ancient.html
Created December 30, 2001
This page is ©2001 to Barton Smith
All images are tm to Barton Smith
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Ancient Images
Most artists hide their earliest artistic endeavours away from the world, but not me! Oh no -- I'm willing to share some of my earliest embarrasments with the world! Well, okay, I don't have *all* my old stuff here, but I offer a sampling of some of my favourite images and characters from the past several years. It's also an opportunity for folks to look at how my style has evolved and improved since I started. (I only use the word "improve" because I've had several actual artists use it in context with my work, and I'm more than happy to take them at their word!) Let's get started...
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Sonarr Debuts (December 1988)
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My first ever character sketch of Deborah Phillips, aka Sonarr! Heavily inspired and influenced by the Ninja High School graphic novel a college friend lent me, I sat down during Christmas Break that year, and freehanded this sketch, based on the style then utilized by Ben Dunn. This is also the first time I drew her uniform, which I'd later use as a template for the uniforms of other characters.
The flaws are obvious (as they are in all these old pics), the patch on her shoulder is irrelevant, and please don't let the dates on this image fool you: it really *was* drawn in 1988!
Deborah Phillips (Sonarr) ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Sonarr Debuts (Flip Side) (December 1988)
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Yup, Sonarr's back. I wanted to see what the rest of her uniform looked like. :) (Yes, all I did was trace the original image, flip it over, and sketch in the rest.)
Deborah Phillips (Sonarr) ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Joy of Flight (Summer 1992)
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Blue Rocket was one of the first original characters I created, and *the* first that I drew, both in 1986 or so. This isn't that first art attempt, but another that I drew on lined notebook paper in 1992. I edited out the lines after I scanned it not too long ago. Again, please ignore the dates.
Blue Rocket ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Danae (December 1992)
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I created Danae to be a comedy relief/sidekick/pain-in-the-ass for Portal. She's a sort of artificial construct faerie character that's only four inches high.
Danae ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Asrial & Gina (December 1993)
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Late in 1993, I discovered Fred Perry's Gold Digger comic series. Instant addiction! I also learned that I could mimic his style, with limited success, and started applying it to my own characters as well as trying to draw his. This was one of my first attempts at fan art.
Asrial ©2001 Ben Dunn; Gina Diggers ©2001 Fred Perry; art ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Cowgirl Asrial (December 1993)
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Another fan art sketch, and I think I did a better job at it. I meant to send it to Ben Dunn himself, but never got around to it. Maybe I will someday anyway...
Asrial ©2001; Ben Dunn; art ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Jinx (May 1995)
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A character study, and an attempt to draw a character from behind. The subject: Jinx, a probability bender and inadvertant troublemaker.
Jinx ©2001 Bart Smith.
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T-Shirt Pose (Summer 1995)
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In 1995, I was dead serious about making a line of t-shirts, and was *so* sure that they would sell. I sat down and sketched Sonarr on a large sheet of bristol board, and inked it, and had a friend scan it and save it to a floppy disk. Then I went in on a paint program to colour it. Pixel. By. Pixel. Then, I realized that I would never be able to afford it so I abandoned the project altogether The End!
Sonarr ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Wargames? (Summer 1995)
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A fan pic of Gina Diggers -- a computer's eye view. This one's unfinished, in that I never completed colouring in the words on the screen. Maybe I'll do that someday...
Gina Diggers ©2001 Fred Perry; art ©2001 Bart Smith.
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Wyzrd's Workshop (Summer 1995)
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Sonarr, doing the MUD wizard thing. The little flying sphere in the lower right of the picture was going to be more intricate. Also note the Bungee Bear poster and the hidden Rambug, courtesy Scott Holmes. :)
Sonarr ©2001 Bart Smith; Bungee Bear and Rambug ©2001 Scott Holmes
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