Hi Jackie!
Thanks for the kind words!
1. The mask is a tricky thing. Because it is an inanimate object. But of a face, which is usually what communicates emotion.
So I try to do that with the lighting and angles of it.
And I think I was also getting a handle on how to draw it and trying to improve my drawing of it as I went on.
2. The time setting had always purposefully been ambiguous. I've never given an exact date. The idea is that it is in the near future. That could be tomorrow, tonight, or a few years from now.
That way, I feel like I can have a license to turn of the pressure on a few things for effect.
:1. Why did you decide to
: change Kabuki's mask? The way it's designed in CoB is
: different than what it looks like later on. Was it
: just a personal preference, and why? 2. Also in CoB,
: it was portrayed as taking place in the not-so-distant
: future. Now, especially in Alchemy, it seems to be in
: the present. Is that also a personal preference, or am
: I wrong and it's still somewhere in the future?
: As always, I thank you for your courtesy as well as your
: genius, and I know that while you may maintain you
: modesty, genius really is the right word. I will
: continue to study and to be fascinated by your
: wonderful form of storytelling. I hope one day I can
: be at least half of what you are. Of course, I'm
: alluding to the fact that I like telling stories in
: art, too. You may remember me. I'm still going after
: my 2nd degree in Graphic Design, though I'm realizing
: more and more that I'm being groomed for the wrong
: thing. I will always prefer to draw and paint with my
: hands rather than using a mouse and a monitor, though
: those aren't bad things. You helped me with a very
: difficult project, a slide presentation, and because
: of your work I was able to capture not only the
: students' interest, but my dry and stubborn teacher,
: too. It was the only project that I received an A on
: in that class, and I know I wouldn't have gotten it if
: not for your help. I will be forever grateful to you
: for that. Thank you, and God Bless.