It's fairly uncharacteristic of me to go a whole three entries in any project without drawing a woman. Well, here we are at #26characters 4th entry, D for Dejah Thoris, and you will not be surprised to note that I spent a lot of time getting this one right.
Ms. Thoris is the princess of the empire of Helium on Barsoom, sometimes known as Mars. Despite this she does not, as far as I know, speak in a squeaky voice. Mars has very strange weather too, because everyone wears skimpy clothing, yet all of this clothing is made of gold (anyone who has actually worn a gold chain in hot weather knows that it's the most horrible feeling ever).
I've never actually read Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Martian novels. I did consider reading the first when the recent John Carter movie came out, but I neither saw the movie nor read any of the associated literature. I know, I'm a rebel.
I have, however, ogl--um, appreciated so much art based on the characters over the years, from pretty-much every major pulp and fantasy illustrator of the last century. So I approached Dejah with a lot of osmotic knowledge of what she and the world is supposed to look like. I wish I'd been more intricate with the jewelry, but I think three hours -- yes, three hours -- is enough time to have spent on this.
I'm happy that I've started to approach these in a more considered way, hewing rough gestural sketch without committing to a finished pose, and then working off that. I even made a half-hearted attempt at being more painterly with the colouring. It's not great, but it's a start. The column is a complete botch job, though.
Oh, here's a little animated GIF of the basic process.
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