Mello

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Mello raised his head, tearing his eyes away from the laptop screen as he heard a soft digital beep. "Matt, what are you doing?"

The redhead hovered in front him, goggles pushed up into his hair as he grinned and held up a small silver camera. "Nothin’, just taking some pictures," he replied innocently, peering through the focal lens.

"I know that, dumbass. What I want to know is why you’re taking pictures of me." The blond’s eyes followed the boy like a hawk as Matt sidled around to the back of the couch.

Matt raised the contraption and snapped another photo. The image appeared on the screen a few seconds later. Mello’s face stared over his shoulder into the camera, crystal blue eyes narrowed quizzically and full lips parted slightly. His freshly acquired scar threw half his face into distorted shadows. Matt couldn't help but find it strangely alluring. "Well, there’s nothing else around here I can take pictures of." He brandished a hand at the empty apartment. "And I’m not allowed to go outside unless it’s for groceries."

Mello snorted, returning his attention to the computer. "Do whatever you want, you pervert. I just think it’s odd that you picked today of all days to take pictures when I’m in drag and not in my sexy leather."

"You’re sexy any day," Matt replied casually, earning a derisive laugh. "Just more today than you usually are."

"I hope you don’t put this in your scrapbook, Matty. What else do you have in there, photos of me in the shower or when you’re screwing me?"

"Scrapbooks are for girls. Oh, sorry, do you want some of me to put in yours?"

"Shove it."

Matt ran a gloved hand through his tangled hair and stared down at the blond, suddenly very serious. "Okay, in all honesty, I want something to remind me of you, something visual. The police have your name now. Kira could kill you any day, and then what would I be left with?"

There was a moment of tense silence as the words hung in the air. Mello’s thin, painted fingers hovered above the keyboard as the truth sank in. To Matt’s surprise, he let out a dry chuckle. "I didn’t know you were the kind of person to carry around a picture of your lover in your wallet. How sentimental." Mello finally twisted his head to sneer at his partner. "But suit yourself. Don’t expect me to get up and pose for you."

The redhead smiled back, relieved, a pout lingering on his lips. "But I was hoping you’d strip for me," he teased, raising the camera and stealing another image as Mello reached for the chocolate bar on the coffee table.

"Go to hell," he retorted, but he winked as he snapped a chunk off the candy bar and cocked his head to the side for another camera shot.
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Ever since I finished reading the Death Note series, I've wanted to draw a picture of Mello. I wrote it on my To-Do list on my white board, but I haven't gotten to it until now when the summer is over. *laughs* I did manage to draw two pictures of Mello and Matt and one of Mello when he's younger, but I wanted a piece where he is his normal age in the series. Because my sister was pestering me and because I thought it would be fun as well, I drew Mello in drag, mainly because he is another seemingly gender-confused character. *laughs* I had the most difficult time trying to find a reference photo for the picture. I had originally taken a few pictures of myself in drag (while my sister laughed), but I wanted to change the pose before I started sketching so I deleted the pictures. I could not find anything on the web that was what I had in mind. I eventually took a couple pictures with my phone and quickly scribbled some basic guidelines. I wanted to go with a typical pose, but when I took the photos with my phone, I thought it would be more interesting to fancy Matt had taken the photos of Mello, so I went with a cropped, close-up, and slightly crooked perspective and later added the details you see when looking at a digital camera screen. I also came up with a little background story to the sketch when I was taking a walk outside and decided to take a few hours to type it up and post it along with the art piece (which is the italicized text above).
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I like the camera details I added. It makes the picture appear more abstract, especially when my focal point is in the top left-hand corner and not close to the center. I was considering drawing a blur where the laptop is now to make it appear as though Matt had his fingers in the way, but it looked awkward so I left it out. Mello's skirt looks strange because the photos I took were dark and I was not able to see the creases clearly. The laptop looks horrid, but I wanted to keep it because it is included in the story and I needed to fill the empty space. I planned on coloring the image in Photoshop, but after I finished the line art, I did not feel like it was Photoshop-worthy. So I started coloring his shoulder with colored pencil, then quickly realized I was going to ruin the piece. It was better to leave it as it was even though the lines were difficult on the eyes.
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Drawn August 10, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture and Story (C) Alice Falling; Characters (C) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Death Note

