Finally glued the pieces together and now I’m waiting for it to try. Then gonna slap some filler and Primer on it and then there’s going to be a looooooot of sanding
Finally glued the pieces together and now I’m waiting for it to try. Then gonna slap some filler and Primer on it and then there’s going to be a looooooot of sanding
Finally glued the pieces together and now I’m waiting for it to try. Then gonna slap some filler and Primer on it and then there’s going to be a looooooot of sanding
After (y/n) was attacked in her childhood home, Din insists on her living in the safety of the covert. Reluctantly, she agrees and soon finds happiness there, but her life is disrupted just as she’s getting used to things.
"I think it would be safer for you there,“ Din said, getting a little frustrated with his wife’s arguing.
"But I don’t want to live there! I want to stay here, where I grew up.” She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I already know my way around so well, and Naalnish knows the market square front to back.”
“Well, you could always learn and so could he.” He paused, thinking of what else to say after having repeated himself ten times over already. “I want you to come with me. I already have a home there you could live in.”
“We could live in.” She said. She was sick of him never being around. She loved him dearly and she missed him with every fibre of her being.
“So you’ll come?”
“No!” She cried.
Since the incident back at (y/n)’s childhood home, Din had insisted on her living in the covert with his clan. They could keep her safe, and if another bounty hunter were to come for her again, they would have a hell of a time finding her. Her lip quivered a little as she tilted her head towards the floor when she felt Naalnish brush up against her leg. So many thoughts were racing through her mind. How would the others feel about an outsider living with them? Had he even discussed it? Do they know he’s married? They have to… if he talked to them. She tapped her foot quickly and anxiously, trying to keep her eyes from watering.
He stared her down, unobstructed by the glass of his visor, and looked her up and down. He caught a glimpse of her leg peeking through the skirt she wore and the scar tearing through the flesh leaving pink ribbons on her thigh. His eyes wandered to her shoulder, a deep wound, not yet a scar, still red, itchy, and healing from the predator’s blade. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before taking a few steps forward, placing a hand on her cheek and the other, gently over her shoulder.
“I just want you to be protected. If I were to let you stay and something like this happened again,” He traced the edges of the wound with his fingers, “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you didn’t make it.”
She thought for a moment, taking a step back to bring into consideration his thoughts on the matter. He was right. It would be foolish of her to stay after what had happened. It was a miracle she was even standing with him right then.
“Ok.” She responded with a low voice. “But what if I hate it? Is everyone even going to be ok with it?”
“I spoke to the clan leader and she said it would be perfectly fine.” He said, placing a warm kiss on her forehead.
“Are you sure?” She asked with a downy smile.
“Positive.”
As he lead her down the corridors of the covert, she clung to him tightly. She wanted to hide behind him so badly. She could feel the stared of everyone they passed by. With one arm wrapped around his, and her free hand white-knuckling Naalnish’s harness, she listened closely to the whispers of those they passed. A few kids ran by them, giggling and playing some game they had made up in their free time, but the wolf stayed true to his path, sniffing the air, and taking in the surroundings.
“-and to the left is the corridor our home is down.” She was just able to catch the last few words leaving her husbands mouth. He had been explaining things to her the whole way to the armorer’s, but the whole situation was so nerve-wracking she couldn’t even pay attention. A couple more twists and turns and they made it. Din pulled his arm away from (y/n) as he had her stand beside him before taking a seat in front of the clan leader.
“Always nice to have you back.” She said monotonously. “I take it you are Din’s wife.” She said looking to (y/n) who was hoping and praying her shoulders weren’t visibly tense.
“…umm…yes.” She answered tremulously rubbing her thumb along the woven cord of Naalnish’s leash.
“Well, it’s good to finally meet you. However, I never got your name.”
“I-it’s (y/n).”
The woman stared at her through her helmet. It had been quite some time since she had seen another being without being adorned in full armor unless it was a child. Having been told nothing about her from the man of famously few words, she took an extra moment to look her up and down. It took her a minute to notice the cloudy haze covering her eyes.
“I’m sure she’s had a long day.” She said, turning her gaze back to Din. “Why don’t you take her to get settled and we’ll discuss what we talked about later?”
“I will.” He said with a nod before standing. He reached his hand to (y/n)’s which she grabbed tightly.
