Pic of the Week . . . Gambit and Rogue

I'm sorry. I told myself that I wasn't going to do this but I just can't help myself. God's honest truth!!

Ever since I drew that picture of the X-men for a friend of mine (it was huge! One of the biggest things I've drawn for a long long time) I've suddenly developed a little obsession. Not so much with the graphic novels - I haven't got that far - but with the characters themselves and the art behind them. When I first started the picture, I knew who Wolverine and Storm were from the films, I vaguely remembered Beast from childhood cartoons, but I had no idea who Gambit was. So I done a little research (it's always good to know what you're dealing with) and read this whole back story that was fantastic. I loved it. If they haven't already, someone should write a novel.

Anyway, it turns out that two of my favourite characters are Gambit and Rogue. They have this chemistry between the two, and Rogue is, well, Rogue, and Gambit is a swarve, charming thief that you just really want to trust. He's got that edge, you know, the bad boy that every girl wants (or some anyway).

I suppose, seeing as Marvel have been dealing with mutants since . . . 1965 ish, give or take a few, each of the main characters - even some of the secondary characters - are so well drawn out that every little detail about them is known. Wouldn't you just love to know your own characters that well. And wouldn't you just love that at some point in the future, someone would create a collection of art based on your work and your characters. I think that would be fantastic.

Anyway . . . despite the fact that I wasn't going to go down this route, I'm assuming you've already guessed what the theme is for this week's Pic of the Week . . .

Enjoy and have a Marvel-ous weekend (Ha! Boom boom!)

Odds and Sods...

What a weekend. Lots of things happened - well, I wouldn't say lots, but there was more than usual.

1: I finished the second part to Son of Jack, which you would have read about in Friday's post. It's now been emailed around to my critique group for them to savagely rip to pieces nicely :) I'm now planning part three and will begin new adventures in writing very soon.

2: I had a fight with my cat. It gets chilly in here sometimes, and just recently I've had to resort to bringing my blanket out of its summer hibernation (god knows what I'm gonna be like come winter). So, as I sat, wrapped up all nice, warm and cosy like in my blanket whilst working away, I was well aware of a pair of beady eyes watching me and sizing me and waiting for that moment. As I got up to get a drink, the fight began. As you can see from the below piccy, she won...lol.


3: Hatfield House celebrated 400 years of existence. For those that aren't up on English History, the house that stands today was built in 1611, however, there was another house there before that was built in 1497. It housed two of Henry VIII's children, Edward - who was crowned King after Henry at the age of 9, and who died at the mere age of 15 - and his sister, Elizabeth, daughter of the famous Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife who was beheaded for adultery and witchcraft. Elizabeth was to eventually to become Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1608 three wings were torn down by Robert Cecil, the First Earl of Salisbury, and was rebuilt to a new design, the design that still stands today and that celebrated its 400 year anniversary. And, boy, did it go out with a bang. Just under 15,000 fireworks were used on and around the actual house in the most spectacular firework display I've ever seen.



4: I finally got round to giving the picture of the X-men (Revisit that blog post to refresh your memory if you wish) that I had been working to my friend. I was really pleased with the way it come out and I hope they like it. But I couldn't give it away with taking a sneak piccy on my phone. The colours, albeit subtle, didn't come out in here. I may get another piccy at a later date.



5: And not forgetting the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. I held my respects on Sunday and my thoughts are with all the victims and survivors. I can't believe 10 years has gone since that horrible day. I can still remember exactly where I was and how sickened and horrified I felt when it happened. It's a day that has scarred us all.

Pic of the Week . . . Marvel-lous Characters . . .

This week - a little different - I've decided to approach the art of Marvel Comics. I've never really got into comics, but I don't disagree that some of the art work that goes into it is fantastic.

I've recently been asked to design a tattoo for a friend involving four Marvel X-Men characters; Wolverine, Storm, Beast and Gambit. Because of the first X-men film and the children's cartoon (from what I remember of it) I'm familiar with the first three, but Gambit is a little shady to me. Anyway, my friend showed me some pictures that he wouldn't mind being Incorporated into his tattoo, and so I've been playing with photoshop and put together a quick mock of what I intend to draw. (In case you're wondering, and in case you can see, the pixel quality of Wolverine is awful, and his arms have been stolen from another picture . . . :D)

During my search into these characters, I did come across one piece that caught my eye. The piece conveys the romance between Rogue and Gambit, as well as incorporating their powers. As you can see, Rogue is reaching up with her hand, her glove being dropped behind her, knowing that when she touches Gambit she's going to drain his powers. Gambit, however, has his cards and displays what ever powers he possesses. (If someone knows more than me and can fill in the blanks here, I'd appreciate it).

Anyway, have a good weekend and enjoy!