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I wanted to draw a collaborative piece similar to the Wolf's Rain picture I drew last year for the Death Note series. I was originally going to include Misa, Near, and Mello as well, but I quickly found out I would not have enough room to draw all of them. I drew the two main characters in that case, Light Yagami (right) and L or Ryuuzaki (left). Instead of drawing the two in their normal outfits, I wanted to try something darker since I planned on inking the picture.
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I think I might have overworked the shadows on Light's face, though I liked the hatching I used. His lip ring turned out lopsided, and the shadows on his shirt come out across his stomach too far because I was planning on inking the whole shirt black. I realized it would be too much black after I finished the jacket, but I had already made some marks so I had to work around them. I like his necklaces and the net shirt. Ryuuzaki was most likely the best of the two. I originally drew him blowing bubblegum, but it made it difficult to tell who I was trying to portray. The band-aids were an impulse. I thought he looked rather plain next to Light so I needed to add an accessory to his face. The hatching I used around his cross necklace is a mess and could have been done cleaner. I like how I managed to draw the slouching position he is famed for. I knew I needed to draw a background so I threw a city scape behind them and made it look as though they were standing on a rooftop. I struggled to finish this piece because my pens starting failing halfway through the inking process. I managed to buy a few more, but my thinnest ones stopped working entirely and I had trouble inking in tiny details. In the end, this turned out very professional and I'm pleased with the product. My sister wanted me to make a copy for her so she could hang it in her locker when school started again. *laughs* My boyfriend should also be thrilled because I successfully drew a background.
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Drawn July 25, '08.
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Pen and Sharpie marker.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling; Characters (C) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Wammy's Second Best

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Reference
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My little sister, who is also a fan of Death Note, came home with her hair cut one day. I thought she looked a lot like Mello when he was still living in Wammy's House as a little kid especially when she straightened it, although it was a mahogany color instead of blonde. I took a photo of her and used it to draw her a picture of Mello later that day.
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I loved how clean the line art turned out. I planned on shading the picture so I took additional effort in making sure the line art turned out crisply, but I decided to leave it as it was instead. I wanted Mello to still look like himself but I also wanted to work with my own style of him. I drew his hair fuller but I made it somewhat stringier than it would usually be, and I really enjoyed drawing it. I'm very pleased with the final result.
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Drawn July 15, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling; Character (C) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Fall In My Arms Now (Matt x Mello)

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The title of the picture is taken from the lyrics of the song Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings. I finished the Death Note manga series and, although I knew it was coming, the ending depressed me. I had to channel my emotions into another art piece and I couldn't resist drawing another picture of these two. I was having indefinite trouble trying to find references for the poses I had in mind. It was at this point that I started my habit of taking photographs of myself or someone else in the pose and clothing of what I wanted to draw. I posed as both people separately in my room, Photoshopped the two pictures together, and finally drew the sketch. I later dressed up in the clothes they were wearing and took a couple more photos to use as clothing reference. I finally found time to color a picture in Photoshop. The summer was young and I had nothing else to do. Instead of coloring the way I usually did before, I went with a manga-style coloring. I would have originally used my Manga Studio program, but I could not get the program working on my computer, so I defaulted to Photoshop. Unfortunately, I deleted the reference photos I took so I cannot post those up. Total, this piece took about eighteen hours roughly and is also the piece responsible for causing me to start a blog in the first place. I had not created something so well in such a long time and I wanted to share it somewhere beyond Gaia and my circle of friends.
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I did not re-size the image before I started coloring, so when I finally did re-size it, it ended up with a grid texture. I tried to use it to my advantage by making it look like screen tone, but it still makes the quality look poor. I had a lot of trouble with the perspective at first. I still think Mello looks uncomfortable in the position I drew him in. He does not look like he's leaning back into Matt, so that could be the problem. I'm pleased with the leather clothing he is wearing. I did not have anything close to that fabric, so I had to improvise and it turned out quite well, although I got a little lazy on his pants. The arm he has behind Matt's head looks awkward. I don't think I foreshortened it correctly. Matt, on the other hand, turned out wonderfully. I like his goggles, and I'm absolutely tickled with how great his hands turned out. I got lazy on the controller though. The simplicity of the coloring was a nice break for me. I did not have to worry about blending and choosing the ride shades of color. I had trouble with the background. I was going to draw a couch or a bed behind them, but I could not make that work for me. I decided to just throw a texture behind them (my boyfriend scolded me that I need to practice drawing backgrounds). I rummaged through the brush sets I had downloaded and settled on the hazy texture I ended up using. I absolutely adore how this turned out when all was finished.
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Drawn June 25, '08.
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Mechanical pencil and Photoshop 7.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling; Characters (C) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Pocky Love

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I joined the bandwagon of Death Note fans, much to the horror of my best friend. *laughs* My favorite character is Mello, and he and Matt are my favorite pairing. I was reading the manga at the time and although Mello had yet to be introduced in the series, I felt the urge to draw him. I also had the craving for Pocky (a biscuit stick covered in icing) and felt the need to incorporate it into my picture somehow. I was listening to soft, heart-warming piano music at eleven at night, so I sketched out a Matt and Mello picture on a sudden whim.
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These two turned out fairly decent for my first time drawing them. Matt (the one on the right) is the best of the two, although I could have done better on his goggles. Mello's hair is not as soft and full as it should be, but I did not have a profile reference of him to follow so I had to improvise. I love their expressions and their mouths. My scanner made the image very grainy though, so I apologize about that.
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Drawn June 14, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling; Characters (C) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Red

