[Art] Cheerleader Ziggy

[Ren Gaulen]

It's okay, Boxy. We still love you... right, guys? Guys? Helloooooo...

*cricket noises*

Hm. Oh dear.

*a voice from the background* I do! *lol Tristan*

[Jairus]

It's okay, Boxy. We still love you... right, guys? Guys? Helloooooo...

*cricket noises*

Hm. Oh dear.

*a voice from the background* I do! *lol Tristan*

Anyone besides Gaulen? *in the Yami voice*

*okay, everyone back on topic now*

[Ren Gaulen]

Anyone besides Gaulen? *in the Yami voice*

*okay, everyone back on topic now*

I do!

*now - back to the topic*

[Pagan]

Simply amazing, Ren. I loved that first chibi Keaton, and now you've just been turning them out so fast I can barely keep up. Whoooo....

<mesmerised clapping>

So you've just been drawing these during your week away from us?

[Mao]

They all look great Ren.  Definitely achieved a high level of cute.  Which is why I think llearch should be next.  By all the things green and good he could use a bit of a softer image what with all of his sharp and witty comments and schooling of us of the uninformed and unintelligent masses.  Though I suppose that might drive him to be even sharper to prove a point.... if that's possible.

Eh, either way, chibi llearch next is where my vote goes.

[Brunhidden]

Hmm. I missed an entire page.

i seem to have missed two and a half



okay, i did not expect a second keaton chibi, but she deserves it. and now i kinda wonder if her chibi logo or your chibi logo is cuter, there should be a contest or something.

chibi ren, the eyes, they're made of sugar! and he has bishi muscle definition, uncommon in chibis

chibi tape, for some reason makes me think of the old stories of shoemaker elves, and about thirty of those creeping into tapes studio at night

chibi zedd, my brother is bite sized! and he also looks much older then normal, kinda weired actually, maybe it has to do with him wearing a shirt that isnt torn

[Ren Gaulen]

OK, I have temporarily disengaged my chibification driver and now post a couple of full-sized characters.

Siegfried Faradeus Nox.

Paul Krauser.

Both of these guys are from the Realm of Karid, and they both are Demons. Neither of them will appear in the "Thunderbolt's Chronicles", though.
Zig is actually a halfbreed of a Demon and an Angel, but he hardly has any of the Angel traits. He was banished from his clan when he was 16, enslaved by humans, then "taken in" by a cruel and immensely powerful Prince of Demons, Seth. Eventually Zig broke free of Seth's will and, killing Seth, took over his position. Keaton and I came to a conclusion that Ziggy looks both badass and fabulous.
Paul is a purebreed demon (yet he never knew his parents, and his older brother, Johann, was keeping him in the dark concerning his true nature). While Johann was a priest of Aton in the town they lived in, Paul went adventuring. Later he was drawn into the all-out war between Demons and Angels, gathered the Seal Swords of the Six Elements and joined them with the Seventh Seal, thus reviving the Sword of Unity, became a demi-god, saved the world but lost the girl, punched the Champion of Mephistopheles in the face and saved the world again, died to bring the girl back to life and was brought back himself by Aton, minus the Sword of Unity and the demi-god status. He is currently adventuring again.

[Jairus]

NO!!!! I NEED MORE CHIBIS!!!

Nox is indeed badass. And I wish I could pull that outfit off. You do not mess with someone dressed like that if you want to keep your body parts. You also do not mess with someone who has done the things he's done.

Paul sounds like Conan and a half-dozen other adventurers and video-game characters distilled down to 200 Proof Awesome.

Sadness about them not being in the Chronicles. Then again, they might take over the story if they were...

[Tapewolf]

So, Zig is pretty damn evil, and Paul is good/neutral?
What, out of interest, are demons like in this world?  Because Paul seems outwardly normal.  As does Zig, mostly.

[Zedd]

Awesome demons is displayed here

[Brunhidden]

the first one is quite the snappy dresser, but the green thing the second is wearing, whats that called?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Utilikilt?

[Ren Gaulen]

NO!!!! I NEED MORE CHIBIS!!!

Patience, my friend.

Nox is indeed badass. And I wish I could pull that outfit off. You do not mess with someone dressed like that if you want to keep your body parts. You also do not mess with someone who has done the things he's done.

