Concept Work II

by **Martini Elwood** on January 19th, 2019, 12:44 am

7th, Winter, 518AV
Martini's Apartment, Solar Winds

Martini woke the morning of and practically danced out of bed. She was feeling great about todays job - something she usual did but with less excitement. Not to be misunderstood, she enjoyed every part of her job save for the negotiation and haggling. She combed her hair and wrapped in a neat little bun as she went about getting read for the client to arrive. Hinma - the scar littered Shinya - was to due here in a bell or so according to the light, possibly sooner. Martini had washed her face silently, brushed her teeth, and dressed in timely fashion. Now that she thought about it- her apartment wasn’t the best for comfort when modeling.

She had a few chairs but she was confident Hinma would want to stand being the headstrong woman she was. She pushed the Dracnea plant against the wall her bed was aligned with and picked up the loose papers to put them into her chest. It wasn’t a huge cleaning, no - it was just for appearance. Generally she would do some practice sketches as she waited, but she was a little to antsy to sit long enough to warm up. She moved to turn her desk after pushing the chair out of the way. She switched their positions so the chair was against the wall and the desk was in front view of the door.

Perfect. She didn’t have many utensils so she had let Hinma know to bring her own water and possibly snacks as she wasn’t much of a cook either. She fiddled with her fingers as she waited, her mind wandering to the details of the request. The Shinya woman had wanted progress illustrations - whether or not the met again was dependent on Martini’s ability to draw Hinma’s body. It’s like a study, she soothed herself trying not to dwell on how well Hinma could wrap the bindings on her own. She doubted the woman would ask for help…

The brunette exhaled an ceased her fidgeting as she sat on her bed. There were so many artists out their Tain could have chosen for this job and yet out of all of them he’d picked Martini. That had to say something about her skill, didn’t it? She certainly hoped so - the look Tain gave her as he left was bit calculated? Almost as if this was a test for her that he had set up. She thumped her foot against the floor slowly as she let her thoughts consume her. A knock on her apartment shot her nerves through the roof. She seemed static for a few moments before she scrambled to the door, almost tripping in the process. Undoing the lock and partly opening the door to peer through the crack, Martini inhaled, exhaled and opened the door with a smile.

“Welcome Hinma. Please, come in and make yourself at home.” Martini briefly registered how stiff that sounded, but Hinma didn’t question it and instead smiled down at her. The brunette took notice that Hinma’s hair was a bit shorter today, and her blouse and trousers were really baggy. She had a rucksack slung over her left shoulder and it seemed to be filled with quite a bit. She let Hinma step in and closed the door for their privacy. The scarred woman seemed oblivious to the lack of decoration - maybe she even appreciated the barrenness.

“I was unable to find any wraps. I hope my undergarments will suffice?” Martini inclined her head a yes slipping from her lips as she averted her gaze bashfully. She took Hinma’s bag and placed it on her bed, but just as she turned the scarred woman began to discard clothing and Martini whipped around to give Hinma her back for some decency. Hinma chuckled at this having caught a glance form the corner of her eyes. “Your realize it’s silly to look away when you’re going to have to look eventually, yes?”

A barely noticeable scarlet blossomed on her cheeks and Martini made noise of indignation. She wasn’t exactly used to having strangers half dressed in her apartment, it wasn’t something that happened on a daily basis. She slowly and shyly turned back to Hinma, her undergarments were a dark in color and they hugged her waist nicely if Martini wasn’t too shy to look. Hinma’s jet black hair barely touched her neck now, but her skin was littered with scars. There was a particularly concerning large one on the flat of her stomach just below her breast.

“I- I’ll start setting up. Make yourself comfortable.” She hurried over to her chest and took out her sketchbook and a few charcoal sticks. She guided Hinma to stand in front of her desk and set up her workspace. She had just a few ink sticks - she supposed if Hinma liked the result she could ink it. “It’s better if you relax you stance or hang loosely. It’ll help me see all the curves and musculature I possible can. If you get tired call out and we’ll take a break. I’ll try to keep my eyes open for signs of fatigue.”

“I can handle it, just do what you must.” Martini observed Hinam’s facial features for signs of.. Well, anything. When she found nothing concerning she smiled as the Shinya met her gaze. They exchanged a tense silence before Martini nodded and opened her sketchbook to the first blank page. Charcoal between her fingers in a gentle hold began to draw.

by **Martini Elwood** on January 23rd, 2019, 1:39 am

Sketching out faces had always been a starting point for Martini. She done portraits for longest time before moving to landscapes and scenery. Not that was relevant - it was simply one of the many thoughts she had. The faces she’d drawn all had one thing in common - their construction. No matter if the portrait was full body or just a bust drawing everyone seemed to have a circle that made the basis of the head. Martini had since developed enough skill not to need it as long as she eyeballed the object of her drawing.

She shaped faces with little effort these days, and so as she lined Hinma’s face she noticed the curvature and the plumpness of her cheeks that she hadn’t noticed before. She wanted to be as accurate as possible, so she slowly scratched onto the paper - the face a bit more curvy than she intended but it was at least somewhat accurate. She traced over the lines to make it stand out and add very thickness. She could see the slowly but steady intake and release of breath on Hinma’s scarred form.

She hummed as she went lower - Hinma’s chest wasn’t well defined. In fact, she was pretty much flat - probably due to the miniature muscle mass that had built with her training. Her eyes were on the paper again as she slowly defined the large scar just under her breast with furrowed brow. It was such a large, defined scar and her curiosity was becoming havoc on her. Distractions at work were a no, but she supposed conversation couldn’t hurt..?

