Alfisti's Sketchings

Awesome picture, not just in the minute details of the control panel and the expressions on the crew members' faces, but also in the story behind it all. I can see such tiny ships actually being a huge part of some private industrial fleet, and said ships being far more useful in battle than their gun:size ratio suggests. Pack a somewhat larger set of weaponry on one of those Stingray class vessels, and it could be the space equivalent of something like this.

Funny you should mention missile boats. I did have a design a little while back for a "missile boat", though it was less in line with the modern version and more following the path of the torpedo ram: which is to say a largely derided and short-lived class, which would have otherwise been forgotten bar for one particular moment of history (fictional or otherwise).

As to the Stingray, it would certainly be possible to fit some sort of one-shot missile box to it... and I'm sure at least one or two smaller system navies have probably done exactly that (to the Stingray or some similar class). Of course, the ship in question would pay for that uprated fire power by a reduction in it's maximum acceleration and ability to manoeuvre... not to mention something would likely need to be done about uprating the boat's fire-control should one want any reasonable accuracy out of those missiles.

It's probably worth noting at this point that the Alfisti Book of Space Warfare Doctrine, finds its roots in the Honorverse which, for better or worse, has become the Space Warfare by Which All Other Space Warfare is Judged (which also explains, in part at least, why I didn't make it more than five episodes into Bodacious Space Pirates...  ).

That said, a squadron or two of so-equipped Stingrays could probably land a hit or two on anything up to heavy cruiser size... which is fine for deterring pirates (which, to be fair, is the primary function of the Stingray), but probably wouldn't put a decently competent naval crew off.

Alfisti wrote:Funny you should mention missile boats. I did have a design a little while back for a "missile boat", though it was less in line with the modern version and more following the path of the torpedo ram: which is to say a largely derided and short-lived class, which would have otherwise been forgotten bar for one particular moment of history (fictional or otherwise).

At the sight of the Martian's collapse the captain on the bridge yelled inarticulately, and all the crowding passengers on the steamer's stern shouted together. And then they yelled again. For, surging out beyond the white tumult, drove something long and black, the flames streaming from its middle parts, its ventilators and funnels spouting fire.  It was the torpedo ram Thunder Child which, to our astonishment, appeared to be piloted by a crew of Japanese schoolgirls!

Kiskaloo wrote:The striped pseudo-camoflauge on the towers is very reminiscent of the color schemes favored by 1970's science fiction artists, which ties into the general aesthetic you have presented with this fictional future universe.

It reminds me of those Terran Trade Authority books I used to devour as a kid.  I was wondering if you used them as inspiration.

Odon wrote:It was the torpedo ram Thunder Child...

Got the reference in one.

Odon wrote:It reminds me of those Terran Trade Authority books I used to devour as a kid.  I was wondering if you used them as inspiration.

There was a copy of Spacebase 2000 in our high school library. I think I had it memorised from cover to cover so, yes, the TTA (and space art of that era in general) was very much an inspiration. That said, reading Spacebase at school, I probably had less appreciation for them than I do now, but I really do like that, slightly more fantastic, school of mechanical design over some of what has been produced more recently.

Before I jump back into story writing, decided it might be worth doing doing a quick lineup as I start hammering the characters, at least those I'm more settled on, of Lettie's (nee. Titty's... sadly I don't think I can get away with actually calling her that) world into some form of more cohesive shape.


dA version

Anyway, from right to left:


Henry Maugham 
44y/o|6'0"
Australian born to British parents, Henry met Laeticia's mother during a tenure with the French Foreign Legion, an organisation he eventually took a discharge from after Lettie's birth. As a result of his service he is "French by spilled blood", allowing him rights as a French national, something which has allowed him to take up running a small vineyard. While completely non-magical, he has a practical, pragmatic, do-er sort of personality, is quite friendly and caring with a relaxed, outgoing, temperament. As such he has a habit of, much to Lettie's chagrin (and that of her mother before her), "bringing home strays"... which is how Mathilde was introduced to the household.

He is a widower and, while he doesn't show it for his daughter's sake, still misses his wife intensely. In relation to that, he is both wary and cautiously supportive of his daughter's urge to find out what happened to her mother, and as such tends to handle the day-to-day running of the vineyard and home domestic duties, allowing Lettie to concentrate on her studies. His watch has been changed slightly since previous pictures, now a more robust Tudor Ranger, rather than the Omega Constellation he was originally portrayed with.


