The First, now...well, I'm trying to remain loyal to the book's descriptions of her. She's a Giantess several hundreds of years old and probably around the same numbers in weight, so I believe she could break the back of a regular human with a single blow. XDD I'm just totally in love with this character, partly because of the difference to most modern concoctions. She's stark, sharply intelligent, and a ferocious fighter, alright, but far from the usual, (rather one-dimensional) fundie feminist with a terminal PMS one tends to see in roles such as this (As her name implies, she's the commander of a dangerous quest that has brought a shipful of Giants from the other end of the 'alternate Earth' to see what threatens the existence of everything, as beheld in the dire visions of Seadreamer. Who in the seven hells would give such a Search into the hands of someone barely adult??). Besides, she wears practical armor, not any pointless chain mail bikinis that would be quite as a plausible in a real fight as a sword made of warm cheese.
Another thing that hideously bugs me is that these scrawny, teenling chick 'warriors' (or any other Mary Sue/Gary Stu types, for that matter...) commonly become instant adepts when they see a sword for the first time. That sort of thing insults the audience by claiming that everything is easily obtained and practice is just for wimps. Donaldson seems to sneer at this 'freedom from effort' concept, especially in this quote from Pitch (from White Gold Wielder):
So...I suspect the Swordmain (warrior) training among the First's people might take up to decades, which indeed would sound realistic.
Oh, and another trope turned upside down.... Donaldson's Giants are wise, clever sea-faring adventurers and cunning craftsmen, totally from a different galaxy than those lumbering lack-wits with names like Glurp or Blort people tend to imagine when they hear the word 'giant'. Well...Pitch probably lumbers, but only because he's badly crippled.
Sorry about the long-winded blather. XD
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I wanted to respond adequately and there was a lot to be said. I have been rather busy too :c
Credit is given where credit is due. XD
That's really interesting. A lot of neat styles and ideas have died with time... I love some of the old styles(one of my old favorites were of the old Tales from the Crypt comics).
Though yeah... XD It would make sense that noone has seen it before. All the more reason to bring it back in my opinion.
That sounds really difficult! I cant tell you how accurate you are but I can say- regardless of that- that your depictions are turning out quite professionally.
That is cool! Not enough is done regarding the "greys" of morality so I can appreciate that. I dislike stereotypes so that sounds good too. What does TC stand for? I may look into it.
Terrifying! 8D Awesome!
She does sound an INCREDIBLY rare and interesting type ^_^
It actually WORKS for her too! I would love to see a character like that in a game (one of my goals is to become a game designer and break some of these obnoxious molds so I appreciate the inspiration).
Terminal PMS
What's seadreamer and what is threatening the world?
Plot Point?
I am VERY happy with that fact. I grow quite tired of suits of armor (be it leather or metal) with GIANT stab-me holes in them in an attempt to make everything the person wears physically attractive. I enjoy fantasy (and the nonsense that comes with it) but this is FAR too common and doesn't make any sense on any level. Sure she could be really skilled and confident. But even still... she could be surprised? Why WOULD she punch holes in her own armor? You'd have to be either STUPIDLY cocky and unwise, have a SEVERE overheating issue, or be obnoxiously vain... OR BETTER YET... how often do these characters go to DESIGNER BLACKSMITHS?!
For example. Recently I bumped into a character in a game I play (league of legends) called Kayle. She was a cool character. Reminded me of Samus. BUT... OF COURSE... when they remade her...
[link]
They ACCENTUATED and CIRCLED her chest. c: Because it makes sooo
much sense to make a special suit of armor JUST FOR HER so she can show off her bust!.... ?
;_;
That's a really neat quote by the way! I really like it too. It's very true. You VERY rarely see ANY character who isnt magically bestowed powers in any media now. I suppose the reason is that people can't usually relate to the kinds of effort they see the characters using. They hope that they can magically become rich... powerful... or magical.
This quote fits in any case.