“Your curious about the scar, aren’t you?” Hinma’s voice cut into her thoughts clearly. Abashed she kept her head down but nodded as she formed the joints of the legs. Hinma hummed thoughtfully but didn’t move over than that. Martini was doing a rough sketch to begin with so not much was a stake. She just needed to see if she could get all the nooks and curves of Hinma’s body on to the page properly. “It’s the reason I joined the Shinya.”

Martini hummed as her eyes once again took in the scarred warriors’ body. She worked the arms onto the page, quick light paper scratches as she formed the outline of the body. She was listing intently though - Hinma’s scar was large and looked especially deadly in it’s location. Once she had the leg outlined with faint musculature that matched what she could see she began detailing the inside of the body.

“I was but a girl born to Sunberth. A city riddled with violence - and yet there were those who sought to stop it.” The ebony had a thoughtful look that seemed almost pained. Martini judged it by the downward tug on her brows. She scratched the charcoal against the paper as she added skin and scars. She made sure to keep the one near her breast for last as it seemed important. “It was a fight that ended badly for the one who injured me thanks to my savior. He payed with his life to save my own.”

“I’m sorry, it must have been hard to watch.” Martini winced her eyes drifting up to Hinma’s face. It was devoid of any kind of pain, instead there was a atmosphere of determination and gratefulness about her. She smiled sadly but spoke before Martini could.

“It was. He was a member of the shinya, applied some basic medical treatment before seeing me to the nearest doctor.. But he had long since forgotten or so he said. There was more protector in him than I could ever hope to have. He managed to stay until my treatment was done - stitches - before he bled out.” Martini nodded and returned to her work. She was brave, unlike the brunette who ran from everything. Martini bit her lip to keep the tears at bay, her lips quivering just a tad. She refused to cry for such a reason, especially since Hinma was the true receiver of pain. She turned the page in her sketchbook to try again as a stray droplet fell on Hinma’s sketched body. Then she turned away to wipe her eyes and got back to work.

“Sorry, you probably want to cry more than I do… I’m being silly.” Martini said her voice hoarse form sobs that had not yet passed her lips. Hinma smiled at her and nodded - as if telling her it was fine. She smiled back - her own whites showing as she made herself a promise. I’ll make this perfect for you, her mind swore. She wiped her eyes one last time of any remaining tears and sniffed.

“I need to start over, do you need a break?”

“No, please keep going.” Hinma’s tone was soft. She nodded and started to outline Hinma’s body once more. She angled the face, turning the sketchbook on the table to get cleaner lines. She hummed as she placed her eyes back to the paper after a view of Hinma’s body. She added light scratches where the muscles and joints showed throw the scared woman’s skin. She added light cross hatching to the areas where the skin sunk into the muscle and gave it depth. She looked up again to view her model and nodded, adding the scar tissue. She excessively detailed the large Scar under Hinma’s breast as it was an important part of her.

by **Martini Elwood** on April 4th, 2019, 9:28 am

"Hmm..." Martini hummed as she looked down on the finished piece. Was this good enough? Should she redo the legs? She pressed her lips into a tight line, and narrowed her eyes - agitation pure and simple. She wanted this to loo perfect - she knew that wasn't possible but she wanted it none the less. How could she make this better?

"Perhaps my opinion may be of assistance." Her gaze lost it's edge as she met eyes with her model. She titled her head, but brightened as she gestured for Hinma to come closer. With Hinma's gaze secured on the page, Martini felt a bit more weight. She was never shy about her work, no - she just held unease when others looked over her work because she didn't know if they'd find error. "This will do. Can you make another just so I have extra?"

She released the air stuck in her throat in a small huff before nodding excitedly. She would have preferred more feedback of course, but positive affirmation was just as good... if not better. Setting the paper aside, she went to the next stage. With Hinma back in position she set out to draw a final sketch of the woman before starting on the next project. Head, shoulders, arms, hips, legs, feet. Out of all the areas the arms, legs, and shoulders seemed most prominent on the other woman.

Scratching more details into the second view was relatively easy between the first sketch and the view of Hinma’s body. Once she was done she had Hinma review both drawings once more for accuracy and feel. A few edits later and Martini had handed over the sheets of paper. She had gone over the notes she had on the Kukri a few times before Hinma has arrived and she was confident she could get some quick designs in.

“Please have a seat, I’ll need to get some warm ups done before I start on the Kukri concepts.” Martini jerked her head in the direction of the couch before filing through her notebook. She opened a new page in her sketchbook after wards, trying her best to recall what she had learned from the weapons dealer. She could remember the shape well enough - though what Hinma wanted could be completely different.

She picked up the half used charcoal and scratched a curved line onto the paper. She edged it and gave it fine tip, putting a parallel curve along side it. She scribbled the hilt as a curve into the hand for a better hold. Hilts where important as were grips. Perhaps connecting the grip and hilt for a hollow hand hold? She looped the hilt around and hummed thoughtfully. It looked good - it would be hard to disarm the weapon without being careful this way.

She played with a few blade types, one look at the serrated blade told her it wouldn’t be great. She scrapped the idea and went with a normal edge. Double edged? No,the blade would need to be straighter… That would make it mroe of a dagger. “Hinma, what are you expecting out of the Kukri?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you hope for speed? Ease of control? Things like that. It’ll help me customize the blade with what I already know.” Martini turned to Hinma as she spoke to catch every detail she could. Hinma paused to consider the question before nodding to herself and bringing her gaze to Martini.

“Ease of control, mainly. Though a comfortable grip would be nice as well.” Martini mumbled something before turning back to her desk. Speed wasn’t a factor but she did want control. A smaller blade then. She added a note on the side of the sheet, noting the blade should be small. If the Hinma’s grip wasn’t strong enough the wrapped hilt could hurt more than help…