Laeticia "Lettie" Maugham
15y/o|5'6"
Born a witch, Lettie inherited her mother's magical genes. Unfortunately for her, in the absence of anyone to teach her, she is having to learn to deal with that on her own as, while supportive, in the realm of magic her father is about as useful as tits on a bull. Perhaps as a result somewhat of that she is a quiet, intelligent, somewhat bookish girl, with a stubborn streak Henry insists comes from her mother. Otherwise though she's generally an agreeable sort of person who would prefer to avoid confrontation... at least until one hits upon a subject she either feels strongly about or which she feels she knows more than one about. On that note, she can be quite academic at times, with a tendency to perhaps rely a little to much on written texts, especially her mother's notebooks, rather than moving on to logical conclusions from those.

Despite that she is still basically a farm kid, so has some practical skills: she can change a spark plug, drive a tractor, etc... though those tend to be learned through experience rather than something which comes naturally. Unsurprisingly she's also not particularly athletic, and her dress sense tends toward conservative, though her winter/"adventuring" boots are hobnailed; her magic is less than reliable, and so it's always nice to have the option to be able to kick someone in the face if required.


Mathilde Voclain 
14y/o|4'5"
Mathilde is one of the Maugham's new neighbours ("neighbours" being defined as still half a kilometre up the road), having moved into what was formerly the vineyard owner's villa. Her father is area manager for a luxury goods group, and has shifted the family from Paris to Bordeaux to oversee the company's operations there... something Mathilde is less than impressed with. She consequently does not get on so well with her own parents. Henry found her wandering down the road and brought her in, and she has since somewhat attached herself to him and Lettie as a surrogate family, spending most of her spare time hanging around the vineyard instead of at her own home.

As a personality she is energetic, flighty and slightly flirtatious, seeing herself as more cosmopolitan and worldly than the provincial types she now mixes with. She goes to the same school as Lettie, albeit a year below, that latter seeing her as a sort of annoying little sister.

Mathilde's shirt looks like it wouldn't even fit on Henry's arm. sweet drawing as always.

TeaTimeNinja wrote:Mathilde's shirt looks like it wouldn't even fit on Henry's arm. sweet drawing as always.

Yeah, Henry's jacket is probably a bit oversize as I imagine it is supposed to fit over a jumper, but he is pretty built... and Mathilde is, well, let's just say she's well into the first percentile for her age.

Mathilde actually reminds me a LOT of the French Quatrieme/Troisieme students at the school I graduated from... obsessed with group dance and wearing as daring clothes as they could get away with (which, given that it was a French private school was pretty freakin' daring).

Actually, the more I look at her, it's kind of unnerving, because she resembles the younger sister of a girl I graduated with.

Nice job, I love where this world is building up to... and while she may be called Lettie, any Anglophone is gonna take a look at her and at least CONSIDER her previous nom de guerre.

What year are these people living in?

I'm very glad that so many of us hounded you to produce some non-GsG stuff, Alf. I have a very good feeling about these characters and their world; I'm sure the fiction will be different in tone and style from anything you've done previously, and will be hugely entertaining. Where do you intend to post?

Officer_Charon wrote:Mathilde actually reminds me a LOT of the French Quatrieme/Troisieme students at the school I graduated from... obsessed with group dance and wearing as daring clothes as they could get away with (which, given that it was a French private school was pretty freakin' daring).

Actually, the more I look at her, it's kind of unnerving, because she resembles the younger sister of a girl I graduated with.

Nice job, I love where this world is building up to...

Nice to hear her design is going in the correct direction then.    I might have to pick your brain at some later date about going to school in France.

I must admit I'm rather enjoying building this world and characters as well, it's a chance to apply (again) things I've learned through iterations of GsG fanfiction.

Odon wrote:What year are these people living in?

At the moment my intention is "non-specifically modern". That however is subject to change as that is the same realm I've been writing my GsG stuff in and it can be limiting at times. Laeticia and Henry tend to be somewhat vintagely-twee however as they originated from this drawing, and some of that has carried over.

Thescarredman wrote:Where do you intend to post?

Where do I intend to post? Ideally: in a bookstore near you. We'll see how that goes though.

That said some things I've been finding in my more recent writing is that I'm a bit over this "chapter by chapter" writing and posting arrangement. I don't think it's conducive to writing a cohesive story as a whole, and I know there have been several instances where I've wished I could have foreshadowed a new idea earlier, set up a new and improved direction I want the story to take better, or not bothered setting up something which became a dead-end. So, even in the highly likely event that I can't get published, it would only get posted somewhere once the text was complete.

