Oh, Free Scanner

Sometimes my capacity for ingratitude makes me lose faith in myself. A friend of mine gave me a flatbed scanner. Free. No charge, not even a favor. Hardly an expensive one, but she had another, better scanner, and no need of this one, so she gave it to me.

I had some trouble installing it, thanks to Windows' inability to find the correct driver, and the correct driver's inability to operate the hardware without some tweaking (note to self, when actually purchasing a scanner for myself, do not buy Lexmark). That trouble frustrated me. Then, when scanning a couple of pencil drawings rife with delicate shading, I found that the scanner simply couldn't pick up the finer marks, regardless of how I changed the settings. Rather than immediately accepting this as the limitations of a free scanner, I actually had the gall to get mad. I'm over it now, though, and I must say I feel a little silly about it.

On to the image:



And now, the story behind it:

My wife and I attend the Pittsburgh Comicon every year (military duty permitting). This year, while wandering artists' alley, she laughed about the outfits worn by 95% of female action stars in comic books, and asked me if I could draw a monthly series she first called "women with clothes on" to differentiate it from the comic book norm. Now, almost exactly one month later, I've finally gotten around to drawing the first one of these Sharply Dressed Heroines. I'll try to post one picture a month of an action girl or heroine wearing reasonable or practical clothes for their professed activity or expertise. No guarantees.

Also, let me pause to link Scott McDaniel's web site. He's one of the best artists in the comic book business, and a fantastic person to know. His home page could use some work (frames are so 2001, amirite?), but his art is 1st rate and he's taught me a lot in the time I've known him. Do him a favor and pick up a copy of DC's Great Ten mini-series.