This one was started sometime last year I believe. I wrote about once before, but it actually is based on a bible verse. I'm not sure which one, but he had a list of a few key elements/images that need to be represented (I think it was sword, armor, serpent, helmet, and shield). His idea was pretty neat, to interpret a biblical passage as a piece of Asian inspired art...why not?
He mentioned a samurai at first, but I wasn't really clicking with that off the bat. Even though so much of this tattoo stuff is make believe and fantasy, a samurai just would have never battled a snake (at least not one that big). I decided to model the main figure after one of the Suikoden bandits (as depicted by Kuniyoshi). The thinking was this:
They are warriors that are often shown wearing helmets and armor, so check on that. And since the story is pure fantasy, there are times when the protagonists fight giant creatures of various sorts, so check on that as well. Also the shield was a big sticking point. There had to be a shield in the composition, but the samurai didn't use shields (ever the consummate bad asses, they had to keep both hands free for two swords, a bow, or spear), so that wouldn't have worked. But as the Suikoden warriors are originally from China, there were shields used (and depicted in the prints). I didn't love the idea of having it be a main focal point, so you can just see it poking out from behind his back, but it is there...
Seems like there are usually at least several months between each session, but it's coming together just fine and we're having a good time...
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