That's a ways off though, there's still a lot of J+M to write first. File it under "five year plan".

Alfisti wrote:

Odon wrote:What year are these people living in?

At the moment my intention is "non-specifically modern". That however is subject to change as that is the same realm I've been writing my GsG stuff in and it can be limiting at times. Laeticia and Henry tend to be somewhat vintagely-twee however as they originated from this drawing, and some of that has carried over.

From your swashbuckling pictures, I'd assumed a (1950's / early 60's) take on the (1930's / early 40's) archaeological adventurer trope.

Odon wrote:From your swashbuckling pictures, I'd assumed a (1950's / early 60's) take on the (1930's / early 40's) archaeological adventurer trope.

I certainly had been intending to invoke a certain amount of archaeological adventurer into it, it's one of my favourite story themes, along with 60's spy-fi. That's probably why J+M spend so much time in both as well and, to be fair, they have spent plenty of time being both while existing in a modern context.

That said, doing the 50's/60's take on 30's adventuring is very tempting. As I said: the era is still up for debate, both options have their constraints.

Really amazing picture of those three. I also love that you're creating a whole set of interesting characters and an equally compelling universe to surround them. If certainly wish you all the luck and hope for success at getting the story published in actual dead-tree form (or, for ebook, for the modern times), as that road is notoriously difficult if you're aiming for working with a publishing house. Though, self-publishing is also a thing. Either way, I wouldn't mind reading such a story of yours given how well-written and entertaining your existing works are.

I still like dead-tree format, there's just something more comforting about it, plus you then also get to have bookshelves.

Someone on facebook, possibly one of Taer's friends, posted an article "the lazy person's guide to getting published", or something along those lines. The major takeaway I got from it though was that, unless you're really good at things like contract law and learning the publishing industry's ins and outs, you're far better off going through a traditional agent and publisher, rather than self publishing. That said, it is a long hard road, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if the first attempt or six wind up as a .pdf document here.

And now for something a little different...


dA version with full spiel here.

My entry for Nsio's contest to design a friend for his character Sayaka. I don't enter many contests, but I think this is one of the few where there is probably more to be gained as an entrant than as the one organising. The contest itself still has a week and a half or so to run, and he's only looking for sketchy, so it can be done relatively quickly. If you draw, and are looking for a challenge/excuse to practice pose/viewing angle/expression/visual storytelling on, I highly recommend checking it out. Details are here.

I THOUGHT I recognized Sayaka!

Heh, well I'm glad she's at least recognisable, I was having some trouble translating her across effectively into my own style. 

That's because you like drawing svelte, cool, strong women, and Sayaka... isn't.

Looks great man, I think you have a decent shot at winning.

I agree, these sketches look quite amazing. And I do think you've managed to capture Nsio's Sayaka in your own style. While I'm not at all familiar with Sayaka and thus don't know her personality, I will say the way you have Sayaka and Chieko interact in your comic is rather cute, especially on Sayaka's end. Though, that's not to say Chieko's shabby at all. All in all, I think you'll do rather well in this contest, and stand a fairly decent chance of winning it. Good luck!

Officer_Charon wrote:That's because you like drawing svelte, cool, strong women, and Sayaka... isn't.

Touché.

TeaTimeNinja wrote:Looks great man, I think you have a decent shot at winning.

PSVT wrote:I agree, these sketches look quite amazing. And I do think you've managed to capture Nsio's Sayaka in your own style. While I'm not at all familiar with Sayaka and thus don't know her personality, I will say the way you have Sayaka and Chieko interact in your comic is rather cute, especially on Sayaka's end. Though, that's not to say Chieko's shabby at all. All in all, I think you'll do rather well in this contest, and stand a fairly decent chance of winning it. Good luck!

Cheers chaps. Fortunately there's no public voting on this one, so in some respects it's possibly less like a (popularity) contest and more like a tender, which means who wins should really depend on how well the brief is fulfilled. While I'm pretty happy with Chieko as a character, I'm not entirely convinced my execution is the best for filling the more technical pose/angle/expression/interaction/visual story-telling side of things... perhaps one of the downsides of tending to gravitate toward more self-controlled and subdued characters.

On that note though, Sayaka was a lot of fun to work with (and a challenge) as she does tend to be more expressive and flighty/jumpy than my own stock in trade, so we shall see. There is still a week and a half to run, and I expect there will be much more accomplished illustrators/character people to arrive yet.

I like it. In some respects, this reminds me of your earlier works, especially Jesse & Co.: the shifting POV's, perspectives, wider expression ranges etc.  You said it was a departure, and it is, but it's also something of a return.

