Romulan - the species I would sometimes like to be.

R is for Romulan!

Three alien species that I would, if I had the choice, have been born as are Vulcan, Mintakan, and Romulan. Notice a pattern?

About a week or so ago, I began drawing a picture in ink of what I might look like as a Romulan:

I find Romulan (and Mintakan) forehead ridges to be quite aesthetically pleasing.

More art: Bitter Ambiguity.

Lal - The Beautiful Daughter of an Android

L is for Lal!

Lal - Data's android daughter - appeared only in the TNG episode "The Offspring". She was probably one of the most adorable androids in the Universe, and it is a shame that she had to fail. When she began to grasp concepts such as verbal contractions and feel human emotion, I was sure that she would be special - exceeding her father. Unfortunately this was a symptom of cascade failure in her neural net, and complete system failure followed.

As Data moved "frantically" to save her, I was sure he felt love for her. (For more information on the episode, please visit Memory Alpha.)

As Lal is one of my favorite Star Trek characters, I decided to do a quick sketch of her. The sketch turned out better than I had thought it would, and so I inked it:

After that was finished, I decided I would scan it and alter it digitally for practice. Unfortunately, I do not own a tablet so I had to use the pad on my netbook - resulting in shaky lines. Despite these difficulties, I believe it turned out quite well:

For those of you who may be interested, I also have an art blog called Bitter Ambiguity.

Seven of Nine - Gouache and Ink

I have been experimenting lately with different styles of drawing and coloring.

She kind of looks like a pug.

Taluhk Nash-veh K'dular - Sarek heh Amanda - Neshuk Bes (Ink Drawing)

I have been absent from this blog for quite a while now, as I have been devoting myself to an ink drawing of Amanda and Sarek. I was originally going to have it finished for Valentine's Day, but I ended up focusing on the details with more intensity than I had originally planned.

Sarek and Amanda are my all-time favorite couple, for all of the reasons. Notice also, in the drawing, that I used a a common human interpretation of a heart for Amanda, and a realistic Vulcan heart for Sarek. It's symbolic and... stuff. It was done traditionally, using black pen-ink.

And now, without further ado...

Fun fact: Many people, for whatever reason, use the word "adieu" instead of "ado" in the phrase I used previously. "Ado" means fuss, or trouble - "adieu" means goodbye. "Without further goodbye" does not make sense in any context. This misuse may be known as an "eggcorn".

Hnafirh'au-d - Arhem Llaiuri - Mnahen!

The only reason I am putting this on here is because I wrote on it in Romulan/Rihannsu. It says, roughly, "Can ('t) you see? I am dying. (My) hatred!" I drew this on an old law class sheet.

Primitive Vulcan - Early in a Physical and Cultural Evolution

A little while ago I was reading Spock's World by Diane Duane - a book which covers not only an interesting plot involving the TOS characters, but the evolution of Vulcan as well. In one chapter I was reading about the early, "primitive" Vulcans who were trying to breed into their children "the eye" - a gene causing the inner eyelid which then allowed the child to see clearly in the daytime. While I was reading this, I wondered what these primitive Vulcans might look like. Taking inspiration from African and Amazonian aboriginal culture, I came up with this:

I realize that they would not have the modern Vulcan script for Logic carved into their jewelry - that was just my getting carried away. I did, however, include many features that are said to have occurred in early human evolution, while altering classic Vulcan features to appear slightly more "savage". And thus, this drawing came to be.

Media: India ink, water color pencils. Sadly, the scanner mangled the colors.

Star Trek is for Cool Cats - Another Doodle

Random Tribbles.

Trek/Who Alphabet Preview - A is for Alpha Centauri

I am currently working on a project involving both Star Trek and Doctor Who races and the Alphabet. As I finish the cards, I will be posting them in another section. A quick preview for those who are interested:

Yes, I have always held my pens like this.

The first few cards will be up in a week or two, in their designated sections under the banner. Until then, at least you have this derpy picture of a sketched out delegate from Alpha Centauri.

