"Reklaw 4"

Upgrade time!

It was a long time since I had drawn "Reklaw 3" when I did this. The image I had in my head was a somewhat contrasting image of the old Reklaw, who was not really designed to actually fight anything. Just trying to imagine him moving was a problem, so I gradually started to imagine a more fluid design that was based more on cloth than on the armor. Something I've had in my head ever since the second or so version was the idea of armor being integrated into the fabric, although when I drew #3 I wasn't really sure how to do it, much less was I capable of pulling it off. This version is what I have in my head as of 2006, although of course it's always changing in some way.

Overall, #3 seems to be the template for the whole deal. At the time, and for months afterwards I couldn't imagine doing a better job. As I was finishing this drawing, I felt ashamed for ever thinking such a thing. (Not that this design is astonishing, I just realized how bad the old one was.) The old one was characteristic of what I was doing at the time: throwing together generic shapes and joining lines in an attempt to create details with no function. Of course, this design is characteristic of what I was doing at the time too: lots of lapping details, usually belts, to make up for my inability to texture. Still, it does have its charms.

Something I'd come to realize through this four hour project about how I draw is that I'm very bottom-heavy on my drawings since I don't draw on an inclined surface. So, when I look at the head, I'm actually looking "up" from the feet to the head, so my perspective is slightly skewed. I tried to compensate and it actually had a benefit in making the upper body look a little tilted, a bit more of a realistic stance, as though the character is shifting his weight.

This version is the Nahala Reklaw, a resident of the plane of my mind, figurehead of its world and representation of Ambition and Delusions. If that doesn't make any sense to you, not to worry. It's part of a novel I've been writing for quite a long time. Basically, Reklaw is an image of the main character's mind that represents various aspects of his personality, which is why the design has no real function and seems to be trapped between the 4th century and the 21st century. The sword actually is meant to have various arcane letterings on its surface, a black blade with gold trims, but I decided it would just be distracting. Its name is "Tomb, for the passed are bound with me." The concept matches his personality, though, I feel, although eventually I may tone down the design to be more archaic looking. Right now it has more of a Final Fantasy look. Speaking of which, I actually stole the boots and thighs from Cloud's design in Kingdom Hearts 1. I also tossed in the pauldron cylinder-spikes on the shoulder armor for a giggle.