Thescarredman wrote:I like it. In some respects, this reminds me of your earlier works, especially Jesse & Co.: the shifting POV's, perspectives, wider expression ranges etc.  You said it was a departure, and it is, but it's also something of a return.

Hmm, fair point. Either way, it is a fun return (though, to be honest, not one I'm entirely certain I would be that interested in continuing again over an extended period   ).

Oddly, it did occur to me whilst developing the character that Chieko shares some similarities with Jesse and, frankly, my seeming go-to heroine traits. In fairness though, I think that suits what I was going for in terms of creating something a foil to Nsio's existing characters.

dA version


"Are you afraid of the dark?"

"N...no. Being afraid of the dark is kids... stuff."

"Well, now might be a really good time to remember how. Stay close, and don't step out of the light."


I suspect this is Mathilde's first, and probably quite accidental, tomb experience.

Alfisti wrote:And now for something a little different...


dA version with full spiel here.

My entry for Nsio's contest to design a friend for his character Sayaka. I don't enter many contests, but I think this is one of the few where there is probably more to be gained as an entrant than as the one organising. The contest itself still has a week and a half or so to run, and he's only looking for sketchy, so it can be done relatively quickly. If you draw, and are looking for a challenge/excuse to practice pose/viewing angle/expression/visual storytelling on, I highly recommend checking it out. Details are here.

Congratulations on winning the contest!

Cheers mate, on both counts. I must admit, the latter was rather pleasant news to wake up to, and certainly took the edge off a 4am start.

Congrats Alfisti

Congrats, Alf. Will you be a contributing artist, or will Nsio just use your character?
On the other pic: Awesome, as always; can't wait to see you turn this original universe into a fic or - dare I say it? - a comic. Titty's - er, I mean, your heroine's shirts seem to be getting a bit tighter (I know she was always a busting young lady, I just don't remember her straining her buttons like that before). A result of your experience drawing Odile, perhaps?

Congrats on the win, buddy!! Honestly... I'm glad I didn't decide to make an entry, cause mine would have sucked hard lol.

Huge congratulations on the win, Alfi!  Never doubted that you'd triumph for even a moment.

As for you're newest pic of Lettie and her friend, from what I can see of it (on my terrible laptop display with washed-out colors--I can't wait to get fully moved and back to a proper display), it looks absolutely amazing. Great detail on the artwork and hieroglyphics on the wall. The two red dots in the background left look like glowing eyes of some creature. Maybe the thing Lettie is warning about.

Thanks chaps.

Thescarredman wrote:Congrats, Alf. Will you be a contributing artist, or will Nsio just use your character?
On the other pic: Awesome, as always; can't wait to see you turn this original universe into a fic or - dare I say it? - a comic. Titty's - er, I mean, your heroine's shirts seem to be getting a bit tighter (I know she was always a busting young lady, I just don't remember her straining her buttons like that before). A result of your experience drawing Odile, perhaps?

Well, the stipulation of the contest was that the winning character would be for Nsio's use. So, as far as I'm concerned, Chieko is signed over and his to do with as he pleases (which, to be honest, is probably the bit I'm happiest about: she doesn't really fit with any of my current active characters or stories, and having her go to waste would have made me sad). That said, I am certainly able to still use her, and Sayaka... though nothing I do will obviously become part of their canon unless Nsio gives it the nod and, if some idea strikes, I may try something.

As to Titty's top no, it's not got tighter. She is, however, raising that lantern up, which tends to, without putting too fine of a point on it, lift the associated breast and tighten fabric across the chest, hence the strain on the buttons.

No comic unfortunately, not enough time, but I do intend to make a story out of these characters. Cheers mate.

TeaTimeNinja wrote:Congrats on the win, buddy!! Honestly... I'm glad I didn't decide to make an entry, cause mine would have sucked hard lol.

Cheers mate. Honestly, obviously chuffed as I am to win, I kind of wish more people had entered. It was a good exercise, and Nsio obviously put a lot of effort into organising it. While I'm unlikely to say it on dA, I think it was a bit of a poor showing by those who said they'd enter but then didn't produce. The thing ran for almost three months, that's plenty of time to get organised.

PSVT wrote:As for you're newest pic of Lettie and her friend, from what I can see of it (on my terrible laptop display with washed-out colors--I can't wait to get fully moved and back to a proper display), it looks absolutely amazing. Great detail on the artwork and hieroglyphics on the wall. The two red dots in the background left look like glowing eyes of some creature. Maybe the thing Lettie is warning about.

