Daughter of War

It has been quite a while, but its time for my art to make another rare appearance.

This is Rona (pronounced Row-na, not Ron-ah). She is the older sister of Azalyn (another of my original characters you've seen).

While she is a character in one of my mangas, I've opted here to draw her realistically as a portrait for this one. It is my first time ever drawing her.

I highly recommend a full-view if you want to really see the details, as it is a hi-res picture (it was two times over the attachment size limit for TMF!). I also had to reduce the image's quality (something I hate to have to do), by 5%. But its probably only noticable to me. LOL

But, just in case you don't want to see the full-size version (or you can't because of your connection), I've also uploaded a smaller version that should be able to fit on most screens.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Artwork by & © Damien Jones 2006
Rona © Damien Jones
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I don't want to release too much information about her just yet, but she's a warrior, masterswordsmen, and is involved in the war effort whereas her younger sister is not. Currently, she hasn't been seen or heard of in many years by Azalyn, her parents, or her friends and family, leading many to believe shes dead. Her might is legendary and her reputation precedes her wherever she goes.

Rona is a leader in a warband which used to be an elite unit under the command of the king. This warband has broken all ties and oaths of fealty to the king for reasons known only to Rona and her warlord whom she defected with soon after they learned the truth. Since then, Rona and her warband have been branded traitors, all with prices on their heads. Made to look like the true evil of the realm, Rona's warband is often on the move, her and hers leading the lives of vagabonds and black knights for hire.

Confrontations are constant and blood is shed often. Years of fighting and unrest have changed Rona's perception of the world around her, or so it would seem. She's no longer the gentle flower her little sister Azalyn remembers smiling so long ago...indeed, she is now a daughter of war, and if she's to wrest power from the so-called king, she must invade her own homeland....a thought that weighs heavily on her heart.

*looks around*

Yeah, people really show their appreciation in the non-tick forum, it seems.

*sighs*

Well, I'll show mine. I like this pic a lot, nice color scheme and a very well drawn (realistic) face. I'm also a fan of backgrounds for characters to learn more about them, giving more to a viewer than just the 'face value' of an image...and she has quite a developed one, clearly worth knowing/seeing more of her. ^^

(which is something my own chars seem to be ignored for...they all have their own NON-fetishy backgrounds...which apparently no one cares to read. Then again no one even wants to see them anymore)

Again, very nice work.

Kh

Thank you. And I might say this is a pleasant surprize to see you responding to any of my work.

Sigh...well, Khali....I've already accepted the fact that non-tickling art on a tickling forum is pretty much left for dead. You're lucky if you get 5 responses.

I post my work anyway because I know people look at it (even people that don't like me) and I share it because it adds a level of diversity (artistically) to a site that otherwise has none.

Whether its here, or TT (where I'm far more popular and this isn't a problem), I'm known as the guy who draws fine, non-tickling artwork. While I do draw tickling or fetish pictures every now and again, I don't want to spoil the speciality of such a picture. While others have come to expect nothing but this from you and I and everyone else, I consider it a treat, a tease, and something that is to be drawn sparingly, lest it lose its luster.

Tickling art is just flat-out repetitive (especially the poses) and leaves very little to comment on other than the obvious. I don't feel that tickling art encourages the artist to really use their imagination as much as they would in a picture thats devoid of the fetish. Because everything is so centralized around the stimulation of the tickling, other artistic efforts in a picture can oftentimes be ignored and the effort you put in is underappriciated (I'm sure that you understand).

The painfully obvious truth is that this is a fetish website. And, my dear, if you want ALL of your art to be as appriciated as it deserves to be you're simply not going to get that attention here.

This is what Deviantart and other art sites are for. And while I know you're a member there too, and I understand that wanting your friends here to acknowledge the level of your non-tickling work is important, it's just not practical and you're not going to get as much as you deserve. I don't and I'm one of the best artists here.

I was a proponent for this non-tickling forum, and as a result of consideration, we got the forum. However, we're outnumbered, and its clear that level of talent, experience, and pure skill doesn't matter. If its fetish it wins out, no matter what. It could be the Mona Lisa verus a stick-figure tickling picture, and the stick-figure will win. Thats just the way it works here. Thats what this site is for, thats what its into, and thats what it encourages- tickling.

If you can accept this, as I have, its actually possible to create a niche. Because we are not dependant on this site for artistic review, any that we do get is considered a bonus. When you look at it that way, its easier to not expect or want things from the people here, and its easier to just share and let what happens happen.

