Storms of War

This is my image for the 100 Theme Challenge theme 96. Storm. Heavily inspired by the song "Legion" by VNV Nation and the TerraSpace War pack [link]

I got addicted to VNV Nation about a week ago and I really wanted to do my own AMV for Legion. Unfortunately, I have none of the prerequisites for an animator, so I've just been sketching out my ideas. This might be the only finished piece from this idea, but I'm really happy with it. I love the clouds, and working out the composition was a nice challenge.

War was the runner-up for the theme, as this is one of the major strikes in this war. I’d give the shield around the moon base another 10 seconds to rapture completely. The story is about two soldiers on opposites of an interstellar conflict who end up rescuing each other and almost survive the war. It’s an aesthetic but not cheerful story, just like the song.

I spent hours last night flailing over the guys' character designs, because I can draw neither guys nor anime style, as you might of noticed from the lack of the aforementioned in my gallery. I ended up with three pages of faces in a style that is a hybrid of Bleach, Loveless, Alchino, and my figure drawing and anime styles. They're interesting, that's for sure. I might throw some in scraps later. I almost included a profile shot in this image, but it took away from the realism.

This piece was so soothing to work on, despite the theme. The soundtrack was of course VNV Nation, especially Legion, Homeward, Beloved, Further, and I Regret. Made with Photoshop 7 in about 15 hours.