FSNS: By The Stairs

We hit the fringes of 28 and Ray decides that both of us need to bunk down somewhere. Sector 28 is abandoned, even worse than 27 and as we plod by, all of the steel-reinforced and gated buildings stare down at us. The streets are empty, scattered with bits and pieces of paper and trash, and all the street lights burn cold and fierce. A few are shattered or dead, bulbs burnt out or broken. I shiver and Ray hauls me closer, careful not to apply too much pressure at my shoulder. I’m exhausted, an utter mess, and it’s as if the two shots didn’t miss but struck and blew my kneecaps out, leaving me with stumps to crawl on. I’m unsteady and we nearly trip; Ray curses, regaining our unified balance and we hobble along. The blood on my face has long since dried but the bruises from the batons and the kicks smart. My stomach churns and the graze wounds sting. My shoulder aches and throbs; my arm is limp. I’m fortunate it’s not broken. Last time, I didn’t have the same kind of luck.

It’s an empty apartment complex that we stop at – the kind with heavily reinforced doors and a flight of concrete stairs leading to other residences. We make it through the entrance and Ray lets the door grind itself to a close with all its squeaks and whines. When it shuts with a resounding clunk, he turns around and slowly releases me. My knee hits the stairs, scrapes off, and my left arm flops beside me. My other arm supports me, allowing me to lower myself gently onto the steps. He’s right beside me, cradling my back so I don’t fall on my face and eventually I lie down with concrete in my back and the air stale in my mouth. I want to sleep but I don’t. There’s no need to give him a major scare. I still remember when my eyes closed the last time and how he yelled, then.

- Excerpt from my rough draft of 'Four Stars, No Stripes', Chapter 1
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I got Tsutomu Nihei's manga series "Biomega" a few days ago and after studying both it and "Abara" back to back, I decided that I wanted to give his style a shot. So since I'm also experimenting with black and white and gray in conjunction with American comic book style, I fused the two.

One of my interests now is understanding and getting down the drawing of interiors, especially with perspective. The other difficulty is placing people in the background so that they match. This drawing tackles both.

For 2009, this is going to be one of the areas I'll be working on until I master it to a workable degree.

~Drawn in Open Canvas 4.5e~