Yeah, many want to pull it off. Also, I think I should mention Zig's weapons of choice: an enchanted katana charged with the Wind Element (he calls it Kusanagi) and a gauntlet for left hand (it actually covers entire forearm), which was a part of a long lost cursed suit of armour. It can block magic (except for the magic of the one who wears it, of course) and drain the life force of the living beings, restoring to power of its wearer. Zig is also very good with a bow, can cast some simple Wind and Fire magic, and can control blood (his own blood, which he has to spill first, or any blood if he mixes his own with it), turning it into something like metal and forming weapons from it (just tiny throwing needles, mind you - but they are actually much more dangerous than they seem, as Zig can make them explode). Zig's Beast form is not too original (he just gets a pair of wings and a pair of horns, while his eyes turn solid red with large slitted pupils). However, he also has a Nightmare form, which looks like a giant jaguar (non-anthro) made of red darkness, with white holes for eyes and white flame burning inside it. However, he used it only once, when he fought Seth, and it took an entire pool of blood to form this body. It is not clear if Zig can form it deliberately, either.

Paul sounds like Conan and a half-dozen other adventurers and video-game characters distilled down to 200 Proof Awesome.

Conan all the way! Paul's weapon of choice is a bastard sword, but he is pretty good with many other weapons, from daggers and bows to maces and spears. He is also quite good at hand-to-hand combat, and has limited skills in Aura magic (he can Hadoken! ).

So, Zig is pretty damn evil, and Paul is good/neutral?
What, out of interest, are demons like in this world?  Because Paul seems outwardly normal.  As does Zig, mostly.

Demons are physically superior to humans - they are very strong, agile and fast, and has heightened endurance and regeneration. Also, they are very hard to kill - as long as there is magical energy in them, they will keep regenerating and coming back to life, even if you disintegrate them (well, only stronger demons would have power to recover from disintegration, while weaker ones would be killed instantly, but still). However, they still can be killed by non-magical weapons - it will simply take some time (and stuff like firearms would help greatly).

the first one is quite the snappy dresser, but the green thing the second is wearing, whats that called?

It is a magical amulet called the Eye of Havran (after a dragon Havran, who created several original amulets). It serves as a mana accumulator and a magical focus at the same time (it allows its wearer replenish magical energy faster and make magical discharges more concentrated and powerful). The bracer on Paul's left wrist is simply a magical force shield generator.

Utilikilt?

Wut?

[Jairus]

NO!!!! I NEED MORE CHIBIS!!!

Patience, my friend.

Fine, I'll wait.

Awesome list of weapons and abilities for Zig and Paul, by the way. Lot's of good info too.

Utilikilt?

Wut?

The green thing he's wearing over his belt and the top of his pants.

[Tapewolf]

Utilikilt?

Wut?

I think he said "Utility Kilt" (as in Utility Belt, but a kilt)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

http://www.utilikilts.com/

Sheesh. You guys are so ill-educated. ;-]

[Sunblink]

Ziggy-Pop: Siegfried will forever be known as Ziggy-Pop in my mind, no matter how awesome he looks here I love the character design, as always, but his color scheme in particular stands out the most to me. Not just because I have an obvious weakness for the color yellow, mind you. X3 Out of his whole clothing design, I feel I like his gloves the most, because of the way they cover the entirety of his arms. Everything about his outfit is pretty amazing, frankly.

And we were right. He is badass and fabulous. He's fabulouass.

Paul: Now see, you're on a roll with the color schemes. I like Paul's color scheme a lot; I don't see this type of coloration all that often. Also, I had no idea it was possible to combine gray and green together successfully, but you did it. Love his amulet and matching bracer, too My only gripe is that Paul isn't immediately recognizable as a lion - I would recommend practicing drawing a few more lions and looking at some pictures of real lions. I did the same thing.

However, the art is fantastic on both pictures.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

Ziggy-Pop: Siegfried will forever be known as Ziggy-Pop in my mind, no matter how awesome he looks here

Dammit, I'm going to think of him as Ziggy Stardust now.

My only gripe is that Paul isn't immediately recognizable as a lion - I would recommend practicing drawing a few more lions and looking at some pictures of real lions. I did the same thing.

Hmm, yes.  If he's a lion, a more mane-like haircut would help.  There's a particularly leonine hairstyle in Morrowind if digging that up would help:

Here we go:

http://it-he.org/morrow/du_agile.jpg

[WhiteFox]

The chibis are cute, but I think you could make their limbs shorter and give them less muscle definition for amplified cuteness.

Paul's high muscle definition is visually distracting.