A silent minute or two and his footsteps came to a halt. She felt him place something cold in her hand. A card. She rubbed it between her fingers and felt an etching on the front.
“That’s your key to get in. I carved an arrow into it so you know which direction to swipe it.” He said. He took the leash from her and brought her other hand up to the door. “The door is metal, and the walls are stone. The reader is to the right of the door.”
She trailed her hand across the cool door until she came to the frame and rough stone. At about shoulder height, she located the card reader.
“The arrow on the card goes towards the wall and faces to the right.” He said. She felt the key card again, and brought it to the reader, swiping it. A chime. The door swished open. She was always glad that he helped her, but didn’t baby her. He gave her instruction, but let her learn the rest on her own. She thought it was sweet. Not many people would be as thoughtful and considerate as he was.
“You should probably be able to learn quickly how to get around easily.” He said. “I hope.”
She stepped inside after him. One thing she did love about being underground was the coolth of the atmosphere. It wasn’t stale, but surprisingly crisp.
“This is the common room.” He said. “I never had much furniture. Just a sofa to your left and a couple tables beside it and a chair. To the right is the kitchen. The stove is on the back wall and the sink on the left wall.” He walked with her through the apartment as Naalnish wandered around, nose glued to the ground and sniffing away. “Opposite the sink is a table and a couple chairs.”
She walked, feeling the difference in the floor beneath her feet. The kitchen floor seemed to be smoothed out and polished compared to the clay in the living room.
“The bedroom is this way.” He said taking her hand again. “It’s on the left wall from when you enter, in this alcove here. The back door is for the bedroom and the one on the right is the refresher.”
(Y/n) reached out and felt the door of the bedroom. It was wood. Thankfully not metal like the entrance or, in her nervousness, she may accidentally walk out of the apartment in haste.
“Nothing much in the bedroom besides the bed. I never usually sleep here, so there’s only one thin blanket. We can go get more tomorrow and I can teach you how to get around the market.”
She sat on the bed, running her hand over the rough blanket and smiled a little.
“Ok.” She said, “Wait, but I thought we weren’t allowed to leave.”
“You’re not a mandalorian, so you’re free to come and go.” He said, sitting next to her, stroking her hair. “Now,” He said with a kiss on her forehead before replacing his helmet, “I have to go speak with the clan leader again. I should be back by night, but I’ve got something I have to take care of with some old friends.”
“Are you taking the child?”
“Yes. He stays on the ship when were on this planet. It’s too dangerous to leave him here.” He said.
“Well, while you’re gone I’ll try and get used to the place.”
When he left, (y/n) wandered around her new home, locating things she would use on a daily basis like, the soap in the refresher, the edge of the shower, the front door in relation to the living room, cooking utensils, and other things. He didn’t have much and she giggled to herself.
“A true bachelor.” She thought aloud. She jumped and heard Naalnish’s collar jingle as he snapped his head to the door. There was a loud knock against the metal.
“Hello?” She asked, feeling around the doorframe for the switch to open it. The intruder noticed the worried look on her face when it finally opened.
“Oh! I didn’t mean to startle you.” A woman’s voice said. “I saw you come in with Din and I thought I’d introduce myself. So the rumors of him having a wife were true!”
“Yes.” She smiled and laughed nervously. “Why don’t you come in. I would make a pot of caf, but I don’t know where things are yet and… oh, I forgot. You can’t take it off.”
The woman laughed and she sat on the couch across from the chair she sat in.
“I’m Jhersa by the way.”
“(Y/n).”
“I was so excited to learn you were coming, even though I didn’t know whether it was true or not. There aren’t many other women down here and most of them are older.” She said smiling underneath her red helmet. “You seem a little nervous. Did I come at a bad time?”
“No, no! Actually a perfect time. I’m just not used to being somewhere besides home and other places I’m familiar with. My whole life has been my home and the local market on my home planet. I never really had many friends either because I took care of my mother until she died. I’m nervous to be around so many unfamiliar people, but excited at the same time too.”
“Oh, that’s so wonderful that you took care of her! That’s so important.” Jhersa said. “Do you have a communicator?”
“Yes. A special one.”
“Special. Why so?”
“I’m blind.” She said giggling a little.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize. Sometimes it’s hard to see and…well, the lights are off.”
“They are?!” She said, shooting up from her chair.
