Hello dear readers! I'm terribly sorry for having neglected you for so long. It's been already 2 months since my last update, and I sure hope the next one will not take as long. I'd like to blame this on all sorts of things, but really, I can only blame myself. So, for now, let's just have a close look at this week's art!

Featured this week is a piece from Boum, who gives us her interpretation of the introduction scene from Final Fantasy VI. She has chosen to use the game's version of the magitek armor rather than the often confusing-looking Amano version. There's a lot of movement here, especially in the snowflakes creating a swirl around the character. If I'm not mistaken, this picture is neither strictly black and white or shades of grey; it actually has black, white and what seems to be 50% grey. Very good work!

TomR never disappoints, and I know his work is very much appreciated here, so I'm happy to bring you the latest piece he sent my way. This time, have a good look at Aya Brea from the Parasite Eve franchise. The style is in continuation with his previous work, the harsh lines and solid colors included. One can clearly see and feel the brush strokes, which is in no way a bad thing. The background has me a bit confused, but I must admit I haven't played the games.

Next is Shigeru's Tales of the Abyss piece, showing Jade in front of a storm, invoking some kind of power I do not know of, never having played the game. Anyway, I'm loving the foreshortened hand with the glow and really good perspective. the lighting on the face is also very interesting but could have been accentuated with an overall darker image. My biggest concern here is the sky. What should be clouds with lightning actually looks to me as being a planet or any other spherical object. I've been questioning myself as to why I get that feeling, and I'm still unsure. I think it wouldn't look that way if the clouds followed the horizon line.

Finally, we're going to have a look at Junior Mclean's two Tifa pieces. The first one features her in a costume that is very much like her original design from the first game in the Final Fantasy VII series. Her face looks a bit rounder than I would imagine Tifa to look like, but other than that I think this is quite close. The second picture has her standing in a temple, but this time she's wearing a totally different outfit.

In the comics, the story continues with Locke as he treasure hunts a merchant's house and almost leaves unnoticed. Almost. Here, Orinocou takes a lot of freedom in the narrative to make the comic more interesting to read, as this part of the game is more about exploration rather than story. What will Locke use his new outfit for? Discover this, and more, in next week's Comic Corner!

And this rounds up this week's update. Thankfully there was a lot to look at, and there are even left-overs for next time. This shouldn't stop you artists to send in more work, though, so get your pencils and brushes and send some submissions my way! Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

Maxime Viventi