Rest assured, people recognize our efforts, but too few are well-adjusted enough, on this site, to say anything about it.

Awesome CE! Very realistic looking character.

I could draw a Mona Lisa, but if she's not being tickled or showing her feet then no one here is going to care. LOL!

Thanks for your pity post!

Celtic_Emperor said:

Confrontations are constant and blood is shed often. Years of fighting and unrest have changed Rona's perception of the world around her, or so it would seem. She's no longer the gentle flower her little sister Azalyn remembers smiling so long ago...indeed, she is now a daughter of war, and if she's to wrest power from the so-called king, she must invade her own homeland....a thought that weighs heavily on her heart.

Click to expand...

...please excuse the amount of time it took me to respond to this... I find when I come here I am... more in the mood to leech than to talk. And certainly not about things other than... let's call it the 'primary purpose' of this place.
It's just how I am.

But, I do very much like the portrait and the backstory, especially the part I have quoted above.

Fantastic work such as this shouldn't be ignored just because it happens to be placed... in a place such as this.
Hopefully you know what I'm tring to say.
Please keep up the excellent work.

...good day...

quiet belly guy said:

...please excuse the amount of time it took me to respond to this... I find when I come here I am... more in the mood to leech than to talk. And certainly not about things other than... let's call it the 'primary purpose' of this place.
It's just how I am.

But, I do very much like the portrait and the backstory, especially the part I have quoted above.

Fantastic work such as this shouldn't be ignored just because it happens to be placed... in a place such as this.
Hopefully you know what I'm tring to say.
Please keep up the excellent work.

...good day...

Click to expand...

Of course I know what you're trying to say. And even if you were being ambigious I would probably still read between the lines.

At any rate, thank you. I appriciate your sentiments and that you understand. Posts like yours make bothering to upload my non-tickling art worth while, since I know I definitely have a large audiance, but so few are vocal.

It never ceases to amaze me, however, when a user makes their first post toward me and my art whether its that they just joined or have been a lurker since joining. Its actually not as rare as you may think.

I haven't seen your work in ages DJ. Good to see you still pick up that tablet and lay out great pieces. You actually contributed a LOT of stuff back in the days so people will still stop by and look at your stuff since you're like a fan favorite of people that have been on here for a while. If I tried posting my stuff here... I'd be lucky to get even one response. Again, great job dude!

TheDubliner said:

I haven't seen your work in ages DJ. Good to see you still pick up that tablet and lay out great pieces. You actually contributed a LOT of stuff back in the days so people will still stop by and look at your stuff since you're like a fan favorite of people that have been on here for a while. If I tried posting my stuff here... I'd be lucky to get even one response. Again, great job dude!

Click to expand...

It may seem I don't exist on TMF these days, but I'm a regular on my deviantart site: http://thesis-d.deviantart.com/

I moved there from my old DA account: http://knight-of-lodoss.deviantart.com/

I'm also on almost every day on TickleTheater.

I'm by no means inactive, on hiatus, or anything like that. You're refering to me in the past tense, so its funny. LOL! Its just that if I can get a better response somewhere else I'm probably going to spend more of my time there. That seems pretty logical to me, as an artist. LOL ^^

Well, good to know you're still doing what you're doing. I actually was referring to this site and not your two DA's and TT. I think one of the reasons that you might have had trouble on this site is the way you speak. It's got a very defensive undertone to it, not saying that you are being defensive, but to me it has always come off as defensive. In message boards, people tend to be rude at times and many works go unappreciated, but it's something that has become the norm for messageboards of all sorts.

I did some fanart on a site that got good reviews, but as soon as I ventured away from what the site is about and put up my own stuff, I got people telling me I don't belong there. It's funny because the same people liked the samy style of work I did only days before... so I understand why you chose to go elsewhere to show your stuff. I just ignore it and keep doing what I do, people aren't going to change what I think of my own work just because I didn't please them.

I think you should stay and not be so defensive. If someone says you're crap, so what? You know that you draw better than a lot of people and probably ten folds better than the guy who put your art down. Instead of pointing out where I am wrong and that you are active on so and so sites, just accept my compliment and the fact that I think you are missed on this site. I know of your DA sites and you on TT. I don't post stuff, but I lurk and watch.

And this site even as a non tickling art section that you can post stuff on and get comments. It might not be the great response you seek, but hey, people still love your stuff and even if they don't say anything, they will appreciate it. There are people on this site that like your stuff a lot and many of them are lurkers. I'm one of them! I barely post, but I look at new things all the time. I don't think you should wait for people to follow you to other sites to see your stuff, just get thick skinned and post your new stuff here again! Or... just a link to your new stuff is just as good

Part of your post confused me.

