Point of Inspiration is a new series of posts where I share different sources of inspiration, and what they inspired in my work!
Today, let’s talk about Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda.
First of all, his reveal for the Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, has me swooning. (And I’m not the only one.) I’m not shy to admit that I like some cake with a generous helping of BEEF.
Second, this villain is fascinating to me. He’s appeared in maybe half of all the Legend of Zelda games, but his appearance (nearly) every time is like a boogeyman coming out of banishment to antagonize the world at large – not just the main characters of Zelda and Link. It’s like he reappears to not only terrorize people; he also wants to claim a prize he thinks is rightfully his. (Usually the land of Hyrule).
I’m not going to bury the lead here – Ganondorf was a major point of inspiration for the antagonist of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Ragun Ranki.
Like Ganondorf, Ranki is a) a redhead, and b) someone banished to another plane of existence for amassing too much power. And after a long time being banished away, he comes back to the world to cause chaos.
Here’s where things diverge a bit. For one thing, Ranki is a lot more…(how should I put this?)…flirtatious.
Don’t get me wrong, fan works exist to give this kind of air to Ganondorf, as well (looking at you, Tale of Two Rulers). But in the canon, Ganondorf isn’t nearly this persuasive and willing to flaunt that.
For another thing, Ranki has a family still alive in the story. We’re getting into spoilers here for the comic, so if you haven’t read The Legend of Jamie Roberts, go do that.
But in short, having Ranki’s relatives still alive in the story is going to complicate his goals. Only time will tell how they will react to each other if they cross paths again.
Of course, other ideas inspired Ragun Ranki (especially Ansem and Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts). But Ganondorf was the launching pad.
I have made comics exclusively for newsletter subscribers before. And I think it’s time I bring that back.
This time, we’re jumping to one year after the events of The Case of the Wendigo. (You can catch up on that story for free online – or get the graphic novel with remastered pages and bonus content.)
The story goes that 1000 years ago, a Demon King threatened humanity itself – and the only one brave enough to stand against him was the hero of mankind, Richard. Richard punched the Demon King so hard that the demon vanished!
Cut to 1000 years later, and Vanita is jogging at the park when she sees the Demon King himself passed out in the bushes!
Thus begins this silly slice-of-life story about a demon passing out on the couch of a trans woman.
So This Story is Happening?
Yes! Thanks to the lovely backers of the Crowdfundr campaign, they helped cover the basic set-up costs and the production of the first few pages of the comic!
The comic is all set to launch this Friday, March 17 (yep, St. Patrick’s day).
If you want to get Vanita and the Demon King and its latest pages straight to your inbox, be sure to get on the email newsletter!
You get other perks for being on the newsletter as well, such as access to other free comics, convention announcements, and shop discounts.
Yes, this offering is free. It’s also spam-free. You only get emails once a week and I don’t share your info with anyone else.
Afraid of missing an update? Don’t be! Pages for Vanita and the Demon King will be posted a few days later on vanitaandking.com, Webtoons (coming soon), and Ko-Fi. So you have options to help you catch up and stay tuned.
I’m available for commissions for the holiday season!
If you’ve ever wanted me to draw you something, this is your window of time. And people who join my email newsletter will get a special discount tomorrow for 25% off their order!
Why am I open for commissions now? Well, part of it is the holiday spirit. And also…
Making art is my full-time job. But currently, client work is pretty light. So I have time to make commissions for you.
my neck of the woods has been under a freeze warning for the last few days, which means turning up the heat – raising our electric bill.
My roommate and I rescued a kitten recently. He’s 6 weeks old now! We rescued him from the middle of a busy road, and we want to give him the best life we can. Which means vet visits to make sure he’s vaccinated and healthy.
Want to see what I can draw for you? Here are some samples…
Now, these are priced the way they are because these are prices for the general public. KickStarter backers already got their orders in. They (and email subscribers) get discount codes off commission prices during special windows of time.
Email subscribers will get their discount code in the morning. So if you want that sweet, sweet discount, subscribe today.
Not subscribing? No problem – I can draw your commission for you, anyway!
Before You Order…
I have updated my terms and conditions to make things more transparent for you, while also making clear what you can (and can’t do) with the art I make for you. That agreement is in this Google Doc. So be sure to give it a look before you proceed.
After that, head on over to Ko-Fi and place your order there!
Commissions are open for everyone UNTIL DECEMBER 15. That way I can make every effort to get these done before Christmas/New Year’s Eve.
Broke? Share this announcement! It helps (more than you think it does).
This year I have been drawing concept art of fighting game characters. Previously, I posted live streams. Today, I’m sharing a finished art piece – the Puppet Master character.
Puppet Master is a fighting game archetype in the character roster. Their gimmick is that they are a fighter who also controls a puppet. For this character, I decided to play with the idea of a “puppet” and make the controlled character a spirit.
My first draft was closer in concept to the Earth spirit dancers of the Bwa people in Burkina Faso. But I decided to revisit the idea and draft a few more takes. I’m very pleased with how this turned out.
If you would like to see the process of drawing this piece, check out this stream archived on YouTube and here on the blog. Each step got done in Clip Studio Paint.