“Yes.” Jhersa laughed. “I figured you liked it dark or something.”
(Y/n) laughed along with her, happy to find something to lift her spirits, even if it was at her own expense. She felt around the wall by the door and found a switch, flicking it.
“That better?”
“Yes. Very much.” She said. “Oh, you’re so pretty.” She remarked once the lights flickered on, “I see why he fell for you.”
(Y/n) felt her cheeks flush a crimson red, comparable to her new friend’s armor.
“Thank you.” She smiled sheepishly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “You were asking about my communicator?”
“Yes, I’ll give you my access code. If you ever need anything, let me know! I’d be happy to help.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“I thought when I got here that no one would like me.”
“Eh, there are a few crotchety people, but hey, they’ve been stuck underground for years.”
“Well, I’m glad you stopped by. I never wanted to leave my home behind, but he insisted that I should come here. I was attacked back when I was home. Some enemy of his was trying to get revenge through me, and he worried that if it were to happen again, I wouldn’t be so fortunate to escape with my life.”
“He must really care about you. I don’t know him too well, but I do know he’s very set in his ways.” She said with a smile under her helmet. They were silent for a moment and Jhersa finally worked up the courage to ask what had been weighing on her mind. “So…just out of curiosity… has he asked you about getting armor? Or becoming a Mandalorian?”
“No. He never talked about anything like that at all. Why?”
“Well, usually when a Mandalorian marries someone who isn’t, they take on the creed.”
“Oh…really?” A million things ran through her mind when she mentioned that. She *had* read about Mandalorian culture and even found an audio pamphlet about the history. Every Mandalorian was a warrior, regardless of age, or anything. Did he not think she was capable? Of course she couldn’t see someone in order to pick a fight, but surely she had the agency to defend herself. Why had he never talked to her?“
"Is it…is he breaking some code or something if I don’t?” She asked.
“No it’s just customary that when you’re married in to a clan you become a Mandalorian yourself. He might be breaking a ‘social code’ or something, but I haven’t heard anyone mention it.”
“Maybe he’s just been too busy to talk about it.” She said, twiddling her thumbs. “Actually, he did go speak to the armorer. That’s where he is right now. Perhaps he’s asking her first?”
“Oh, maybe. Well, I should really get going.” Jhersa said, standing up. As she rose from her seat, (y/n) could hear the rustle and jingling of her armor. “Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need something.”
“I will. Thank you.” As Jhersa turned towards the door, it rushed open, heavy boots taking a couple steps over the threshold.
“Oh. Hello,” Din said, “I wasn’t expecting any visitors.”
“I thought I’d come introduce myself.” Jhersa said.
“That was very kind of you.” He said. “Were you just leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it was nice to see you. Perhaps you could come by again some day.”
As he spoke, Jhersa walked to the door, nodding to him as she passed.
“That would be nice.” She said, crossing the threshold. “You two have a nice evening. It was good to meet you, (y/n).”
“You as well.” She smiled from the couch, but her smile dropped when the door shut, and she went back to twiddling her thumbs.
“Is something wrong, love.” He asked, kneeling in front of her, setting his helmet on the table with a clank. He took her hands into his and kissed her knuckles.
“Just…still a little unsettled about being somewhere new I guess.” She said, her voice wavering nervously. “I’m glad to have met her, it’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a lot to take in right now.”
“Can I do anything?” He asked. “While I was in town I found some of your favorite blueberry tea? Do you want me to make you some? With cream and sugar?”
She smiled and nodded her head softly as she rubbed her thumbs over the surprisingly smooth skin on the back of his hands.
“I’d love that.” She said, feeling his hands parting from hers.
(Y/n) didn’t know what to expect when she first joined Din in the covert, but she looked hopeful for the future. The first day was filled with anxiety, new surroundings, a lot of learning, and new friends. After a cup of her favorite tea, and a long, comforting conversation with Din, she slept soundly through the night.
The next couple months weren’t as bad as she had expected either. At least…not quite. She heard a few grunts and groans from unapproving Mandalorians upset about an outsider living within the covert, but for the most part people were very kind and always willing to help. Navigating through the covert was rather difficult. The walls and floors were all the same leaving very little detail for her to find her way around. Eventually, she remembered where to turn and which direction to get to the key places she needed to go and Naalnish was a big help.
