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RanmaCMH In reply to Xhalax [2014-08-21 06:43:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!  I am never getting over this origin!!

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Xhalax In reply to RanmaCMH [2014-09-10 15:44:47 +0000 UTC]

Me neither. :S

Can't wait for Inquisition to see how my Lady Cousland's story finally plays out.

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RanmaCMH In reply to Cortina2 [2014-08-07 04:45:25 +0000 UTC]

Aw thanks, it's one of my favorites still.

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RanmaCMH In reply to mivpus [2014-07-31 19:58:09 +0000 UTC]

I wouldn't worry about your mortality, just focus on practicing and learning!  I'm actually feeling a little rusty because I've been out of art school for almost two years now.  I need to sign up for a life drawing class before mah skillz fall apart. 

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RanmaCMH In reply to CHUDOVISHTE [2014-07-16 08:27:59 +0000 UTC]

My first character was an elf mage, and I really did enjoy that origin and play through. (I was so new to the whole bioware experience, I don't think I'll ever forget how wrapped up in it I got) but the Noble origin feels like such an EPIC.  Auuugh.  My heart belongs to my Cousland.  I will scream if she shows up in Inquisition.

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CHUDOVISHTE In reply to RanmaCMH [2014-08-23 12:12:04 +0000 UTC]

My first, and favourite, Warden was a Cousland. I cried through that origin and it'll always be my favourite story. After that I played every single origin and nothing else made me feel so much.

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RanmaCMH In reply to CHUDOVISHTE [2014-08-25 07:44:05 +0000 UTC]

My first play through was with an elf mage.  I have a few drawings and a cute little comic I'm going to post with her when the time is right.  But the mage origin didn't have the emotional punch that the Noble origin had, and the more I thought about it the more I fell in love with the drama and the character arc and oh my freaking heart.  

I kind of ended up combining my emotional reaction of my first time playing with my Cousland play through for my drawings.  It was also my first Bioware game, so I was kind of aware that you had romance options but I didn't know what I was in for.  Bioware you diabolical bastards.

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RanmaCMH In reply to Midnightrose247 [2014-07-12 05:46:50 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much!

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RanmaCMH In reply to Wild-Aegis [2014-07-07 08:30:03 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for your wonderful comment.  This piece in particular was inspired by a mother and child I saw together, and I immediately felt the need to capture that closeness and comfort that parents and their young children have together.  It's amazing how different work is when you're in the throes of inspiration versus when you are pushing yourself through a dry spell.  

I am hoping that DA:I does inspire me!  I can't wait to play.  I've already seen a surprising amount of fan art for a game that hasn't even been released!  I am the type that needs to go through the story myself though, and then relate my experience through my drawings.  I have some DA2 art as well but it's a little more … cheeky and bitter. XD

Though I did think of a really funny Fenris comic that I kind of want to do...

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Wild-Aegis In reply to RanmaCMH [2014-07-09 16:15:20 +0000 UTC]

I'm terribly jealous of all the DA fan artists like yourself that are able to tell even more stories about their Wardens with their drawings. I've been trying to draw my own for ages, but I've never been able to capture them the way I see them in my head, though your work has inspired me to give it another shot.

I certainly understand what you mean about DA2. For me it wasn't just a matter of the game's technical flaws, plot, or characters. Somehow I was never able to feel as connected with Hawke's story as I was with my Wardens despite it being pitched as a more personal narrative.

I played through it again a while back and I did see the potential for what it could have been with perhaps another year of development, but if there's one good thing that came of it, it's Varric! In my playthroughs he was male Hawke's best friend and confidant and the only man worthy of female Hawke's affection, which sadly went unrequited. Aveline and Bethany were cool too. With that said, I'd love to see the Fenris comics you were thinking about drawing. In my first playthrough there was a glitch that prevented his Act 2 personal quest from triggering so even though I got his friendship level fairly high by the Act three climax he still turned on me. At the time I just assumed that’s how it would play out as a result of siding with the mages. I didn’t lose any sleep over losing him… or Anders, until I realized I didn’t have a proper healer for the final battle!

I do have a lot of hope for DA:I, but unfortunately I probably won't get to play it for a long time because I use a 4 year old laptop which I don’t think will be able to handle the new Frostbite 3 engine without having a nervous breakdown and then exploding.

Anyway, I apologize for rambling but I’m a huge DA and ME fan, and being able to chat with someone that was also a fan and didn’t immediately dismiss all video games as a waste of time has been something I’ve been missing out on.

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RanmaCMH In reply to Wild-Aegis [2014-07-12 08:12:48 +0000 UTC]

I'm honored that my work is inspiring you to tell your story!  If it makes you feel any better, half the time (more than half) what I'm drawing isn't capturing whats in my head either.  I always looking at all the artists that inspire me that are so much better than me and seem to capture their characters so effortlessly.  Some drawings come easily and some I practically erase the paper away before I just give up and call it a day.  But I know that when it comes to any skill it's always about the time spent practicing and learning and bettering yourself, even if what you're doing isn't quite what you see in your head.  If you do that and you're open to constructive criticism eventually you get a lot closer to what you were trying to make.