Any way... gorgeous work as usual. I like your inks.

[Ren Gaulen]

More assorted characters for you, my dear friends.

Jared Cage.

Ren Gaulen.

Nicholas Dominic Thorn.

What a shock! A human character! Well, there already were Judith and Cass.. OK. All of these three guys may appear in the "Thunderbolt's Chronicles". At some point of the story Raiden will travel to planet Asheron, where the Holy Order resides, and since both Nicholas and Ren are members of it, they are likely to meet Raiden. Jared is an enemy of Reiji Hassan. And, if you remember Raiden's back-story, you will know that Raiden (at least, Shin Raiden) is also Reiji's enemy, so there is a chance that Raidens (both) and Jared would team up to smite some Evil together.
A few words about the characters themselves. Jared was born on planet Oberon. He was growing up as an orphan, living in the industrial district of the capitol of the Kingdom of Lutior. When he was ten, he was taken in by a mysterious organization called "God's Hand". It was actually a part of a powerful secret society that had its branches in all parts of the Federation of the United Terran Stars. On Oberon "God's Hand" was running an operation, the goal of which was the creation of a living super-weapon. Jared's body was infused with the Nether Cells, which turned him into an immensely powerful Demon altling. There was another one who was transformed in a similar fashion, though - Reiji Hassan. Jared and Reiji became friends, but one day they both fell in love with one woman, Alexia. A rivalry between them broke out. And then Jared decided to rebel against the "God's Hand". From friends Jared and Reiji were quickly turning into enemies. The culmination of their confrontation was their battle during which accidentally took Alexia's life. After that Jared and Reiji became mortal enemies, blaming each other for her death. Jared travelled across Oberon for the next several years, hiding from the "God's Hand". During that time Reiji became a leader of the Oberonian branch of the "God's Hand". Eventually the two of them faced in the battle again, and Jared finally killed Reiji. However, Reiji managed to "pull Gandalf", and returned to life as a much more powerful "Reiji the Black" (this name is a joke, and it is not canon). Now Jared travels across the entite Federation, still hiding from the "God's Hand" and hoping to kill Reiji once and for all one day. He fights any Evil he comes across during his journeys, and defies the "God's Hand" that tried to turn him into a heartless killing machine. By the way, Jared's scars remain from the time before he was transformed. They cannot regenerate. However, those round scars on the left side of his chest were left by Reiji, when he used his Power of Decay on Jared (these scars also don't heat).
Ren was born on planet Kirindor in the Realm of Karid. Retelling his back-story would take too much time, so I'll just tell about his current position in time and space. After saving his homeworld from a catastrophe, travelling into the very depths of Hell and back, fighting Daemons, Angels and Dragons (no, he was not doing it all alone) and utterly defeating a Daemon Prince Azriel, Ren moved into the Luminous Realm, and on the territory of the Federation. There he met Nicholas Thorn, who introduced Ren to the Holy Order, which Ren joined, becoming an Asheronian Knight Errant and an official Daemonslayer (and, as a member of the Holy Order, he also got that pimpin' coat ). Since then Ren lived either on Asheron or on Terra. As a Knight of the Holy Order he can be racalled by the Order Masters and sent on a mission to smite something Evil, but as a Knight Errant he is expected to roam across the land in search for something Evil (to smite it thoroughly, of course) himself.
A note about Ren's eyes. They change colour. Naturally Ren's eyes are green, as you can see in the picture. However, when Ren enters his Awakened mode and his powers start working at full output, his eyes turn red. So the changes in colour does not depend on Ren's mood (he can "Awaken" just to show off).
Nicholas Dominic Thorn was a member of the Holy Order before it moved to Asheron. Hell, he was its member before it was formed. Nicholas is a man of mystery. A very few people know that he is over ten thousand years old. He lived on Earth in the times of Roman Empire and was a Roman soldier called Nicius. He was known by many other names during the next ten millenia, but now most people refer to him as Father Dominic. He is also known as Slayer Priest, Revolver Preacher and the Sword of the Cross by those who oppose the Holy Order. Nicholas is a calm, cool and collected man. He is soft spoken and very polite, even with his enemies. Even in battle he is eerily calm. However, when he is among friends and colleagues, he is friendly and cheerful, sometimes even loud. He likes to drink a good ol' cup of good ol' beer with the guys and tell some of his stories. However, he tells them as if they happened to someone else (some of these stories date millenia back; also, many of them happened to someone else anyway ). Also, it is possible to make Nicholas angry. But you would not like him when he is angry..