No one ever implied my art was crap and I doubt anyone ever would and honestly mean it, and even if they had that isn't why I would stop posting on a site. I'm not weak like that. The whole thing was about getting responses in the first place, not the content of them. Of course I know that because this is a tickling website I cannot expect much for my non-tickling work. I also understand that because this forum is seperated from the main one, that reduces responses and even views even further.

I was explaining to Khali above exactly what you're saying to me now, so I understand what you're saying as I've been there and done that, and its what I'm doing now.

TMF, TT, etc, were never my home bases as an artist anyway, nor do I rely on these two sites for the bulk of my art reviews. Be that as it may however, as I do post my art on these sites anyways, it is still good to get feedback even if its limited.

You obviously understand how that is, albeit, in perhaps a completely different way.

In my case, its not a matter of quality. My art is easily some of the best you guys have here, regardless of the subject matter. So its not that people say nothing because of quality issues. In my case, its intimidation or personal bias against me. People are either intimidated by my talent and/or my attitude and that puts them off. I know that alot more people on these not so artsy-professional sites would have alot more to say if they didn't feel whatever they had to say wasn't good enough.

The problem, I've noticed, is it seems people think I'm too good to say anything to at any length. And while that would be a huge compliment, its one of those double-edged sword deals. I'm, of course, not assuming this. It is a growing trend on sites that do not focus on art. Because they don't focus on art, they don't expect much from their members in that regard, so when someone with real talent comes along they sometimes don't know what to say. I have friends whom this applies to as well, so I know they know what I mean, also.

Thanks for the convo. See ya later.

See what I mean? You always get on the defensive and then try to sound like the better person in the end. I was put off by that attitude of yours before, but I always stuck around for the art (especially your non tickling art) because that's what I really cared about. I also avoided conversations with you for the very reason, you always tend to get really defensive and really... well... stuck up.

Quite honestly, I think you have talent and maybe one of the better content on this site and these sorts of sites. I really wasn't sure why you left, so I assumed it was because people bashed your stuff without reason. Why is it hard for you to take a compliment and say thanks rather than a drawn out two paragraph short answer essay response in which you point out just how great your art is and such?

It's not that you're too good. I have seen plenty better. Your style is unique to you but others have mastered very similar styles and look better. That's not the point. The point is that you are good, people know you're good, but people don't like to be told just why you are good, how you achieve greatness, etc.

My post on this thread started off as a compliment, but I guess now it ends with "get over yourself, there are plenty better."

"See ya later"
Yeah, I actually read up on what happened earlier this year. I guess I should have done that to understand what really happened. Seeing how nasty you can get and roar up net drama, I will take my exit from this conversation.

ciao

I wasn't getting defensive at all, but now I am because I feel you're accosting me. I am not trying to sound like a better person. I'm simply replying to you. If you expected for there to be no answer and you're angry because of that, then I'm sorry. I thought we were having a conversation.

All I did was wonder why you would assume I would leave at all and if so, why you would think it would be because people hurt my feelings or whatever. If you know me as well as you seem or talk like you do, then that thought, coming from you, didn't make sense to me, so its why I asked. Theres nothing pompous about it. It was an unspoken "you know me better than that", sort of thing, and I wanted to make sure whether or not you did. I really wouldn't leave because of what other people thought. Thats something I thought you knew was a part of my character, since you exclaim to know me.

I don't know where you get the rest of this, either. And, mind you, you're the one who gave me a lengthy reply, so I just figured that it was fine to do the same. Complaining about the length of my posts when you did the same doesn't make sense.

I also fail to see the need to point out that there are artists better than me out there, as if that wasn't already a fact of life I wasn't aware of or saw everyday when I go to these art sites. I don't see what you said has to do with me. I can't help but feel that was meant as a cheap shot. Theres no need for you to be sarcastic either.

I AM perfecly able of giving a simple "thank you." Its something I do all the time with my art (if you're not there to see it then don't get angry with me as thats not my fault). But sometimes I like to say more. Since you really didn't say anything about my picture more than you did about my other replies, then I figured it was fine to talk to you about that.

If thats not what you wanted, then you should have avoided it and responded JUST to the art, to which I would have replied simply. There were any number of ways you could have handled this, and, forgive me, but I don't feel I'm responsible for them.