Raxacoricofallapatorians - Don't Call Them Slitheen.

On a few episodes of Doctor Who, we have come across the Slitheen family - a family of criminals from Raxacoricofallapatorius whose crimes (even amongst other criminals on the planet) were so severe that the family was tried and sentanced  to death in their absence. Because of this, if any of them were to return to the planet, they would be lowered into boiling acetic acid which would strip the skin from their bodies and cause the internal organs to fall into the solution - turning them into soup while alive.

There have been many instances where the term "Slitheen" has been used to refer to Raxacoricofallapatorians in general, something that I feel would be offensive to those outside of the family.

Doodling on my hand again...

For an entire species to be referred to by the name of their most notorious criminal is something that any race is undeserving of. I feel that to refer to Raxacoricofallapatorians as Slitheen is on the same level as referring to the human race as Pol Pots or Hitlers.

IT'S A FACT!

So take the time it takes to learn how to say "Raxacoricofallapatorian" and pay the species the respect they deserve.

Note: Somebody pointed out to me that my Raxacoricofallapatorian drawing was missing the "thing on it's neck". I would like to point out that this "thing" was a compression field control worn by the Slitheen which allowed them to shrink or compress to fit into human skins. Not all Raxacoricofallapatorians have or need this.

If I were in Starfleet, this would be my species and I would be cool and strange and genderless for some reason.

I started drawing a picture of myself the other day, but after I was finished the hair (I got a new hair style - a chelsea cut!) I got carried away and created an alien race that I eventually called Xandai. I figured that if I could be any race other than Vulcan or Romulan (or Andorian), it would be one that I made up. This is one possibility:

I drew this with a 0.5mm black Flowrite gel pen on a piece of scrap paper. I didn't really think about the details of this race, but I do know that they reproduce asexually and have acute vision (to the point of detecting cellular and molecular abnormalities at a glance).

 For anyone who is interested, I also have a deviantART account here.

Vorik on Vulcan - Because Vorik is Cool.

When I go around to appointments, I like to doodle. in fact, as you probably already know, I like to doodle anywhere. Sometimes I mindlessly lay ink on paper for hours at a time, and sometimes (like today) I scribble something down in 7.3 seconds.

One of my favorite Vulcans is Vorik - his voice is absolutely mind-melting, and he is incredibly sexy. (So is Taurik, obviously, but that is a topic for another day.)

Getting to the point, I doodled a quick Vorik, before Starfleet and on Vulcan.

It's really only a couple of inches tall on paper, and done in ink. I colored it with Sumo Paint after scanning it.

I put him in Vulcan robes, and behind him you can see the planet T'Rukh (meaning "The Watcher", also known as T'Khut, T'Kuht, T'Khul or Valdena depending on the season) and it's moon, T'Rukhemai (Eye of the Watcher).

As I had (kind of, but not really) mentioned, I am working on an appreciation post for Vorik and Taurik at the moment. They are - without a doubt - two of the sexiest Vulcans on any series, if only for their voices alone. Alexander Enberg should voice everything in the entire world.

Stay tuned.

Full-blooded Romulans in Starfleet? Only in Ink.

Even in an exciting place, I tend to get very bored. I will be doodling in between sentences, in between transactions at work, and on my breaks. Sometimes they are scribbles, and sometimes they come out like this:

Using a Flowrite 5mm black gel pen, I ended up drawing a Starfleet Romulan. Aside from Simon Tarses in TNG's "The Drumhead" (and even he was only one quarter Romulan) and Saavik (one half)  there have been no Romulans in Starfleet.

When I got home, I colored it with water color pencils, scanned it, and then ran it through a filter using Photoscape.

What you see here is my usual style of drawing. There is not a lot in this style online, because I keep my non-related and original work private for now. Eventually I am going to be publishing a book with my original - non fan art - work.