Ugh, I know that pain. I'm out of town on my work laptop at the moment, and the colour rendering is, frankly, properly awful.

Cheers mate. I was a little iffy about doing the Weighing of the Heart on the wall, but I think it was worth the effort, and helps add context.

As to the eyes, well... I shall leave that up to the viewer to decide.

Congrats on the win! I raise a pint to thee and hope for many more victorious moments in your future.

Cheers Boomer. Fortunately I'm out of town at the moment, so have had the chance to raise a schooner or two of Stone & Wood up at the local surf club.

The indigogo campaign for Indivisible has a bit over a week left to run, and they've still got a little way to go funding wise so... emergency fanart time.


I'm supposed to be working on other things, so this was a quickie of Ajna, the main character but, who knows, maybe it'll help drum up some interest. The demo is free on the indigogo page and worth a play through.


As an aside, this is also the first picture I've done on my new computer... which also means a new version of Adobe CS6, and fresh Windows 10 install (which, for some reason, doesn't seem to be entirely agreeing with my Wacom drivers). It also means I need to go and buy a new monitor calibration sensor which can handle dual monitors... so that has not been done yet either. Hopefully the colours shouldn't be too skew-whiff.

Obvious music choice was obvious

Great art Alfisti, the variety and range of your works are really a treat to the eyes!

awesome picture as usual alf

Cheers chaps.

Sweet drawing man! sorry it took me so long to see it... I've been without wifi for a week.

Excellent picture, Alfi! Quite a lot of energy with Ajna, and I certainly wouldn't want to be the one soon to face the business end of her axe. The colors look right to me, from what I can tell, looking on my good monitor. Also, I looked at the Indiegogo page for the game, and it definitely looks interesting, even for someone who doesn't really have time to game. I hope they manage to reach their funding goal, as it's still off by $300K. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of money.

love your perspective work, Alf. I know you've said it's hit or miss, but I don't see that. Wonderful action pic. I'm tempted to beg a commission off you, even though I know your time constraints.

Cheers chaps.

PSVT wrote:The colors look right to me, from what I can tell, looking on my good monitor. Also, I looked at the Indiegogo page for the game, and it definitely looks interesting, even for someone who doesn't really have time to game. I hope they manage to reach their funding goal, as it's still off by $300K. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of money.

Nice to know the colour looks okay, unfortunately my colour sensor (like a lot of my peripherals) is that ancient it can't handle dual monitors, so I need to buy another one. As to the game, I really don't have time to throw at these things either (and, in reality, I'd generally prefer to throw what free time I have at writing or drawing anyway). However, the way they're setting it up looks like I'd be able to play for half and hour here and there, rather than needing to throw long stretches at it.

To be honest, I think I'm actually mostly backing it because I like the characters.

Sadly, I've not got the $300k either.

Thescarredman wrote:love your perspective work, Alf. I know you've said it's hit or miss, but I don't see that. Wonderful action pic.

Got to admit, it was some fun to do action and perspective again. Unfortunately the likes of J+M don't really suit it.

PSVT wrote:I hope they manage to reach their funding goal, as it's still off by $300K. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of money.

Looks like they did make their funding goal, and with a couple of days to spare so, hooray! Break out the bubbly.

Well, this has been a little time coming...

dA link, with a bit more description, here.

...three (and a half, the Alfetta is there) generations of lead characters, though mostly an excuse to do a street scene as I've not done that in awhile.

Also threw Nsio's Sayaka and Chieko into the background as that latter was technically the character I most recently worked on.

Anyway, have some chilled beats to go with it:

Beauteous work, as always, Alf. But shouldn't that action/adventure squad of yours be in here as well? Or don't you feel those guys got fully off the drawing board?

Thescarredman wrote:Beauteous work, as always, Alf. But shouldn't that action/adventure squad of yours be in here as well? Or don't you feel those guys got fully off the drawing board?

The space crew? Yeah, they don't really exist on the same timeline (or, at least, at close enough points on similar timelines that I can get away with this sort of picture) so I didn't have a reasonable way to put them on the same Parisian street. Or did you mean the B.A.D? If the latter, well, that was based on my friends in highschool (bad plan), so... *points at the Alfetta*, that's sort of their representative, hence the "and a half" (also, again, different timeline). 

Cheers mate.

holy crap man thats amazing work. so much to take in!