One of the things about DA:2 that caught me off was the difference in choosing the dialogue.  DA was my first Bioware game and my first exposure to how they design their RPG's.  I hadn't played Mass Effect, I didn't know it was "missing" a character voice or anything like that.  So when my Hawke started speaking for me, and saying things that I hadn't *quite* chosen I felt a bit put out by it.  I think that was a huge reason that I could "inhabit" my warden but not my Hawke.  I remember being so mad during a scene where Merrill was upset because another elf had run away from her terrified, and the option I picked was something along the lines of "Why did he react that way?"  I really thought I was asking that with concern.  It ended up being more like "It's your fault, why do you think he ran??" kind of an angry accusatory statement.  (On top of that, Anders McDouchemage had to jump all over her too)  basically it was literally the exact opposite of what I wanted to pick and I felt kind of betrayed by the game.  I didn't really have that happen in DA.  Sometimes I was surprised by how a statement came across (Like when I picked the "Do you have a family?" question when talking to Teagan with my noble.  I didn't know that was a flirting question!  I was just curious!) but that came across as naive and awkward and ended up being sort of adorable and funny.  (I may draw that scene as well)

But yes, I do love Varric.  SO much.  Not even in a romanceable way (though out of the male options I would have definitely preferred him) I just loved that friendship.  What a great, FUN character.  I even grew to really like Aveline and I always thought Merrill was a cutie.  I think I would have enjoyed Isabella more (not that I didn't like her) but I somehow managed to mess up getting enough approval for her to stay, so she took off.  But the combination of Anders/Fenris/and CARVER… auuuuuugh.  So my Fenris comics will express my hilarious rage when interacting with them.  I kind of want to illustrate the awful "I'm choosing the Anders romance but I'm not enjoying it" story I had to deal with but I don't want it to come off rapey.  Haha.  Though I was surprised that somehow, in the end, Fenris and Carver decided to side with me.  I really didn't see that coming.  I must have done something right.  

Annnnd I think it's time to end my rambling.  I do enjoy chatting about games though!  I think video games, and especially these kinds, are an amazing story telling medium!  I would challenge anyone who dismisses them to compare them to books and film if they want to feel superior about it.

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RanmaCMH In reply to DeepWoodian [2014-07-03 21:08:57 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!  I keep getting ideas for more pictures like this, the more time I spend with my daughter.  There are all these wonderful little moments that make you fall in love with your babies.

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RanmaCMH In reply to LucyEden89 [2013-12-30 03:22:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!  <3

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RanmaCMH In reply to KatsumiA [2013-12-28 23:09:31 +0000 UTC]

This picture is extra special for me because I was drawing it at the same time we found out we were having a daughter.  It will never not be a picture of my little girl and husband in my mind too.  

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RanmaCMH In reply to artst04 [2013-10-26 08:10:23 +0000 UTC]

Dads always make good pillows, with or without bellies.

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artst04 In reply to RanmaCMH [2013-10-26 12:42:45 +0000 UTC]

<3

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RanmaCMH In reply to Bakoneko [2013-09-27 06:43:52 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!  I'm glad the little one came out so well… babies are hard to draw. lol.

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RanmaCMH In reply to CthuLuna [2013-09-17 23:15:41 +0000 UTC]

It would be interesting to see him side by side with Crowe's fatherly Jor-El from Man of Steel.  I can see the comparison.  

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RanmaCMH In reply to EliseArainai [2013-09-11 02:54:37 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thank you on both!

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RanmaCMH In reply to Temerice [2013-09-07 18:21:40 +0000 UTC]

He's such a protective daddy too.  I love that it doesn't seem to stop him from being an effective Teyrn though.  I notice they do that in Disney movies a lot… can't find a balance.  Either overzealous and mean-ish (Triton, the Darling father… there's probably more but just off the top of my head…) or the ineffective squishy lovable father (The sultan in Aladdin) but Bryce is just a good man.

And thank you!  It's starting to get real over here… almost in my third trimester… holy crap...

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RanmaCMH In reply to KatieAlex [2013-09-01 17:08:43 +0000 UTC]

Thank you much.

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RanmaCMH In reply to Rana-E [2013-08-27 00:11:06 +0000 UTC]

Bryce loves his baby girl.  You can totally tell just from the way he talks about her in the Cousland origin.  :3

Thank you for the sweet compliment.  

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RanmaCMH In reply to Taerietari [2013-08-12 04:49:27 +0000 UTC]

I just appreciate a good father figure in games or shows because it's so common to have terrible ones.  I love Bioware for having the variety that they do.  Now that I think about it the city elf origin has a pretty great father in it too.  

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