You never know what you are going to end up with when you start doodling, which is why I always have a pen in hand.

Doodle Story Time - Destructive Dalek and Giant Spock

I do a lot of drawing, practically every hour of the day. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess) on the one day when I was supposed to do a "sketchbook assignment" I didn't want to draw. I didn't want to do anything, but I had to hand something in. So I drew like a five year old and created a story that only barely made sense if you were hit in the head.  

To read it, start at the Dalek and go counter-clockwise. To enlarge, right click and open in a new tab/window.

I drew it in ink, and decided today that I would color it using Sumo Paint. I actually love how derpy everything looks, especially the Dalek and Spock. Maybe I should draw like a five year old more often.

But probably not.

Surak Preaches C'thia to Children on Vulcan

I was locked out of my house after work the other day for about an hour, with nothing to do. Luckily, I just so happened to have some pens on me, and there was a recycling bin in the parking lot. I walked over, opened the recycling bin, and picked out a manilla envelope. I proceeded to draw a picture of Surak about an inch by a half inch big.

When I scanned it onto the computer, the quality of the lines were terrible. They still are. That's what happens when something is enlarged 500 percent or so. I colored it on Sumo Paint, but I ha to use my mouse because I don't have a tablet as of yet.

Surak always seemed like a Vulcan "Jesus" to me. He came into the world when it was at it's worst as showed them another way. C'thia - Reality-truth. I loosely based Surak's robe here off of the one he wore in The Savage Curtain.

I don't know what's going on with his mouth, though.

45 Years of Star Trek Celebrated with Cupcakes

Today marks the 45th year since the "first" episode of Star Trek - The Man Trap - was aired. It is truly a momentous occasion.

I worked for nine hours today, and while I had the time I was (as usual) doodling on scrap paper. To keep track of the time, I make circles for each hour and elaborate on them as each hour passes. I thought today's circles looked cool and space-y, so I incorporated it into my special Star Trek Anniversary card:

Because doodles count as cards, right?

I also made cupcakes with some of the characters on them - I wanted to do Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov, but I didn't have enough time. I did, however, manage to make a huge mess and eat a lot of mix and icing.

This is my first attempt at drawing with icing, and it turned out better than I thought it would, despite not having the icing colors I wanted. Below are some of my cupcakes - an Orian girl, a Klingon (I couldn't get the colors to work, but I was going for the TOS Klingons) and Yeoman Rand with her waffle hair.

My family and I ended up eating most of the cupcakes before I could "fancy them up". I made another batch and decorated them with Spock, McCoy (lego?) and Kirk. They are honestly the worst things I have ever drawn, but they are also the most delicious.

I will be 74, going on 75 years old on the glorious hundredth anniversary. I will be waiting, with my rats and my baking and my crazy hair.

How did you celebrate the 45th anniversary? Let me know in the comments!

How Star Trek Art Funds My Collection - Plak Tow

I don't usually like to sell my art, as I grow incredibly attached to my art. I do, however, show them in galleries and enter contests.

Last year one of my Star Trek pieces done in micrography was shown in a few places around the city, and entered in a contest. I won first place, the prize for which was 175 dollars. Needless to say, I spent that money on expanding my collection.

This piece, entitled "Plak Tow", is an image from Amok Time. It was created entirely with words and pieces of the script from the episode.

The paper I used was about 3x2 feet, so I really only have these cell-phone pictures of it. The actual thing is in a folder behind the couch for now - I need to get another frame.

I also took some close ups:

Every time I look at it, I see tons of things I could have done better. The thing is, though, I used ink without sketching for most of it - I'm glad I didn't entirely ruin it like I thought I did several times during the making of this piece. When I started doing the hands, I got so upset that I had to put it away for a few days. I felt like the hands were absolutely terrible, and I had ruined the entire thing. Luckily, when I came back to it a couple days later it looked okay. I think my perception was blurred after working on the thing for six hours straight - I just needed a break.

Micrography is cool.