[Jairus]

Aww... I want Ren's pimp coat! Just kidding. Sweet outfits and nice backgrounds for all of them... though I don't think I'd want as many buckles as Jared's got on his outfit.

So, um, somewhat stupid question (but I'm a little distrustful of anything calling itself "Holy"), what side is the Holy Order on? Are they good guys or bad guys, and what "holy" entity are they aligned to? And is God's Hand somehow related to them, like an offshoot or a rebel group or a secret sect that the others don't know about or something like that?

Um, about how old it Nicholas Thorn? (And is it bad that my first thought was "Abel Nightroad" and my second thought was "Vash the Stampede?")

[Ren Gaulen]

Aww... I want Ren's pimp coat! Just kidding. Sweet outfits and nice backgrounds for all of them... though I don't think I'd want as many buckles as Jared's got on his outfit.

Jared's outfit and overall appearance is based on Livio the Doublefang from "Trigun Maximum", though I have to admit that Livio's outfit had less buckles. And if you want that pimp coat - join the Holy Order!

So, um, somewhat stupid question (but I'm a little distrustful of anything calling itself "Holy"), what side is the Holy Order on? Are they good guys or bad guys, and what "holy" entity are they aligned to? And is God's Hand somehow related to them, like an offshoot or a rebel group or a secret sect that the others don't know about or something like that?

The question is not stupid at all. The Holy Order of Asheron are good guys who live to protect the Humankind from the horrors of the Nether Realm, even though their methods may be rather harsh at times. They are a bit like Hellsing and Section XIII rolled into one. They are basically Christian, but rather than being aligned to any particular entity, they align themselves to their mission itself. So not "We are on a mission from God", but "We are on a mission to preserve your existence". They have seen too much of the "other side" to remain religious any more.
The "God's Hand", on the other hand, is a powerful secret society that works from the shadows trying to manipulate the Humankind. Their goals are not clear, but they may seem to be pure evil at times. They have existed longer that the Federation itself (for three thousand years at least).

Um, about how old it Nicholas Thorn? (And is it bad that my first thought was "Abel Nightroad" and my second thought was "Vash the Stampede?")

It is said in the description - he is over ten thousand years old. And he is a mixture of three characters at least: Abel Nightroad (I couldn't remember his last name ), Vash the Stampede and Father Alexander Goddamn Anderson. In other words, Nicholas is the Badass incarnate.

[Jairus]

So the Holy Order started out as being devoted to God, but have more made their objective a holy mission rather than a directive from God? Interesting...

Um, about how old it Nicholas Thorn? (And is it bad that my first thought was "Abel Nightroad" and my second thought was "Vash the Stampede?")

It is said in the description - he is over ten thousand years old. And he is a mixture of three characters at least: Abel Nightroad (I couldn't remember his last name ), Vash the Stampede and Father Alexander Goddamn Anderson. In other words, Nicholas is the Badass incarnate.

Oops... ahem... missed that bit about his age. I was just wondering because of his white hair: he looked a little young to have natural white hair, so I was kind of wondering if he had natural white hair. And yes, he is Badass Incarnate. Good thing he's on our side.

"Alexander Goddamn Anderson?" Hm, now I have visions of Father Anderson dressed as a demonic Batman fighting Joker Alucard, while Harley Integra sneaks up with a mallet...

[Sunblink]

"Alexander Goddamn Anderson?" Hm, now I have visions of Father Anderson dressed as a demonic Batman fighting Joker Alucard, while Harley Integra sneaks up with a mallet...

yes yes yes yes yes

*COUGH*

Ahem. Sorry, my Batman fangirl is showing.

Jared: That expression is made of so much win and sex that I really can't describe it. I love how wicked and vicious you made him look. I admit I was extremely surprised to see his color scheme, because I wasn't expecting a mixture of browns and blues, but overall I really like the design. The open jacket with no shirt underneath is fantastic.

Ren: Aw, Ren looks so peaceful here. Love his jacket; the Order uniform is very interesting. Great choice of blood-reds; I would have expected white for a paladin so I find this very unique.

Nicolas: Excellent work on the coat in particular, and the cross. Love the whole thing, really - I don't see many humans from you. Hopefully that will change in the future. All-in-all, fantastic art.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Gareeku]

Sweet art, man. Jared looks especially badass. Was his appearance in any way inspired by the character K' from the King of Fighters series? Not that it matters. Awesome stuff.

