Southern Currents - Jian

Well, well! I hope I surprised a few people with the final version of this pic. Ever since I got the idea to explore the other side of the Merchant Road world, I've wanted to get into the rich and varied seafaring cultures that populate it. While the North-Eastern area of the world is covered by one very large land mass (a la the Eurasian continent on Earth), the opposite quadrant is broken up into medium- to small-sized islands. The currents are complex, difficult to navigate unless one learns from a very early age how to manage them.

Naturally, with so much trade going on between diverse peoples and the ready availability of tiny isolated islands, pirates are almost a given. Jian here is one of them--a Goblin sailor who makes up one-third of the central characters in this new series, Southern Currents. You'll see his 'brothers' Xin and Huan soon...and don't be surprised if they look a bit different from the original sketch I posted a few weeks ago!

Drawn and inked by hand, then colored in Photoshop. Background by ~simplytonks--much thanks, luv.

Will be posted on [link] soon, along with the actual vignette that goes with him.