The small home Din and his wife shared was peaceful. Naalnish chewed on a toy at (y/n)’s feet while she read a book she had found in braille. She sipped on the last cup of tea from the leaves she had been given, sitting under a warm, heavy blanket she found the first day of wandering through the market. She sighed, leaning her head back on the downy cushions of the couch. She sunk into place and set the book down on the seat next to her. Her mind wandered to what Din might be up to. He had the child with him and mentioned something about returning to Sorgan.
She could feel herself drifting off to sleep, but was startled awake by a loud rumbling coming from above. Naalnish began howling and barking, and the guttural sounds reverberated through her chest.
“Naalnish, what is it boy?” She asked, kneeling next to him, putting an arm around his back. More crashes and blasterfire were heard above and it shook the ground she sat on. Panic set in for a moment. Mando wasn’t around and she had no idea what was going on. She figured the only thing she could do was sit and wait, so she did. The blaster fire stopped after several more large explosions, but she sat, huddled on the ground with her wolf.
*Bang, bang, bang*
She heard pounding on the door.
“(Y/n)! It’s me.” A woman’s voice called. It was Jhersa. (Y/n) mader her way to the door, footsteps a little wobbly from nerves.
“What’s going on?” She asked, opening the door.
“I’ll explain more on the way. You have 5 minutes to pack. We have to go.” She said. (Y/n) noticed her voice was clear as if it was never run through a filter. She stood there, a puzzled look on her face, trying to take in everything as it was happening. “Quicky!”
“Right.” (Y/n) said, rushing to the bedroom. She grabbed what she needed. Clothes, her communicator, her folded cane. “Wait. How long are we leaving?” She called.
“Forever.” She called from the living room, trying to get Naalnish situated in his harness.
“What!”
“I don’t have time to explain, just pack!” Jhersa answered firmly.
(Y/n) grabbed a few more things. A few gifts Din had given to her, a necklace and a bracelet, then grabbed some things from the bathroom. Slinging the bag over her shoulder she made her way back to the living room.
“What’s going on, Jhersa? What do you mean we’re not coming back.”
“I’ll tell you later!” She said, shoving the wolf’s leash into her hands.
“Your voice,” She said, slipping her shoes on. “is your…helmet off?”
“I’m no longer a Mandalorian.” She said, grabbing (Y/n)’s wrist, pulling her out the front door. “The city is under attack and the remnants of the empire are looking for my people. We revealed ourselves in hope that we won’t be targeted as we make our escape.”
“Where are we going?” She asked, trying her best not to strip and stumble as Jhersa dragged her along at top speed.
“West of the city. There are villages and settlements several miles out with no military presence. I’m bringing you to the edge of the covert. Give me your communicator.”
(Y/n) handed her the device with a shaky hand, gripping the leash tighter with the other. She listened as she hit several buttons and placed it back in her palm.
“I set a timer for 20 minutes.” She said. “When it goes off, leave. I’m leaving now, so I beat you to the village. The story is, you’re my sister visiting me for the first time in years. If a stormtrooper stops you tell them you’re trying to find me in Ylok. I’m a daughter of a struggling merchant, I’m 27, I have short blonde hair, and brown eyes. Our mother died giving birth to our younger brother who passed away due to illness when he was 3. We haven’t seen each other in 5 years because you went away to a boarding school for the blind on Naboo.”
“Do really I need all that information?”
“They *will* dig at you. If you can’t convince them that you have no affiliation with the Mandalorians, they will kill you.” She answered sternly. (Y/n) felt tears prick the corners of her eyes.
“I can’t do this.” She said. “Can’t I just stay here somewhere.”
“It’s not safe, (y/n)! Din told me the VERY first day you arrived, that if something were to happen, I had to protect you. I made a promise. Now, dammit, (y/n) this is the plan. Everything is going to be ok.”
“Wait? What about Din? What happened to Din?” She asked, her voice just as shaky as her hands.
“I don’t know where he is.” She said. “But I know he was involved with whatever is happening up there. If he makes it, I’m sure he’ll come looking for you. I have to go. Stick to the plan, ok?”
“Ok.” She said, listening to her footsteps disappear. Naalnish whined as she sat on the ground, leaning against the cool stone wall. As she waited, she murmured to herself.
