I still don’t consider myself much of an artist, but I guess I can let you decide…
5 minute read
May 24, 2012, 12:07 AM
So I was doing some scanning work for Falcon this evening, and decided to finally scan some drawings that I did in high school. I’m believe that these are from the fall of 1996. And so away we go…
Yes, that is exactly what you think it is. You are looking at Lord Zedd from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, standing in his throne room. It’s true. I was a nerd even back then. And I was pretty detailed. I got the pedestal, I got Zedd, I got the throne, I got the fan behind the throne, and I put a couple of putties in there.
I think I did this fairly well, but some of the details amuse me. First of all, since when did Lord Zedd’s palace have hardwood floors? Apparently this was after Zedd’s lovely wife Rita Repulsa redecorated. (What, you don’t remember that episode? Yeah, neither do I.) Then Lord Zedd looks a little strange. After all, Lord Zedd looks more like this. This Zedd looks a little bit scrawny in places, and has a bigger head. I wonder if Zedd hasn’t been hitting the pool like I have as of late. Then there’s his hands. I think Zedd needs to get Finster or someone (Rito and Goldar, maybe?) to check and see if there’s not a beehive somewhere in the palace, because Zedd’s left hand is way bigger than his right. Wonder if he didn’t get stung by a bee or something over there. Of course, knowing Zedd, he could have then zapped the beehive with his Z-staff and turned it into the next monster. Now I put putties in this picture for one very simple reason: they’re easier to draw than tengas. Yes, the curtains were f—ing blue. There is no symbolism or meaning to the decision to use putties, except that it’s easier to draw a putty than a tenga. You try drawing a tenga some time, and see if you don’t come to the realization that putties are easier to draw.
And now on to exhibit number two:
I think every Power Rangers fan probably thought up a Purple Ranger at some point in their life. My sister did, and named the character Alex (I believe after Alex Mack on Nickelodeon). So I took her lead and did a drawing of it. On the left side of the drawing is Alex the Purple Ranger in a purple Mighty Morphin Power Rangers costume. The animal on the power coin is a cat. In the background is the Command Center. Then on the right side, I have Alex the Purple Ranger in a proper Power Rangers Zeo costume, as Zeo Ranger VI (note the hexagon on the helmet). Above the Zeo-clad Power Ranger are the symbols from Power Rangers Zeo: circle, double circle, triangle, rectangle, star, and Gold Ranger’s symbol, which is Japanese Kanji for “king”. Then in between the two scenes is the sixth Zeo subcrystal, which powers Zeo Ranger VI, Purple.
This one amuses me less than the one of Lord Zedd, because I went for accuracy here (for the most part). First, look at that Command Center. That is pretty accurate. Compare to the real thing. Only major difference is the landscaping. I put it in the middle of a field, because, like the putties vs. the tengas, a field was easier to draw than the Vasquez Rocks. So a field it is. Then on the MMPR outfit, I didn’t realize it at the time, but if Alex the Purple Ranger is supposed to be a regular Power Ranger, those should be diamonds on the gloves and the boots, and not triangles. The Green Ranger was the only one to have triangles, and this person doesn’t have a Dragon Shield. Then I put the Blade Blaster on the wrong side. Looking at stills from Zyuranger, those should be on the left side of the costume, not the right (and I’m sure that left-handed superheroes the world over rejoiced at having a left-handed holster). Also note lack of turtleneck dickey for when the helmet is off. I think the only time that the Power Rangers lacked the dickey with their helmets off was for promotional photos during the first season when Kimberly and Trini went without (but the boys all wore said dickeys). On the show, all of the Power Rangers always had a turtleneck dickey on when they went without their helmets. I just forgot to draw it in. Oops. Then on the Zeo side, I was pretty accurate. My only mistake was with Gold Ranger’s symbol, since I forgot to include the vertical line that links the three bars. This happened because Gold Ranger had not yet debuted in the United States when I did this drawing, and when I got a glimpse of the Gold Ranger’s costume, I saw three bars without the vertical. Oops.
And lastly, one more:
This is, believe it or not, something non-Power Rangers (amazing, isn’t it?). This is a drawing of my then-current Airwalk sneakers. The background is generic.
I drew this in detention in high school (yes, I occasionally had detention – deal with it). I had managed to get two days’ detention in October 1996 for being my usual bubbly self, and as the second day was a Friday, I had no homework, and so I was kind of doing whatever. The teacher who ran detention didn’t care that I was doodling, because it meant I was occupied and wasn’t bugging her. On the drawing, I was pretty accurate, though I can’t prove this with a picture of the actual shoes (and I looked). The toe is a little curled up because when I was growing up, when my family bought shoes for me, in order to accommodate my wide foot, we had to go out on the length, and a curled end would be the result after some wear. Then otherwise, I don’t think my legs were ever that skinny, especially not in high school. Then Airwalk should pay me for the product placement right there, though I freely admit that I haven’t actually worn Airwalk shoes since early 2005.
So there you go, I suppose. I will leave the decision about whether I am any sort of artist up to you.
Web site: Power Rangers fan art on Fan Art Central
Song: Theme to Power Rangers Zeo
Quote: So I'm a nerdy boy who can draw a little bit, maybe...
Categories: High school, Myself, Power Rangers