Radio Flyer/searching for Signal

pencil on ledger paper, Photoshop 7, Paint Tool Sai



One last check of wind direction.

It was irrelevant, of course. It didn’t matter if he had to go through a typhoon, there was nothing stopping him now. But he had to admit there was some comfort in going through the procedures. It reminded him of who he was, and where he came from; it helped keep him grounded, he chuckled to himself.

Check slope incline and extrapolate trajectory.

How long had he been out here, searching for her? Her trail kept fading in and out, barely skimming the surface in a sea of static before disappearing again. Despite that, he could feel her voice closer and closer every day. He knew he was getting warmer.

His copilot sat silent in apprehension, his navigator crackled nervously. He paid no attention.

Without a second look back, he had launched the trio down the hill at full speed towards the ramp and flew.

/



PHEW. That was fun. Sorta. I don’t think I’ve worked this hard on a drawing in a long long time. I sort of got lazy with the colouring, but I think it turned out well.

Someone I really cared about once told me that I should go find the passion in my life again. I don’t know if I’m all the way there, but I’m working on it. This was fun, and I really worked my very hardest, and most of all I’m damned proud of it. That person also told me to have confidence in my linework, and I tried extra hard for them to make sure I didn’t wimp out by making sketchy lines. The result is a cleaner, more confident looking work. If that person is reading this, I want to thank them.

Back to the drawing. The theme, of course, is the Radio Flyer, which is the brand name for those little red pull-carts that kids have. I couldn’t resist taking that a little bit more literally and giving our intrepid hero wings made out of radio antennae. I snuck some little homages in there as well: the teddy bear is there because of one of the world’s most famous Radio Flyer co-pilots, the venerable Hobbes; while the radio is of course based on everyone’s favourite radio from Disney’s Brave Little Toaster.

For the drawing itself I had drawn it after work on a huge sheet of 16 x 11 ledger paper, cleanup and colours were done using Photoshop, and the shading with the neat canvas effect (which you can’t see here at ALL) was done in Paint Tool Sai.

In terms of the story, I sorta feel like writing about writing will ruin it, but I imagine our hero (his name’s Amp), is on the top of a hill at sunset. The hill has a ramp/cliff on the end like the ones in Calvin & Hobbes, and underneath is a bustling countryside town. He’s looking for his friend Signal, and sometimes catches wisps of her sound over radio waves. The scene was also partly inspired by the climactic end scene of The Giver.

That’s way more than too much talking for now! Here’s the most important bit! This piece will also be on display at the Coatcheck Gallery’s Art for Japan fundraiser exhibition this weekend. If for whatever reason you’re in the Montreal region, please check it out. Proceeds will go towards disaster relief in Japan, so it’s for a good good cause!

Cheers!