“Stick to the plan, stick to the plan, stick to the plan…”
ACON3D reached out to me for a collaboration, and I used it as an excuse to draw my and @eggdrawsthings‘ Star Wars OCs! I’ve been chipping away at this for the better part of a month, and despite the struggles, I’m pretty happy with how it came out! ^_^
Having used SketchUp for both my professional and personal work, I’m a HUGE advocate of using 3D to streamline my workflow. Utilizing pre-made models instead of making them from scratch is a game-changer!
Extensive notes on my process below the cut.
Default 3D Model:
For this collab, I was to use one of the many 3D model resources sold by ACON3D to create an illustration. I chose the Joseon Dynasty - Thatched House by Team Truffle. The render below is just a fragment of the lovingly crafted set design - I recommend searching it up! (I’d provide a link, but Tumblr’s external link policy might nuke this post from search results if I do)
Customizing the Model:
Modified and added some props to make the scene more thematically Star Wars.
From top left to right:
Building Column - Altered the shape and added motifs inspired by Mandalorian architecture. Mythosaur skull mounted on top is also modeled from scratch!
Uj Cake - Surprisingly few images of this snack despite it being mentioned in many fanworks - I think I used a photo off of Wookiepedia as reference for this.
Cutting Board - Pretty straightforward - a cutting board for the cake to sit on top of. It’s not visible in the final render, but I leveraged the kar’ta motif as a fancy inlaid pattern.
Vibroblade - Basically a replica of Din Djarin’s, though much of its design isn’t visible in the final render.
Buy’ce - This was my first time modeling a helmet in SketchUp, much less a buy’ce. Geometry is a hot mess, but it got the job done.
Xing’s Beskad - Referencing my Mando OC’s weapon of choice. Overall design’s taken straight from the beskad’s blade shape, guard, and grip – though I tried to give it more of a katana-like aesthetic.
Tooka - Or rather, a limb-less and tail-less tooka. By far the most primitive of the models, but I just needed it as a placeholder which I would draw details on top of.
Voorpak - This space chinchilla was…hmm. There were discrepancies between the creature’s original concept in The Wildlife of Star Wars: A field guide (small and 8-legged) and its first appearance in The Bad Batch (dog-sized and 6-legged). Needless to say, I was a tad irritated to find out I modeled and posed two extra legs before realizing they were extraneous.
Phong’s Saber Staff - Probably one of the more complex props in this spread, but Jamie’s detailed reference sheet sped up the modeling process considerably.
Vent Covers - Replacing some of the floor boards in the foreground to give this set a more sci-fi vibe.
Door - Once again, customized the screen design and panel patterning after Mandalorian motifs. This and the column will be the two biggest alterations to the set, so I took extra care to get the designs just right.
And this is what the props look like on set. Colors turned off so the lighting (which I later scrapped) is clearly defined.
Sketch:
Now’s the bit that I finallyadd the characters and creatures into the composition! For this one, I did have a vague idea of what I wanted out of it story-wise – some kind of low key scene with Phong and Xing hanging out at the latter’s dwelling. To help sell the casual vibes, I had Xing dressed only in his cuirass and blacks. Definitely not because I was struggling to draw his armor. Perish the thought!
Ink:
Ah yes, the cleanup stage. Arguably the most crucial, time-consuming, boring, yet satisfying part of this process. While much of this work is retracing what’s already been drawn, the concise line art eliminates much guesswork in the next steps. The goal here is to have a clean blueprint, so I don’t have dedicate bandwidth to fixing errors in anatomy, prop position, etc.
I try to keep element of this comp well organized. For instance, Phong’s face alone has layers for their eyelash, iris, bottom eyelid, eyebrow, nose, mouth, bangs, braid, ponytail, hair ties, ear, and face - all clustered into a group, which is then clustered within a bigger group containing the remaining parts of their body. Definitely overkill, but I like running a tight ship for pieces I can take my time with!
Color Flats:
Full disclosure: the color flats shown here are a lie. I didn’t land on these colors on my first try; it took innumerable rounds of trial and error. Color palette iterations ran the full gamut from monotonously drab to eye-searingly vibrant then back again. Lighting changed from high noon to overcast to night time in quick succession. Certain elements were individually altered to pop out more, then on second viewing, dialed back because they popped out too much. The colors you see below a grudging compromise of all the directions which it was pulled:
This GIF below is a more honest depiction of the utter chaos which was the evolution of this illustration’s identity crisis:
Shading:
I suppose after that GIF showing these next steps is bit of a moot point, but here we are anyways! I used Brightness/Contrast adjustment layers to start lighting the color flats. I start out with the polygonal lasso tool to block out the big shadow shapes, then go back with a textured brush to soften edges where necessary.
