When Bill is on, he is on and this weekend he was really doing great sketches at c2e2. I am one of those people who has paid for and is still owed commission by Bill but despite that I can't help but to try for another piece. Sometimes it doesn't work out, sometimes it does and once in a while... just once in a while BAM!
Magic.
This was magic.
I happened to be there when Bill was setting up on Friday and was the first to sign up for a commission. By Saturday evening he hadn't done it so I was a little worried. Bill came to the con on Sunday with the inked drawing (which I hope I'll have a copy of the image soon) and we talked about adding some color. He wasn't sure but decided to add a little. Once he started he didn't stop. Watching him work his magic was like watching someone possessed. Pastels, color pencils, inks, white out, paint, lighter fluid, brushes, erasers, q-tips, paper towels all in one big orchestra. Pens and brushes falling off the table and being pushed aside as he worked. I have never seen anything like that and if I had any idea this would happen I would have video taped it. There was a crowd around the table and no one spoke, the bustle of the con slowed and moved around us like the backdrop in a Wong Kar-Wai movie. It is one of those surreal moments I'll never forget and this was the end result.
Magic.
This piece has been up a week on CAF and has 32 comments, more than 50% more than my next most popular piece. I think it is a great piece but I am surprised by its popularity. A friend was over today who was there at the con with me and we were looking at the piece again and something dawned on us. The image is very similar to the cover of Elektra Assassin #1. Even though I didn't see it initially, perhaps there is some spot in our fanboy brains that subconsciously connected this piece with the very familiar #1 cover. The posture, the long legs, almost all of it is similar to the cover. I am sure Bill didn't intend it this way but I am that much happier with the piece now and it explains why this piece felt more right and familiar than I was prepared for.
Most votes in CAF best convention sketch of 2012. Thanks to Bill and those who voted.
