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Description
Alright! Three out of four Iowas are done! Here are New Jersey and Missouri; Wisconsin is still in the works, but stay tuned, because she should be finished fairly soon!

Design Notes - New Jersey:
-New Jersey’s actually responsible for the dragon motif she shares with her sisters! One of her various nicknames is “Black Dragon,” so I took that and ran with it, and now they’re all slightly draconic! Because she’s the one with the nickname, she has bigger, more dramatic horns than her sisters, plus a smaller pair protruding from her jawbone as well.
-Her design features more black than her sisters; this is also because of that nickname. However, she still has a fair amount of gray, and like Iowa she features predominantly cool colors, including blue eyes and slate-gray hair.
-The sleeves of her jacket feature the 19 battle stars she earned during her career! The right side, which is visible here, has 10, while the left has the other 9 but isn’t visible here.
-The dog tag she’s wearing says “BB 62” on it!
-I’m honestly not entirely sure what inspired me to go with a punk look for her; the first concept I drew for her was a doodle of her head I made on my biostatistics notes last year, and she had that hairstyle (to show off the face horns) and I just really liked it, so I think that style influenced the rest of her design.
-Like Iowa, she wears a button-down shirt, fingerless gloves, and combat boots, but she has ripped jeans and a warm coat instead of her older sister’s cropped jacket and generic slim-fitting black pants.
-Her skin is more pale than her sisters (this is especially notable next to Missouri and her deep tan). This is because she lives in a colder, cloudier place than the others and doesn’t get as much sun, so she only has her natural melanin. In this picture it currently appears kind of yellow, which is odd since I used the same two colored pencils for her skin as I did for Missouri, but at some point I’ll take a new picture with better lighting.
-Obviously it’s not a visual thing but I imagine her as having the strongest New Jersey accent imaginable. Between her name, her place of construction, and her current residence it seems like the only proper choice.

Personality - New Jersey:
New Jersey is a good-natured, hardworking ship who’s always eager to lend a helping hand or charge headlong into battle. She’s willing to take on almost any task; as long as she’s doing something, she’s happy. She gets bored fairly easily, which is not an ideal trait for a museum ship, so she prefers to stay busy - thankfully, even things as simple as watching clouds or people is enough to keep her occupied.
For a warship, New Jersey is surprisingly friendly and outgoing. She’s talkative, excitable, and generally very warm, willing to chat up anyone she’s not supposed to be fighting - but that friendliness belies a fierce spirit. Friendly as she may be, New Jersey is America’s most decorated battleship for a reason, and when she puts her incredible firepower to use you’d better hope you’re not her target.

Design Notes - Missouri:
-Unlike her sisters, Missouri has curled horns like those of a ram. This is entirely for the aesthetic, and so she can drape flowers on them more easily, as seen in this drawing. The flowers here are plumerias (known as melia in Hawaiian), which originate in Central America but are strongly associated with Hawai’i, where Missouri resides as a museum ship. There are also (poorly-drawn) plumerias printed on her shirt to match.
-She has a warmer color scheme than her older sisters. Wisconsin will also feature warm colors as opposed to cool ones.
-Her shoes are red to match her shirt. I also considered making them black or gray, but red seemed like the right choice so I went with that. The little Converse-inspired badges on them say 63, which is her hull number. I actually considered giving her sandals, but ultimately I decided on these as I thought they suited her better. Presumably they have better traction than real-life Converse do - that would be a bit of a problem otherwise!
-Her overall aesthetic is meant to evoke her residence; the aloha shirt in particular is rather on-the-nose, but since it’s a commonly-worn garment in Hawai’i it seemed like the right choice. The pattern matching on it is perfect - almost as good as what my mom can do in real life.
-Her #3 gun reveals that the numbers are printed on both sides! This is the case for her sisters as well.
-Like her sisters, she wears fingerless gloves; hers are black like New Jersey’s instead of the dark brown seen on Iowa.
-She’s supposed to have abs, but I couldn’t figure out how to draw them, so they’re represented only by a couple faint lines.
-There’s no cool gray in her hair like Iowa and New Jersey have; this is because it would look a little out-of-place with her warmer colors.

Personality - Missouri:
Bold, outgoing, chatty, dramatic, prideful - any of those words could easily describe Missouri. She’s the friendliest ship in her class; although she can be a truly formidable foe, most of the time she’s content to just relax and strike up a conversation with anyone who’ll respond. She particularly loves talking about how she was in a movie once, but she’s always glad to discuss her numerous other adventures as well. Despite the guns hanging from her belt, Missouri is distinctly approachable, and her playful streak and flair for the dramatic only make her seem that much more friendly.
Anyone who mistakes her kindness and levity for weakness, however, is in for a nasty surprise if they try to mess with her, for she’s no less of a fighter than her sisters. As much as she enjoys joking around and making friends, she takes her duties - be they combat or ceremonial - very seriously; she’s especially dedicated to her role as the guardian of Pearl Harbor, and she won’t hesitate to threaten or even fight anyone who dares make a joke about the day that lives in infamy.

Big J and Mighty Mo are some of the strongest, most advanced battleships ever. Here’s more info on them!

USS New Jersey
USS Missouri
Virtual Tour of Battleship New Jersey
Frequently Asked Questions Aboard the Missouri
USS New Jersey (BB-62), Battleship of the Iowa Class
Missouri (BB 63)

Description
Alright! Three out of four Iowas are done! Here are New Jersey and Missouri; Wisconsin is still in the works, but stay tuned, because she should be finished fairly soon!