At this point, my layer count was going upwards of 900+ and file size at over 1GB. If I so much as turned off a layer, my computer threatens to have a meltdown. So consolidated these lighting layers by making them universal - one layer for darks, another for contact shadows, etc.
Final Render:
I guess this is where the magic happens? Textures, material renders, secondary & tertiary lights, atmosphere, etc. all kind of just happen at once. It’s a lot of stuff to describe in blow-by-blow accounts, and I’ve rewritten this several times already because Tumblr keeps prematurely closing out my unsaved drafts, so I’m gonna leave it at that!
My entry for @kate-komics’s Mandalorian OC contest! I’ve been meaning to design my own Mando ever since I started watching the show, and this gives me an excuse to actually do it!
This is Xing Feyrin, a young foundling weary of their cramped covert. After swearing the Resol'nareand earning their beskar'gam, they took a joyride into the depths of Wild Space – with no prior astronavigation experience. Predictably, they marooned themselves on a backwater planet and even went native.
Progress pics and more character trivia below the cut!
This was the initial sketch of Xing. It came together surprisingly quickly once I decided on the “Mando with a samurai aesthetic” direction - which coincidentally mirrors the armor design of the earliest Mandalorians, the Taungspecies! Couple of design notes:
The non-beskar armor is modeled after samurai plate armor. It’s haphazardly strung together with the beskar'gamfor added protection and style points
The straw cape is inspired by the Japanese mino.I saw lots of Mandos with swooshy fabric capes, so I wanted to do something different for Xing’s.
The leather wraps around vambraces and shin guards are borrowed from the Mandalorian Crusaders. I am just really fond of the leather aesthetic!
And now for some general notes about Xing:
Xing uses they/them pronouns, but doesn’t mind he/him.
Their name is pronounced “shing” - inspired after the Chinese character 星 for star. Although they don’t know it, their biological family were nomadic spacefarers.
Wear and tear put Xing’s “fancier” equipment - namely their dual blasters and rising phoenix, out of commission. Since there was no way to fix or replace them when planet-bound, Xing had to get creative with their arsenal. The belt and holster around their hip now store decidedly more “analog” weaponry - more on that later!
They also painted their beskar'gam after they realized they’re stuck on the planet for the long run. White for a fresh start on a new planet, and orange for freedom gained from being marooned.
Their helmet is the only article that is painted dark grey for mourning. In the early days they wore it in remembrance of their past life in the covert. Once the HUD flickered out for good, the helmet became dark and claustrophobic - the complete antithesis to their wanderlust - so they only wear it in times of extreme danger.
Not pictured in the sketch, but featured in the final: the painted fingernails have do have a purpose beyond aesthetics! The black pigment contains ground-up flint, which creates sparks when struck against metal.
Also not pictured: two flasks of viscous lighting fluid they keep in their holsters. When smeared on their beskad and struck by their flint-tipped fingernails, they have a flaming sword in short order! My headcanon is that beskarhas an extremely high melting point, so wielding it while set aflame won’t chip or dull it like other blades. I have a pic of this in the works!
(For folks that might recall, he makes a cameo in my “He’s the Mand’alor” comic bit I did a while back! Now finally with a name and face.)
Ansul is the leader of a small Mandalorian sect hidden on Abregado-rae. A man who believes in the traditional “Way” of Mandalore, he does his best to lead with honor and integrity. While he is typically patient and good humored, he can be stubborn and frank to the point of bluntness at times.
(More detailed bio under the cut)
Ansel was born on Mandalore toward the end of the Mandalorian Civil War. Ansel’s parents, being traditionalist Mandalorians, were banished to Concordia along with the other Mandalorians that refused to give up their traditions and ways.
Ansel’s parents did their best to make the most out of their life on Concordia the first few years, however the inner conflict among the clans and Clan Viszla’s heavy hand ultimately drove his family and some other Mandalorians off Concordia and settle on the planet Roetha.
