HOME | DD

Published: 2008-08-13 22:54:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 2388; Favourites: 26; Downloads: 117
Redirect to original
Description
'Who am I?'Perhaps you mean, 'what am I?'
I am the Umbrella Man's squandered potential.
I am the doubt in his hope. The lie in his truth.
I am his greatest fears realized.
I am the Lady Cane.
And I appreciate the act of murder for the art form it is...
This is my official entry for Rythmear's Umbrella Man contest.
This is what I imagine Umbrella Man's arch nemesis would be. I give you: The Lady Cane. The Yin to U.M.'s Yang.
I gave this contest a lot of thought. I find Rythmear's character, Umbrella Man, to be very intriguing and I felt that his opposite should be equally so. Right away I knew that I wanted his rival to be a woman, but there were two features that would be very important for this character: her mask and her "instrument".
Umbrella Man has two things that make him (visually) unique. He has his gas mask and he has his namesake's umbrella. They're what make him stand out. They add an air of mystery to him. I wanted Umbrella Man's rival to be equally mysterious, but still contrast against him.
The mask, I came up with fairly quickly (thanks to some input from my dA friends), but her "instrument" was a bit trickier to invent. For a while I figured I would just have her with an umbrella of her own, but then I thought again. In Rythmear's short story about the arrival of U.M.'s enemy, he reveals a taste of her personality and it showed to me that not only was she willing to kill people, but that she was excited and even eager to do so. That's when I realized that U.M.'s umbrella was not just an instrument, it was a tool. Rythmear has written numerous stories where U.M. uses his umbrella to do things like fly and shield himself from attacks. If U.M.'s umbrella is a tool, then his rival's "instrument" should be a weapon. Something used to do harm instead of help.
After that, I ran through a number of possible items that could be used as a weapon. Guns were too new. I thought maybe a knife, but that seemed too easy and unimaginative. I thought perhaps a pair of scissors or sheers, but somehow I thought I wanted something bigger that maybe she could walk with the way U.M. does. A fire poker sounded like a good idea, but I soon realized that "Lady Poker" just did not make a very good name. Then I figured "why not a cane?" Sure, it's not incredibly original, but then again, umbrellas aren't that unusual too. And canes can be very dangerous weapons, especially if it was one with a metal handle that could be used to bludgeon someone to death with. Sure, she could have a sword hidden inside the cane for good measure, but I think I'll leave that up to Rythmear if I happen to win the contest.
So here she is: The Lady Cane. Her fragile porcelain mask and delicate attire bely the danger and power that she holds.
Related content
Comments: 73
PaintingInBlack In reply to ??? [2008-08-14 14:40:54 +0000 UTC]
good luck man!!
go for the gold... I mean...the first place
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to PaintingInBlack [2008-08-14 15:28:09 +0000 UTC]
If there was gold at stake, I'd certainly want to go for it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
MalaksMistress In reply to ??? [2008-08-14 07:40:22 +0000 UTC]
Brilliant! The blood-splattered-dress-and-hands-drenched-in-blood-like-I-just-pulled-out-your-intestines look is very 'in' these days I hear!
Seriously, very awesome. Love the detail in her gown and hat. She should definitely have a sword cane...Zatoichi style I guess for semi realism too since it's hard to imagine a woman of her physique crushing people or what not.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to MalaksMistress [2008-08-14 15:09:32 +0000 UTC]
Well Lady Cane, like Umbrella Man, would be a supernatural being. Therefor, I think if she wanted to bludgeon someone to death with a cane, she could.
But thank you. A lot of thought and planning went into the creation of her design.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
MalaksMistress In reply to Bug-Off [2008-08-14 22:11:58 +0000 UTC]
Well...then I guess she won't have a problem Good luck in the contest
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to MalaksMistress [2008-08-15 17:55:24 +0000 UTC]
Thanks. I still have a long time to wait.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Bug-Off In reply to Rythmear [2008-08-14 15:03:19 +0000 UTC]
...and you mean 'bloody' literally.
So yeah, here she is. I decided to dump my usual cartoon style for something more realistic, shaded, and serious. And I decided to make her blood-splattered to help illustrate that she does indeed enjoy the very things Umbrella Man is against.
The look I was going for was "poised and lady-like, but giving off a feeling of danger and unease."
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Rythmear In reply to Bug-Off [2008-08-14 15:06:21 +0000 UTC]
Well you've certainly achieved that appearance mate.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to Rythmear [2008-08-14 15:36:59 +0000 UTC]
You are very welcome....
Now I play the waiting game.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
SinisterlySweet In reply to ??? [2008-08-14 00:00:19 +0000 UTC]
Wow, you did a really lovely job with this one. I didn't even know it was you from the thumbnail, it's extremely impressive. Good luck on the contest!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to SinisterlySweet [2008-08-14 01:06:46 +0000 UTC]
Yeah, I can be serious when I want to be.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
BlakerOats In reply to ??? [2008-08-13 23:24:49 +0000 UTC]
Well this is different!
Good luck in the contest.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Bug-Off In reply to BlakerOats [2008-08-14 01:06:17 +0000 UTC]
Yes, I wanted this picture to be a little more serious than my current submissions. And just a little stylistic too.
Thank you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
<= Prev |