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I wanted to draw another picture of my Red Riding Hood character (also known as Red). Once again, I planned on coloring the picture in Photoshop, and once again, I failed to do so in the end. *laughs* I sketched a couple of pictures where she was swinging her sword with a crazed expression on her face. The more I worked in that direction, the less she looked like her character. She is a calm girl who rarely shows much emotion. She only loses her composure when she fights the Wolf later on. I scrapped my initial sketch and went with something calmer.
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A lot of the accessories (her belt, the knives, etc.) don't look believable. They looked rather flimsy and unrealistic. The cloak turned out nicely, and I love her hair. Her hands are what bother me the most. I did not have a clear reference to use, and I now know that when you hold a sword, your knuckles face forward. Her hands look unnatural because I drew her fingers facing forward instead. Her arms looks rather awkward and the bandages could have been drawn better as well. A lot of little details are off and bother me, but as a whole, I like the picture itself.
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Drawn May 24, '08.
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Pencil.
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Picture and Character (C) Alice Falling

Corey

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Reference
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I wanted to draw an anime version of my boyfriend using a couple of photographs I had taken of him. The sketch took me only forty minutes, which I'm pleased about because I drew it at eleven at night and I was exhausted. *laughs*
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This is the first time I don't have any critiques about a picture I've drawn, which I'm absolutely thrilled about. The end result resembled him incredibly accurately. I'm very pleased with the glasses most of all. If there had to be something that I would change, I would have to say the headphones could have been done a little more realistically.
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Drawn May 11, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling

-Alice Falling-

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Reference
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I created a new avatar on Gaia (reference). I wanted a new picture in my profile so I drew a few sketches in class while my boyfriend laughed at me and my friends commented that I needed mental help. *laughs* This was the best one that I came up with so I traced over the sketch and colored the line art. I sat in the park with my colored pencils and headphones and colored it while leaning against a tree.
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The original looks much better than the scanned image. There is more detail that was not scanned in (mainly the fur on the Cheshire Cat). It scanned with a more blue color so I had to edit the image in Photoshop to give it the shade of purple it is suppose to have, which was a horrible struggle to do. I cut the top of the image off accidentally when I drew it so the cat's back is a jagged mess. I really liked the shading though. It has improved a lot compared to the technique I use to use.
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Drawn May 22, '08.
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Mechanical pencil and colored pencils.
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Picture and Character (C) Alice Falling

Red Riding Hood

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Reference
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At the end of the year, we had to write a research paper for my English class. Thankfully we were free to choose the topic and I chose to compare and contrast the original Grimm tales of Red Riding Hood and Snow White to their modern-day counterparts. Because of that paper, I went through a rather severe Red Riding Hood phase. *laughs* I came across a web comic called Ever After while I was perusing for pictures on deviantART. The art is by endling and the comic can be found on snafu-comics.com. Unfortunately no new comic pages have been added for a while, but what they have so far is very interesting and worth the read. I created my own Red Riding Hood character which was inspired heavily by endling's version (the reference). I also planned on writing a story that I never finished. *laughs* I wrote the prologue which I may or may not post up. I am also disappointed I never finished the story because I adored the storyline.
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I'm surprised how well she turned out. I went through a few sheets of paper before I drew the end result. The prototype resembled what I have now, the second sketch made her look too old, and then I ended up with this. I'm very pleased with the clothing (although I had trouble with the hood) and especially the weaponry. I do not like the katana however. The blade is warped but I like the detail in the handle. I started coloring this in Photoshop but I never finished. Everyone tells me they love her boots. *laughs*
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Drawn April 19, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture and Character (C) Alice Falling

Rammstein Jacket

Front
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Back
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I was itching to get my hands on some apparel from the band, but I do not have the currency, let alone the money. Band merchandise is always ridiculously expensive if you buy it directly from the website, but there was nowhere else I could purchase it. So I got the bright idea to make my own. I had done so before with Fullmetal Alchemist, Linkin Park, Three Days Grace for my friend's birthday, and a few various other images. I finished the jacket over Spring Break and it is one of my favorites that I have created. If you ever see someone wearing this jacket, you will know it's me. *laughs* Excuse my poor photography skills again.
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The wings are a little off center but it's not noticeable when I'm wearing it. I messed up on the full wing, but instead of stopping, I tried to fix it by adding feathers. Now there is a large patch of black paint over it that bothers me. Otherwise I am very pleased with the final product.
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Created beginning of April, '08.
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Cotton jacket, fabric paint, and home-made stencils.
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Jacket (C) Alice Falling

