John Carter of Mars WIP 6 + Wizard World Austin!

Sorry it's been awhile since the last update.  I had to put this aside for a bit due to hectic times at work, conventions and other events; a commission (which I'll be able to share soon); and being just plain disillusioned.  I'll show why.. This is how it was looking up til this evening:

...And somethin' about it just kept bothering me.  After I ran it by one of my coworkers I realized JC's pose was too passive & static, his sword wasn't helping his silhouette, he was too centered, his anatomy just wasn't going to resolve, and his pose was too similar to the Thark's.  To help illustrate:

Only one thing to be done for it -- Total teardown!  The original drawing was drawn/painted over with an all-new pose...

By the time I had to go home I'd found a way to have nearly the same pose, but facing the viewer.  

There's still a lot about the pose that I need to resolve before I really get into detail, and of course now I'll need to paint in everything behind him -- But ultimately it should end up as a better starting point than the first.  Sometimes when you've hit a wall, the wisest solution to a problem is to scrap it and start over -- And the next time, addressing the new ideas you've had since.

Now, to put the piece to bed again until after Wizard World :\  Remember -- I'll be drawing there all weekend, whether at the Powerhouse Animation booth or my own or at the Digital Painting instruction-panel on Sunday!  Hope to see you there!