[Ren Gaulen]

Thanks for the comments.

Jared: That expression is made of so much win and sex that I really can't describe it. I love how wicked and vicious you made him look. I admit I was extremely surprised to see his color scheme, because I wasn't expecting a mixture of browns and blues, but overall I really like the design. The open jacket with no shirt underneath is fantastic.

Actually, he was originally meant to be green, not brown, but one of my friends kept calling him "Iguana", and somehow it made me change Jared's colour recently. Actually, you can see his original colours here - he is the guy on the right in the first panel (WARNING! Some violence). Actually, there are four of my characters there.
Also, I feel like mentioning Jared's "tools of trade". I mentioned that he is a wandering warrior in his description already. Like almost all of the "SoG" warriors, one of Jared's weapons of choice is a sword - a huge cleaver sword that he calls "Can Opener" (and he calls soldiers in power armour "Canned Meat" ). And his other weapon, or rather weapons of choice are a pair of machine guns. Jared is strong enough to effectively use two of them at once. Well, he is actually strong enough to destroy his enemies with his bare hands..

Ren: Aw, Ren looks so peaceful here. Love his jacket; the Order uniform is very interesting. Great choice of blood-reds; I would have expected white for a paladin so I find this very unique.

You are right, paladins of the Order wear white, grey or black. But Ren is not a paladin. He is a knight. Paladins here are a sort of warrior-priests, and most members of the Holy order are not paladins. By the way, originally the Order was called the Order of White Cross, but then it split into three separate Orders - Order of Asheron, Order of Tarkus and Order of Everest (all of these are the names of the planets where these orders reside).

Sweet art, man. Jared looks especially badass. Was his appearance in any way inspired by the character K' from the King of Fighters series? Not that it matters. Awesome stuff.

No, Jared is not connected to K' (though I see some similarities). He was based on Livio the Doublefang (Trigun Maximum) and Brandon Heat (Gungrave).

[Tapewolf]

Order of Asheron, Order of Tarkus and Order of Everest (all of these are the names of the planets where these orders reside).

Now I'm curious.  Are you in a position to elaborate on Tarkus?

[Gareeku]

Sweet art, man. Jared looks especially badass. Was his appearance in any way inspired by the character K' from the King of Fighters series? Not that it matters. Awesome stuff.

No, Jared is not connected to K' (though I see some similarities). He was based on Livio the Doublefang (Trigun Maximum) and Brandon Heat (Gungrave).

Ah. Well regardless he looks badass as I said before, as do the others. Keep up the good arts.

[Ren Gaulen]

Order of Asheron, Order of Tarkus and Order of Everest (all of these are the names of the planets where these orders reside).

Now I'm curious.  Are you in a position to elaborate on Tarkus?

First of all, I took the name Tarkus from "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" (there was a knight named Tarkus there). The members of the Tarkussian Order rely mostly on brute force, and aside from banishing Daemons and punishing altlings they are often seen fighting some non-magical alien menace like draghirs or the Kzel-Usul alongside with the soldiers of the federation. Asheronian Order members concentrate on purging the Unclean, hunting unsanctioned Nether summoners and altlings who break the laws (because police forces are often incapable to deal with the altlings themselves). Everestian Order members are more of a humanitarian organisation, actually. Rather than fighting on the battlefields they help people in more peaceful ways. However, they have their rangers almost everywhere.

[Tapewolf]

First of all, I took the name Tarkus from "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" (there was a knight named Tarkus there).

Ah.  Maybe the word has some other meaning or origin - if so I'm not aware of it.  Generally it refers to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarkus

The members of the Tarkussian Order rely mostly on brute force, and aside from banishing Daemons and punishing altlings they are often seen fighting some non-magical alien menace like draghirs or the Kzel-Usul alongside with the soldiers of the federation.

Presumably that's punishing wayward altlings, rather than a pogrom against them as a whole?  With these religious sects it's sometimes hard to tell.

Asheronian Order members concentrate on purging the Unclean, hunting unsanctioned Nether summoners and altlings who break the laws (because police forces are often incapable to deal with the altlings themselves). Everestian Order members are more of a humanitarian organisation, actually. Rather than fighting on the battlefields they help people in more peaceful ways. However, they have their rangers almost everywhere.

Interesting summary.  When can we look forward to seeing some of this in action?