Early on, I toyed with the idea of Sky having a snow cloak/poncho like everyone else, but eventually I abandoned the idea since her outfit is mostly white anyway, so she didn’t really need the camouflage. I also considered a form-fitting hood but realized the exposed long hair was a bit more feminine, which suited the look of her character more. Plus, long hair is something I can draw blowing to the side to convey windy weather, if need be.

I mentioned in the previous post that I like to use different textures, and that also applied to the fur in the snow outfits, which I wanted to be slightly different between characters. So Sky and Cember have very fine fur in their detailing, while Roka’s hat trim and coat collar are a longer, shaggier fur. For the record, the short fur is much easier to draw. I’m just saying.

Additional notes can be found in the commentary for The Big Snow Job #2, Page 4.

Here are the sketches I did for the Cember and Sky Arqq-Olem outfits. For Cember, I kept going with variations of his established look of split, 2-piece tops and skirts. This time around, I added some pattern embellishments to his outfits. While I like the solid blue outfit he wore in Bad Goods, the little bits of patterning just add that extra bit of flash that suits his character. So I’ll probably do more of that going forward.

For Sky, the first few sketches here were a bit too dull, “girly,” or fancy. I do kinda like the back skirt of #3 though, so maybe that outfit (or some variation of it) will show up in the future. But for the most part, I really like the banded jumpsuit that I ultimately settled on. It’s a fun outfit to draw, what with all the piping, so I’m pretty sure it’ll be showing up again on a semi-regular basis. I really like the headband as well. Not sure where that came from, but it definitely adds a youthful, cute look to her. That’ll probably stick around too.

Additional commentary about the outfits can be found in the posting for The Big Snow Job #1, Page 14.

I thought I’d do something a little different for this week’s Bonus Content. A few weeks ago, I did this commissioned sketch of Sky at the Boston Comic Con. I thought it came out pretty well, so I thought I’d post it here. Sorry for the low quality of the image. I was working from a photo posted by the person who got the sketch, since I forgot to take a picture myself. Anyway, I touched it up as best I could (without spending a huge amount of time on it). I’m hoping to get a good scan of it sent to me, but in the meantime, I think this will work. If you ever see me at a show and would like to commission a RUNNERS sketch, feel free to ask! And I’ll remember to take a picture next time so I can share it here.

For Sky, the outfit is probably reminiscent of Princess Leia’s Hoth outfit. I can’t say I deliberately intended it to be, but that’s sometimes the problem with people like me who grew up on Star Wars. The images become so iconic over time, that you actually start to lose track of what’s “normal” and what’s been burned into your brain by repeated viewings. For instance, when I think “female snow outfit,” I think “quilted pattern.” But I have no idea if that’s actually a common look for real-world snow parkas or if I just think it is because of Leia’s Hoth outfit. The white color is most definitely not inspired by Leia though since I had already decided long ago that all of Sky’s outfits would be predominantly white since I really like that white-on-blue look.

I deliberately wanted the types of fur to be a bit different between characters. So while Roka has a bit longer fur in his hat and collar, Sky has much shorter-hair, fuzzier fur on her outfit. It just seemed like a softer, more feminine look. Of course, Cember has that same soft, fuzzy fur on his outfit as well. Masculine? No. And yet, very Cember.