So, what better than a totally self-indulgent trip down Memory Lane, with associated visual aids! Apologies for the wankery that follows. I've included the avatars the art was based on, where available, and the images are in approximate chronological order.
First Gaia Online avatar art ever. This was back while my account was still called Zahir al-Shihab. I changed it because I'm lazy, and typing it in was a chore. domokun Hadn't got a Nitemare Scarf yet, that only appeared in March 04 when I sold a shitload of donation letters. The flamepants are already in evidence, however. cool
Meanwhile, shoddy anatomy and incongruous shading. And total failure at drawing fire effects. xd
Obviously attempting quasi-realistic shading wasn't working, so cel-shading ahoy! Anatomy's still pretty funky, though.
As a little confession, I didn't actually watch much anime. I still haven't. So this attempt at a sort of vaaaguely anime-type style is... kind of weird. Noses are for the weak, obviously.
This was during the days of the Newb Infodump, a document I copy-pasted into misplaced threads in GD in a (possibly misguided) attempt to forestall any flaming of said thread. Didn't often work, alas. This is still one of my favourite Zahir pics. I just like the pose.
Random ninja-ness when the Steel-plated Ninja Band and Kitsune Mask got released. Cool. And by cool I mean totally sweet.
Celebrating my managing to catch enough trout for a hat. This must've been fairly soon after Fishing was released.
Attempting a kind of sexy-bishounen type look. Failed miserably, despite toned physique and gratuitous crotch-bulge. Nowhere near girly enough to be proper bishounen. xd
Banner while questing for enough old tin cans to get a Tin Hat.
Banner while questing for a Devil Tail.
Big gap here. Pretty much in a year-long art slump with regards to Gaia arts. Pretty much nothin' for the whole of 2006, which is kind of lame. So the next piece I have is also the newest.
And that's about it. Zahir from soon after starting on Gaia through to the present day. Hope it's been at least slightly interesting.
If any of you have similar visual journeys through time, feel free to post 'em. It's always interesting to see people's drawings change and evolve over time. 3nodding