Really awesome job on your latest pic, Alfi! It's pretty cool to see most of your rather disparate characters together in one scene (OK, Sayaka belongs to Nsio, but still...) and have everything and everyone feel like they actually belong. The amount of detail is amazing too, not just in the still background but in the activity, the little touches that make the scene look alive. I like it a lot.

Even on a perfect day in Paris with a perfect coffee brewed by an awesome barista, Monty can still be grumpy.

TeaTimeNinja wrote:holy crap man thats amazing work. so much to take in!

PSVT wrote:Really awesome job on your latest pic, Alfi! It's pretty cool to see most of your rather disparate characters together in one scene (OK, Sayaka belongs to Nsio, but still...) and have everything and everyone feel like they actually belong. The amount of detail is amazing too, not just in the still background but in the activity, the little touches that make the scene look alive. I like it a lot.

Cheers chaps. It's been awhile since I did one of these sort of detailed, slice of life, type pictures, and I've always enjoyed the exercise of trying to give an environment a lived-in feel, so it was a nice thing to return to. I've also always quite liked the idea of characters on similar timelines (or in similar feeling universes, see some of those old Firefly/Aria pics) brushing past each other without really meeting. While it's very unlikely that an actual crossover between any of these would work, there's also nothing to really say they can't operate in the same universe, just that they operate in different, non-overlapping parts of it.   

Kiskaloo wrote:Even on a perfect day in Paris with a perfect coffee brewed by an awesome barista, Monty can still be grumpy. 

Well it is Monty. That said, at this particular moment I suspect she's somewhat more concerned over what Interpol is doing nosing around on the other side of the street.

dA version

Quick expression and pose practice with Lettie. I love Monty to bits, but she's basically useless for this sort of thing. Also trialling a lower effort rendering style for doing, well, exactly this sort of thing with.

Not certain how I feel about that brenton stripe on her either yet. I like the look, but have yet to figure out how much I want to vary her outfits as, up to now, she's always been pictured more as the sort of person who has a "uniform", a general style of outfit that she does not vary much from.

Very cool, Alf. The new rendering style reminds me of your Belgian-comic tribute, but slicker. I like that, as you say in your DA account, you're developing her background and personality as a literary character by drawing her. A picture truly can be worth a thousand words.

Re Monty: In your earliest sketches, Monty was quite expressive: when she accidentally used too much explosive, when she snatched her camera back from 'Etta, when she and Jethro were arguing over a map. Don't sell her short in that regard. She just gets few opportunities to be surprised or put on the spot in your fics. I'd much like to see a sketch of her and Jethro at the dining hall table the morning after his night out with the boys. The range and subtlety of expression between them at the moment he gave her the newspapers would be challenging to portray, I think.

You know what they say about stripes, Alf: vertical ones are slimming, horizontal ones are ... not. Lettie must already be going through teenage hell at school because of her figure; an outfit that makes her poor tatas pop out even more would have her holding her books to her chest all day(I suspect that her brassieres are as sturdy, carefully-engineered - and sexy - as suspension bridges).

The new style looks pretty fresh. and holy crap for a 15 year old she is pretty... well developed

TeaTimeNinja wrote:The new style looks pretty fresh. and holy crap for a 15 year old she is pretty... well developed

I think you could delete the 'for a 15 year old' part with complete confidence. Clearly Alfisti was, after Monty, ready to draw a girl who was a little different. And Judging by Odile, Alfisti looked upon what he had wrought and judged it good.

Alfisti wrote:Quick expression and pose practice with Lettie. I love Monty to bits, but she's basically useless for this sort of thing. Also trialling a lower effort rendering style for doing, well, exactly this sort of thing with.

It would be "Monty looks bored", "Monty looks really bored", "Monty looks annoyed", "Monty looks really annoyed", etc.

Excellent job with Lettie there, Alfi! It's quite a sharp distinction this rendering technique from your usual method, but I think it works rather well here. There's certainly less shading by comparison, but I think the ability to see more of the line work makes up for it in certain situations. Either way, though, Lettie's expressions are great, and I think you've done a really nice job in portraying her various emotions in a real way despite the incomplete scenes. Though, I have to agree with TSM that you shouldn't sell Monty short regarding her own expressiveness.

Thescarredman wrote:

TeaTimeNinja wrote:The new style looks pretty fresh. and holy crap for a 15 year old she is pretty... well developed

I think you could delete the 'for a 15 year old' part with complete confidence. Clearly Alfisti was, after Monty, ready to draw a girl who was a little different. And Judging by Odile, Alfisti looked upon what he had wrought and judged it good.

It's just an observation. Am i misunderstanding something??