Open the Skies

I started this awhile ago, before Christmas. All of the line art, with the exception of the right wing, was done with the mouse before I got my tablet. I think I can make similar quality lines with a mouse, it just takes a lot longer. But if the line art looks inconsistent that's why.

I drew this to try and get myself to draw SOMETHING. Because I was in a major art slump for most of 2011 and had pretty much produced nothing, except for doodles in school. Also it was a practice in not being a perfectionist and worrying so much about anatomy that it stifles my will to draw; so the wings look like poop, but I like them anyway. Now I just have to work on my coloring... I wonder how much better my stuff would look if I just wasn't so lazy and didn't half ass coloring so much.

This is *ZulayaWolf's character Zulaya. She's pretty fun to draw.

Also, I pretty much never sign/watermark my work, but I felt obligated to this time since it's someone else's character who's wary of art thieves.

This picture makes me think of this song (and yes I have decided that I will post a song with EVERY picture). Oh VNV Nation, I don't care how fruity and quasi-religious your music sounds, you'll always be my favorite band.

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Resources/References:
"Stars Young and Old" © Roth Ritters, 2006. (image used in background)
"M. Gatiss Texture Stock" © =redwolf518stock

Zulaya © *ZulayaWolf
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<sub>I like to listen to Carbon (2002) and Streamline (2011) back to back. I've been fascinated by the complete 360 VNV Nation has made in their music as compared to when I started listening to them. Futureperfect and Automatic (the album each song is one, respectively) have essentially the same theme (looking at the future from the perspective of the past), yet Futureperfect is crushingly melancholy and down beat (for the most part), while Automatic is overwhelmingly optimistic, if not aggressive at times. It makes me wonder if it's more of a reflection of their person growth as individuals, or if its just a theme they've chosen to go with.
A lot of people hate the new, more positive VNV Nation. I probably wouldn't care as much about the band as I do if they'd started out doing positive music, because what drew me to them was that I identified with all of the sadness in their songs. I was clinically depressed and suicidal. I still like them today, and their newer music, because I've been able to overcome my depression and view things more positively. Thus I relate to their new stuff also. Whatever the reason people love them or hate them, I think that I am very lucky to have found a band that has grown with me.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.
I was dying to barf out those thoughts somewhere. Might as well be here.</sub>