Design Notes - New Jersey:
-New Jersey’s actually responsible for the dragon motif she shares with her sisters! One of her various nicknames is “Black Dragon,” so I took that and ran with it, and now they’re all slightly draconic! Because she’s the one with the nickname, she has bigger, more dramatic horns than her sisters, plus a smaller pair protruding from her jawbone as well.
-Her design features more black than her sisters; this is also because of that nickname. However, she still has a fair amount of gray, and like Iowa she features predominantly cool colors, including blue eyes and slate-gray hair.
-The sleeves of her jacket feature the 19 battle stars she earned during her career! The right side, which is visible here, has 10, while the left has the other 9 but isn’t visible here.
-The dog tag she’s wearing says “BB 62” on it!
-I’m honestly not entirely sure what inspired me to go with a punk look for her; the first concept I drew for her was a doodle of her head I made on my biostatistics notes last year, and she had that hairstyle (to show off the face horns) and I just really liked it, so I think that style influenced the rest of her design.
-Like Iowa, she wears a button-down shirt, fingerless gloves, and combat boots, but she has ripped jeans and a warm coat instead of her older sister’s cropped jacket and generic slim-fitting black pants.
-Her skin is more pale than her sisters (this is especially notable next to Missouri and her deep tan). This is because she lives in a colder, cloudier place than the others and doesn’t get as much sun, so she only has her natural melanin. In this picture it currently appears kind of yellow, which is odd since I used the same two colored pencils for her skin as I did for Missouri, but at some point I’ll take a new picture with better lighting.
-Obviously it’s not a visual thing but I imagine her as having the strongest New Jersey accent imaginable. Between her name, her place of construction, and her current residence it seems like the only proper choice.

Personality - New Jersey:
New Jersey is a good-natured, hardworking ship who’s always eager to lend a helping hand or charge headlong into battle. She’s willing to take on almost any task; as long as she’s doing something, she’s happy. She gets bored fairly easily, which is not an ideal trait for a museum ship, so she prefers to stay busy - thankfully, even things as simple as watching clouds or people is enough to keep her occupied.
For a warship, New Jersey is surprisingly friendly and outgoing. She’s talkative, excitable, and generally very warm, willing to chat up anyone she’s not supposed to be fighting - but that friendliness belies a fierce spirit. Friendly as she may be, New Jersey is America’s most decorated battleship for a reason, and when she puts her incredible firepower to use you’d better hope you’re not her target.

Design Notes - Missouri:
-Unlike her sisters, Missouri has curled horns like those of a ram. This is entirely for the aesthetic, and so she can drape flowers on them more easily, as seen in this drawing. The flowers here are plumerias (known as melia in Hawaiian), which originate in Central America but are strongly associated with Hawai’i, where Missouri resides as a museum ship. There are also (poorly-drawn) plumerias printed on her shirt to match.
-She has a warmer color scheme than her older sisters. Wisconsin will also feature warm colors as opposed to cool ones.
-Her shoes are red to match her shirt. I also considered making them black or gray, but red seemed like the right choice so I went with that. The little Converse-inspired badges on them say 63, which is her hull number. I actually considered giving her sandals, but ultimately I decided on these as I thought they suited her better. Presumably they have better traction than real-life Converse do - that would be a bit of a problem otherwise!
-Her overall aesthetic is meant to evoke her residence; the aloha shirt in particular is rather on-the-nose, but since it’s a commonly-worn garment in Hawai’i it seemed like the right choice. The pattern matching on it is perfect - almost as good as what my mom can do in real life.
-Her #3 gun reveals that the numbers are printed on both sides! This is the case for her sisters as well.
-Like her sisters, she wears fingerless gloves; hers are black like New Jersey’s instead of the dark brown seen on Iowa.
-She’s supposed to have abs, but I couldn’t figure out how to draw them, so they’re represented only by a couple faint lines.
-There’s no cool gray in her hair like Iowa and New Jersey have; this is because it would look a little out-of-place with her warmer colors.

Personality - Missouri:
Bold, outgoing, chatty, dramatic, prideful - any of those words could easily describe Missouri. She’s the friendliest ship in her class; although she can be a truly formidable foe, most of the time she’s content to just relax and strike up a conversation with anyone who’ll respond. She particularly loves talking about how she was in a movie once, but she’s always glad to discuss her numerous other adventures as well. Despite the guns hanging from her belt, Missouri is distinctly approachable, and her playful streak and flair for the dramatic only make her seem that much more friendly.
Anyone who mistakes her kindness and levity for weakness, however, is in for a nasty surprise if they try to mess with her, for she’s no less of a fighter than her sisters. As much as she enjoys joking around and making friends, she takes her duties - be they combat or ceremonial - very seriously; she’s especially dedicated to her role as the guardian of Pearl Harbor, and she won’t hesitate to threaten or even fight anyone who dares make a joke about the day that lives in infamy.

Big J and Mighty Mo are some of the strongest, most advanced battleships ever. Here’s more info on them!

USS New Jersey
USS Missouri
Virtual Tour of Battleship New Jersey
Frequently Asked Questions Aboard the Missouri
USS New Jersey (BB-62), Battleship of the Iowa Class
Missouri (BB 63)