Rammstein Chibis

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A very random, pointless, but entertaining picture I doodled in my sketchbook. I wanted to draw all the members of Rammstein but I did not have the time to draw them normally. I had not drawn chibis in a long time and I wanted to try a different style. Instead of making them squishy, I made mine more like stick figures. From left to right, the members are Ollie (bassist), Paul (backup singer and rhythm guitarist), Till (lead singer), Richard (backup singer and lead guitarist), Schneider (drummer), and in the back is Flake (keyboardist).
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I can't really say there is anything wrong since they are suppose to be deformed. *laughs* But I enjoyed drawing their facial expressions and simplified hands, especially Richard and Paul's hands because they are holding picks. Till is out of character and Flake makes me laugh. I'm not sure if I will continue using this chibi style or not but it is quick and easy to do.
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Drawn March 25, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling

Richard Kruspe

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Reference
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Thanks to the Adam Gontier drawing, I was able to create this realistic drawing that I have in my porfolio. The beautiful man pictured is Richard Kruspe, backup singer and lead guitarist of the German industrial band Rammstein, whose music I am madly in love with. He is my favorite member of the band and I felt the urge to draw him after my practice picture. The result was mind-blowing. I did not expect it to turn out this well and I am far beyond pleased. My art teacher was thoroughly impressed when I brought it in to school so I could have a clear protective coat sprayed on it for me.
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The clothing was the hardest part. I struggled with the shading of the wrinkles but it turned out beautifully in the end. The reference picture also crops off his hair so I had to improvise in that area. My only regret is that I did not use a different picture because the photograph I used is a popular one many artists on deviantART like to use as their reference pictures. I do not feel original now. I wish too that I could have made the shadows in his face with a higher contrast although the original looks fine in real life.
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Drawn March 8, '08.
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Graphite pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling

Adam Gontier

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Reference
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I rarely ever draw one hundred percent realistically unless it's for a school project. I was facing a rather frustrating artist's block and asked my friend if she could help me. She requested a picture of one of her favorite lead singers from the band Three Days Grace. I took up the challenge because I thought it would be interesting to try my hand at realistic portrayal. Although the final result does not follow my reference picture very accurately, it was good practice and succeeded in freeing my mind. It was because of this picture that I drew one of my best realistic drawings I have ever done shortly afterward.
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I got lazy when it came to detail. I wanted to finish the drawing in a day and it reflects that. There are a lot of minor things wrong with this, but I'm not overly concerned and my friend loved it so I am content. *laughs*
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Drawn March 3, '08.
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Graphite pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling

Holocaust Project

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Reference
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Another project I started and never finished. We were starting a pop-art section in my painting class and our teacher showed us a slide show presentation of previous students' work. I was deeply inspired by one that we came across (the reference picture). Although I used a lead singer of a band for my project, I wanted to create a collage of various images I planned on drawing to create a single panel of Holocaust images. I had some rather disturbing but affective images chosen, but school became too demanding and I only finished the first one. That in itself was still affective. I also wanted a much more realistic approach than the style I usually draw in. The first and only image is of a young Jewish mother clutching her child and looking in horror as a Nazi raises a club to strike her. A few of the others I had in mind was a woman screaming as Zyklon B was released in the shower head above her, a line of Nazi soldiers saluting their commander, and a German official wearing a gas mask hoisting a flag with the swastika printed on it.
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You can see the notes I made to myself on what I needed to fix. *laughs* Although there were a few minor changes, I shocked even myself at how well the initial sketch turned out. It was one of the best and most profound I had ever done and my only regret is that I never completed the rest of the sketches if I could not complete the project itself.
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Drawn end of February, '08.
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Mechanical pencil.
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Picture (C) Alice Falling; Reference (C) its respective owner (I do not know who it is)

Know Your Place

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A rather random picture I drew of two characters I created, Hadrian Ackart and Isidor Halifax. I had begun writing a series of stories about the two about a rather controversial issue: German Nazis. I was not trying to glorify Nazism, but I wanted to try to write something from a different stand-point. However, I never got past the first opening story where the characters were introduced. I was disappointed because I had a very good storyline. I drew this picture before the character sketches to give myself some insight into what I wanted to do. This is Hadrian being punished for his sins. I'm not sure what he did, but it must have been bad. *laughs*
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The quality of the picture is very poor. It scanned in grainy because my pens were failing me in the larger sections that needed to be colored. I tried to foreshorten Hadrian's body but that did not turn out well, nor did the wrinkles in his clothing. The only thing I like is his expression of pain and Isidor's hand on Hadrian's head. I'm very proud of that hand. *laughs* More of something I drew to kill time rather than accomplish anything.
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Drawn February 10, '08.
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Pen and Sharpie marker.
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Picture and Characters (C) Alice Falling