DISTRESSED DAMSELS: Revisiting & redrawing an old EMPOWERED illo! (Patreon)

So!

Years ago, I posted here an old DiD sketch (drawn circa 2007-2008, I'd guess) that was probably a prelim for an Empowered commission or con sketch:

 ...featuring the then-rare concept of an Emp DiD sketch depicting our bedamseled heroine with her mask off, for once; this image also featured some seriously wonky anatomy , to put it mildly. Then again, in early Empowered I wasn't doing "real drawings" as I saw 'em, so I felt free to just scribble down such wonkiness without further effort or examination.

Okay, so maybe this "unmasked" idea wasn't all that are, considering this early Empowered vol. 1 scene (from the original draft  version):

...which I redrew and expanded considerably for the published edition. However, later development of the Empverse would (IIRC) establish that mask removal was a violation of the so-called "Unwritten Rules," so Emp's bared face would ne'er be seen again during all her superheroic exploits.

Anyhoo, after digging up that old, wonky-looking sketch of unmasked Emp, a while back I decided to revisit the pose with modern-era drawing skills and CSP (iOS) in an illo I finally finished this weekend:

...but I added her mask back on because now that state is a bit of a rarity, as I often draw Emp distressed sans mask in art requests:

 Anyhoo, as the next work-in-progress jpeg shows, I tried out a different headshot early on:

 ...but found that the anatomically unlikely 3/4 view of her face bugged me too much, hence the slightly different (and still unlikely!) second version. Note that draft #1 at left was borrowing a face from that semi-recent "Elf vs. Chair" story from test project The Chaste and the Chained:

...which was a change of pace for the DiD imagery I normally depict.

Note that Emp's hair and behind in this new illo count as Life Drawing due to the fact that I based both from photoreference; however, I suspect that the photo I was looking at might've been AI-generated, so does this really count as Life Drawing? (Hrmmm.)

Anyhoo, that's all I got for you today, folks! And now, onward to final tweaks and uploading for the script and roughs for the 48-page first issue of Unidentified Fantasy Offering (aka Godplayers, the fantasy project's real title)!

NEXT TIME ON THIS HERE PATREON: No idea, TBH, but something should be coming up in the next M/W/F slot. Let's find out together, shall we?