Moved in! We are almost fully installed in our new apartment. We are missing a few pieces of furniture and accessories here and there, but everything is in order. We fixed pur internet and phone problems so now I should be able to update weekly! Final Fantasy Tactics A2 has been finished at long last, and I'm playing around in Rondo Of Swords. I'll probably put it aside when I get my hands on DQIV, though. Baldur's Gate is being a lot of fun; I'm about to enter the city, now!

For your viewing pleasure this week, a one-on-one battle between very small Link and very large Ganon. Comparing sizes might lead you to believe the fight is unfair, but obviously, Ganon looks like he's not that bright. Mathieu's stylized character designs along with his simple background layout give the piece a cartoony look while the moonlit atmosphere retains the epicness necessary for the depiction of such a glorious battle. Composition-wise the action is pretty much centered, but the background might help your eye navigate through the picture. First, notice how it is separated into three stages. The upper stage is darker, the lower stage is brighter and the middle one is kind of in-between. Next, the wavy parts give an impression of movement, as if Ganon had moved a lot of dust with his huge feet. Don't be fooled by the cartoony style and the lack of textures: Versus Ganon has a lot to show.

Another piece from Boum this week. Confusinbg Melody is, to put it simply, a portrait of Magus from Chrono Trigger. There's a lot of Chrono Trigger fan art out there, but most of the time the graphic style is consistent with the characters' original style. In this picture, though, you get another view of the Prophet. Boum didn't aim for complex colors and textures, but the shading does its job well in adding depth to the picture. Magus' scarf, if I may call it that, looks thick and heavy. The eyes give the character a snobbish look. They make you feel like Magus is overlooking you. I think this part remains true of him, at least. The pink framing I think is audacious but works very well. A great portrait.

We see game cameos and cross-overs all the time, but what about a style cross-over? Ok, that's been explored before too, but Dice's experiment is interesting nonetheless. The title says it all. It's FFXIII's Lightning pictured as if she was part of FFTA2's cast. Does it work? Yes, and it sure does look good. In this picture, let your eyes explore the small details in the character's outfit because details are abundent in there. This is surely a nice idea and Dice has reached her goal with this one.

Our black and white submission for this week features Zidane from Final Fantasy IX. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but I like sketchy pictures. The movement and spontaneity in the lines just catch my eye. The pose lends itself well to the upbeat and rebel personality of the character, because as we know, people who sit like that on a chair are rebels. Composition seems a bit awkward to me. Normally, you'd place the character on the oposite side of where they're looking at. In this case, Zidane would be on the right side since he's looking to the left. Why that? Well because the sight of the character will often lead your own eyes in the picture. In this example, the eyes will lead you... straight outside of the frame. It also makes the other side of the picture to feel empty and unused. It can be used for effect, though. For example, if Zidane had lost his tail during the plot of the game (I'm not sure, you'll have to play the game for yourself to know if he does) then such a composition would foreshadow the tail-losing. If you use a similar composition with an old man, it might express the fact that he has most of his life behind him.

Last picture is Lightningbarer's Legacy of the Heroes - Aeris. The prominent character is, of course, Aeris. She is taking one of her trademark poses. She looks innocent enough, but watch out for that huge staff. I like how the lifestream-like threads are binding the characters together. The whole picture makes for a nice logo. Notice how the green circle gets thinner around Aeris' head? Well I can't imagine the piece without that detail because I feel it helps balancing the top and bottom parts, the font at the top being slightly bigger.

And this is it for this week. I promised something new for this week, but unfortunately it will have to wait until the next update. With the moving and the lack of internet access it has been a lot harder than planned to work on the column. I hope it goes better this time around. One thing I did manage to do before moving is update the fan art image archive, so whenever you feel you do not get enough fan art, just browse for your favorite game or artist and feast your eyes! Also, send in some new fan art my way.

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