Prompt

Sol System, 3986

Mars is celebrating 500 years of breathable air and a bounty of flora and fauna between their still-growing city centers. In the Asteroid belt, a massive asteroid called Ida has been hollowed out, and is the "vibrant" cemter of culture among the miners and outlandrrs who abide nere or nearby. Several moons of the larger outer planets have been or are being developed and terraformed, the gas giants are being mined from low orbit platforms. Mother earth has been pillaged and regrown, still seperated by vast differences in class staus. Earth is home to the Terran federation, Mars and Ida, are not a part, Terrans have bases all throughout the sol system.

Our story begins at one of the 50 days of celebrations on Mars, or on our way there...

Dear Adam.

Dear Adam,

It was nice seeing you this weekend. Thanks for always coming to the boys' birthdays. I know you'll say "Of course!", and not make a big deal of it, but know that it isn't something I take for granted. I'm sorry I can't always be there for your birthdays, but the boys are more suited for weekend getaways to Chicago, we'll be there. We wouldn't want to miss your 34th birthday, after all. 

I'm sure you recall that while you were here we talked as we sometimes do of this blog.  I can't say it's the finest catalogue of my personal portfolio by any means, but I think we were onto something that needs to prevail.  Our format was absurd, then manageable, but in the end I think there was still something missing. It's possible that we're not cut out for any kind of regular submission. Perhaps if it is just a conversation we would do better. Perhaps not. Let's see what happens, shall we?

Your Brother Forever,

-Jeremy-

P.S. Almost forgot! I thought I would write a little something to sprinkle some creativity on this post. Here it is...

The ravages of time were evident on the old weathered stones. The dull gray winter sky was echoed in the faded granite that jutted from the rippling field of blue grass. Wind whistled and moaned as it rushed past the ruined monument. Axar and Ziva stepped down lightly from their hovercraft. The rustling grass rose to their knees, tickling where it reached past their boots. It was a quiet place, and they hadn't spoken a word since they spotted it across the gently sloping grasslands.  Ziva reached the shattered pillar first, though neither of them was in any hurry. This was their honeymoon after all, and they weren't supposed to return until their spirits had bonded. Whatever that meant. It hadn't been a marriage of choice, but a matter of political significance. They had only first met today at their wedding, and had yet to hold a conversation. The ride away from civilization had been uncomfortable, neither knowing what to say.

Axar carefully watched his bride as she reached out and traced her fingers gentle through the deep, pitted grooves. She seemed to be a gentle person. He had never heard her raise her voice, or make even a single aggressive motion in the time he had known her. The ancient platform had been long claimed by the soil and grass, but what once must have been a square obelisk lie shattered across the plain. Even on its side, the rocks stood nearly two meters tall. She stood next to the dark thing and glowed. Her hair danced in the wind and he was lost in it until she turned and caught his look. Ziva smiled a new smile then, one he hadn't seen before but like a lot. It made him blush for the first time since he was a child.

"Do you know what they mean?" He asked, diverting his gaze to the designs and symbols that covered every surface. Her smile didn't disappear even as she turned back to the stone and began speaking.

"They're old. This language uses a mixture of symbols with meaning and designs that alter those meanings depending on the other symbols, the placement, and other factors like that. This is left over from the ancient ancestors of my people, but they only used them in the most formal and permanent of settings, like worship settings or monuments. However..."

Ziva grabbed a hold of the top edge with both hands and vaulted her entire body up with one smooth motion, landing with both feet on top of the plinth.

"They can't be read as such. They are meant to evoke feelings, so they don't translate very well."

She cast him a look with that smile again and his knees almost buckled. What was 

Just happened to think of them visit this site on my lunch break.  I've been thinking about doing a comic of a story that Jack made up a long time ago.  This is a doodle on that theme.  I'm not promising I'll do anything else on this blog, but it looked so lonely...
-JG-

Happy birthday, Fight The Nothing. I may just have to stay up late and submit a birthday present.

It has been a crazy year. I got a big promotion, Adam got a great job and moved to Chicago. I regret the absence of art for almost 6 months of that year, and I don't think we'll see as much this year as we did last year. Without penalties and strict deadlines, it looks like about one new piece per week will be the new norm. Our intention is to make higher quality art with more time on hand. We still have the old habits of waiting until the last minute, but hopefully soon we'll be posting more developed submissions that make up for the lack of quantity.

I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we truly appreciate those who check up on us from time to time or subscribe to the blog. It really wasn't necessary to us to have an audience beyond ourselves, but I think it helps us strive to be better artists knowing there are people watching.

Thank you, and here's to another year of fighting the absence of creativity and art in our lives!

Page 150

Flight
I didn't get to adding color last night, so I'll submit this as my final draft. I will try to remember to add the colored version when I finish it. I'm pretty pleased with this version of the dragon/Phoenix pairing, but Adam made a good point in that I don't want our tattoo to appear as if Kelly and my totems are fighting. In the original version, there is an orb in the center. I don't know what it represents, but perhaps an addition of something in the center of the piece would make it appear that both beasts are striving towards it instead of each other. Thoughts on this?
Adam, your weapon is night.

Draft and poll...

For flight I thought of a piece that is near and dear to me. When Kelly and I decided that the tattoo we would get as a couple would be a Phoenix and Dragon (to represent her and I respectively), we did not know that these two mythical creatures had an ancient connection in Chinese culture and art. They represent the yin and yang and make the most powerful and balanced pairing. Although very pleased to discover this, my journey towards a final design stayed well away from Chinese art. Recently I picked up a pencil again-thanks FTN- and did a study of the eastern model (see the first picture). I was pleased with its balance and so am exploring my own take on it.
I submit this not as my final contribution but as a work in progress. The middle photo is my draft, and the next step is to add scales to my dragon.
I have selected a few options (pic #3) as to how I might proceed and decided to present them here and poll the readers (only slightly to see who is reading this).
Please comment to tell me whether you think I should use a grid/diamonds, circles, scales, or any alternative.
Thanks,
-Jeremy-

Page 149

CATS

Hey Fighters!

It has been some time. Time well measured by the amount of lolCats in my inbox. I have to say coming back into the habit of blogging has been a little tedious for me. Since we last talked I started a new job, moved into an apartment in Chicago, and entered into a long distance relationship. It isn't so much as I can't find the time it's just that there are so many others things to do when I do... My apologies. Please bear with me as I pull out of my nosedive into the nothing.

I started a Cat Lady drawing last week but every time I thought about working on it, it was at home and i was at work or vice versa. Or I was having a delightful adventure to the future birthplace of James T. Kirk with my love (yes it's a real thing, no its probably not worth your time... but it is hilarious). Anyway you can tell by the drawing that I did not go that route. Instead enjoy this masterwork political satire about the escalation and futility of war... aka a picture of a cute cat and playing with a laser pointer.

Jeremy,
Your finally up. Make me some couch art concerning "flight".