Ansel’s father became the leader of the new Mandalorian sect and for a time they lived guarded lives, taking bounty hunting jobs and doing their best to survive. Ansel’s parents were very loving and trained Ansel in the Mandalorian Way.
That all changed one day when a village begged the mandalorians to defend them from the governor’s thugs that had been pillaging their town. Although there was disagreement among the clan members, the mandalorians got involved and became essentially heroes to the village and others. The corrupted ruler, finding the Mandalorians a problem, hired a bounty Hunter/assassin that specializes in killing Mandalorians and was given the instruction to kill the entire group, not even leaving the children alive.
Miraculously, Ansel (now 14) had survived the attack and was seemingly the last survivor. With no other place to go, he went to the village the mandalorians first helped who took him in. They did their best to care for him for a time, but feared for his life. The village worked together to get Ansel off world to Abregado-rae where it was rumored there were other Mandalorians.
The Mandalorians on this planet took him in and he lived with them from them on. The leader personally trained him and basically adopted him. At first Ansel craved revenge, but the leader taught him to let go of his hate and to put his energy into the desire to protect the clan.
Ansel would have that chance to protect the clan when the same bounty Hunter/Assassin that killed his family’s clan was hired to hunt down and kill the clan. In a fight that earned Ansel his facial scars, Ansel managed to defeat and slay the assassin.
During the fight, the leader had been killed, leaving Ansel to be his successor. For years since, Ansel has been leading the sect and helping them to survive as the Galaxy became more and more dangerous under Sidious’ rule. He hopes that one day he could return to Mandalore and help to restore it to the glory of the ancient days under a worthy Mand’alor.
Tags:@violettavie (who requested to be tagged when I post his story)
Got this commission awhile back from @inky-axolotl of my OC and Boba Fett. I absolutely love the way she was drawn with him! They look so cute! Thank you so much for drawing this for me!
It was an absolute pleasure! It also gave me an opportunity to experiment with a new coloring style! Thanks again for Commissioning!
So I thought I’d take a crack at doing my protagonists parents. Overall I like the way they turned out.
So here we have Zellina and Aloc Kal. With their 3 month old Cuyan in the middle. Posing up for their first family holopic. The challenge was to getting the kid to calm down long enough to take the picture.
Yeah I’m pretty satisfied with the way this turned out. Definitely some places to improve and work on some things sure but im super happy with what I got here.
> 0500h Finished patrol of Veragi Trade Route. Issued 5 citations for mechanical violations + 2 reckless flying. All well. > 0626h Refuelled at Dantooine spaceport. > 1334h Entered the Outer Mandalorian Border to investigate disturbance. Fantailintercepted unregistered Chasm-class shuttle belonging to unknown militia. Found illegal contraband [redacted]. All Chasm-crew were found [redacted]. Strong evidence of [redacted]. > 1415h 2 survivors, aliens of unknown species, brought aboard the Fantail for medical treatment and questioning. Cpt. Shrike
- Mandalorian sign language is based on NZ sign language - I was inspired by the amazing deaf Din Djarin AU “The theory of harmony” by @r0b0tb0y - also paying homage to the deaf Hawkeye Marvel comics by Fraction and Aja - the Crew’s tattoos are inspired by ta moko . The lines are comprised of hundreds of microscopic designs unique to the individual.
my #1 trick for character design is to start off with broad strokes and fill in the details later.
Jambe is a deconstruction of the reckless “loose cannon” archetype who usually acts as a foil to the level-headed leader. Except this time, I’ve made her the leader and forced her to step up and assume responsibility. i think the result is pretty interesting.
she just straight up shoots off the lock sdhfjsbhfds
non-violent conflict resolution.
i think its important that she visibly reacts to stuff, especially if its disturbing. i’m sick of all the hard-boiled ‘i aint got time to bleed’ action heros with blank faces. society has progressed beyond the need for stoics.
> Peace at last! The Empire is defeated and freedom rings once more throughout the galaxy. 30,587 star systems have joined the New Galactic Republic under the leadership Prime Minister Organa. The memory of war is but a distant shadow. A new era dawns!
> Mandalore restored! Mand’alor the Unifier brings order to the lawless Outer Rim. Although his people prosper, Mand’alor Djarin has declined to join the New Republic, choosing to pursue a policy of strict isolationism.
—Extract from NR Propaganda Reel #435, 18 ABY, Orion Library Archives.