THAT'S some effort D8
And that is just interesting XD I have heard of gentle giants before but never intelligent. I mean.. Roald Dahl's "BFG" was the closest I have EVER seen to that. And even still the great majority of them fit the stereotype.
Cripples are rare too o_o What happened to Pitch?
"Who in the seven hells"
Where did you hear that saying? I have said that pretty much all my life and I never hear anyone else use the expression. o__o
TC/TCOTC: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson, with which I've pretty much been spamming my gallery lately. XDD [link] (Don't spoil yourself too much, if you're ever going to read it.
I don't know if I can "recommend" it in the traditional sense of the expression, since people seem to either hate or love the series (according to a brief survey of Amazon reviews). It has some traditional fantasy elements (fancy horses, Giants, wild magic, a Sauron-ish, albeit greatly more sinister, Dark Lord who despises everything that is healthy and beautiful), but concentrates mainly on the deep, dark psychological struggles of the characters and the perilous consequences of their often poor choices (which is why, at least in my opinion, they feel more like real people than the characters of many other high fantasy novels). The series is divided into three "Chronicles"; nine out of ten parts have been published. I haven't read the last three yet, and hence can't fully express my opinions on them, but I absolutely love at least 4 volumes out of the first six.
The main character is a bitter, cynical, leprous man who involuntarily becomes the 'Chosen One' of a whimsical realm called 'The Land', which he finds a direct threat to his sanity and therefore messes up everything in the first two-three books by acting like a complete and utter bastard. Then, however, after finally understanding the domino effect of destruction and devastation he has caused, he begins redeeming himself, never yet fully losing his anti-hero-ish nature. In the 2nd chrons he's much more sympathetic, but to balance that, we get more disturbed people prancing about. XD
The series is, if anything, challenging. The language, for one, revolves around difficult expressions (and undoubtedly leaves some space for sporking, but I did say the series isn't perfect
Seadreamer: Brother of Captain Grimmand Honninscrave from the 2nd chrons. Mission/Plot point for the Search/the quest of the Giants:
Armor: well, some accentuation of feminity doesn't bother me (google "Roman breastplate" to see how they accented male muscles in armor during those times), I'm guilty of drawing The First's armor to show her figure to a certain degree [link] , but the shoulder guards of that lady behind the link ... XDDD They're practically impossible to wear in fight, wouldn't allow proper arm movements AT ALL.
Acquiring power: the TC novels spin considerably around that theme. The main character cannot grasp his powers until in the 3rd book, and even thereafter the usage of Wild Magic remains always hazardous. Some characters perish because of their overestimation of their own powers, etc.
Gentle/Intelligent Giants: Have you ever read Norse or Estonian/Finnish mythology? The Jötnar and Kalevanpojat may not be that gentle, but certainly wise, clever, and cunning. To name a few: Loki, Mímir, [link] , Vafþrúðnir with whom Odin himself engaged into a battle of wits; the god of wisdom, sea, and singing Vanemuine/Väinämöinen, Soini Kalevipoeg [link] , the eponymous Giant King Kaleva himself, Suur Tõll, etc. This is why it annoys me tremendously that most modern literature portrays these mighty beings as utter imbeciles.
On another note, they're not supposed to appear as if everyone had acid and random tumors sprinkled across their faces either (this is from a Norse legend called Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar):
It translates approximately like this:
(Ie. Elves and Giants were both comely.)
I don't have quotes from Estonian stories at hand right now, but even there, the Giant King Kaleva and his offsprings were considered handsome.
Donaldson's Giants appear closest to their Norse counterparts I've ever seen in fantasy, save for the shape-shifting and magic-wielding skills, and that they actually do possess a gentle spirit.
Crud, I don't remember anything about Roald Dahl's story. I need to re-read it. >_<
Pitch: he was born deformed, with a spine so crooked that it doesn't allow upright posture and such a cramped chest that he can't breathe properly. Imagine a kind of 10-foot Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Seven hells: uhh...no idea. It's unquestionably from some book, but can't pin down the source right now. >_<
Did I manage to answer to everything? XDDD
Good luck with your game designing.