"I don't remember my past. The first thing I remember is waking up in the middle of a burnt village, all covered in blood that was not my own. This blood was everywhere, on my clothes, on my hands, I could even taste it in my mouth. I looked around and saw leveled houses smouldering about me. The first thing that came to my mind is that I had lost control and caused this, so I staggered up and ran for my life. I couldn't remember why I was there, what happened, or even my own name. Eventually I ran into a wandering priest who told me that with the proper training I could regain my memory. He said that there was a place in Jade far to the west where they held an Armsmaster tournament every 10 years. I was told that the warriors who participated in the tournament would be skillful enough to help me regain my memory. After a year of wandering, I found a powerful warrior from another realm, a place called earth. This outcast, quarantined by the local government, took me in. He gave me clothes, a place to sleep, and taught me about the wonders of a thing called 'science.' He says he'll teach me to fight. He may be the one I've longed for to help me become an armsmaster and rediscover my past."
That passage is taken from a Gold Digger fan fic I have been writing called "Evil Lies Between Worlds." In the story Mirage meets up with a computer hacker who accidentally gets sent to Jade from a horrible war torn earth. Mistaking the broken hacker as a great warrior, Mirage hopes that he can train her to become an armsmaster. Does the hacker have it in him to train her, or will Mirage be the fighting tournament's first fatality? Also, will the hacker's scientific know-how become a great danger to all of Jade?
This drawing took forever! I spent two days on it, mostly because of the complex armor and the fact that it takes a long time to color something black with colored pencils. I do believe that all of the work is well worth it. I have gotten comments on a previous drawing of Mirage saying that she looked a lot like Britanny Diggers from Gold Digger. This is true, but for some good reasons. First of all, she is from a Gold Digger fan fic I have been writing. Because of this, I drew her in my rendition of Fred Perry's style. Secondly, she is a young female were-cheetah like Britanny Diggers, so of course there would be a resemblance. Mirage isn't as tall as Britanny, she lacks the bust of Britanny, and she isn't as built as Britanny. The major differences however, lie in her personality. Unlike Britanny who is an overconfident horny mall bunny, Mirage is an extremly innocent optimist who is trying to discover the mysteries of a painful past. When it comes to being in danger Mirage's personality shifts, becoming quiet, tense, and extrmely serious. Unfortunately, these are better shown in my story than in my pictures.
This drawing was made on 80lb. Strathmore medium surface drawing paper. I used 2HB and 5H leads in a .05mm mechanical pencil for the pencil work. The pencil drawing was then scanned, cleaned up, and shadowed in Paint Shop Pro 3. The print out was colored with Crayola colored pencils and scanned back into the computer. The lettering was done with Paint Shop Pro 7.02.
All text and original multimedia is © 2001 Daniel Keller. All other information is copyrighted by their respective owners.