9.02.2011

Archive #7: Battalia

When I wasn't even looking for it, I found a hard copy version of a logo I designed back in '95 for a comic book character that I was roughing out then named Battalia (bat-al-ee-yah). I can't remember the last time I actually looked at it. I was fairly certain that the image was saved to a floppy disk stored on a shelf, but who has a floppy drive anymore?

After rediscovering the logo, I was promptly saddled with the grand idea of finally collecting the synopsis and a short story that I wrote back then with the half-dozen Battalia sketches that were made into a little booklet known in the comic book industry an ashcan.

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Unfortunately, though, reality quickly set in and I found myself mentally wrestling against putting so much effort into a 15-year-old idea that I had no real plans to use. Battalia was a product of another time, and a phase that I was going through at that time.

When Battalia was created, I was a student trying to find my creative path. Her creation didn't even have anything to do with the instruction I was receiving at that time, but grew out of the interactions that I was having with other artist friends, both in and around that environment.

She represented a possible way for me to synthesize where I was creatively–a chance to fuse my appreciation for science fiction, animation, comics, art deco, art nouveau and the new design world that was opening up to me as a student. Battalia was a really good idea, but maybe she was nothing more than that.

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Had I much more skill (and patience) as an illustrator, it's possible that the project would have gone a lot further. Despite my limitations, I find that I am still quite happy with the images that I managed to get down onto paper. And for the ideas that she gave me the opportunity to channel, the beautiful Battalia still means a great deal to me. Maybe she and I will meet again before the year I set her adventures in: 2039.

Click image to enlarge

2 comments:

GALAGALJenelle said...

Super fun! Like being time-warp transported to a little white/green studio on Dobson.

Anonymous said...

I remember her. Been looking all over the web for you Big G. I had done a few sketches of her as well. Dolmen, the city-state where she lives and dispenses justice. One fave fast sketch I did of her years ago after we met was her exiting Tech Noir.