MM Tribute: Loving Memories

So I got the go ahead from Udon to post my page in the Megaman Tribute.

This work means a lot to me, for a few different reasons:

First was a promise of sorts I made to a friend who had passed away then. I promised that I wouldn't allow my work to do with 'just enough' and would always push harder on each project than the one before. She was that kind of person - always exceeding and raising the bar on herself in work & life in general.

I really hope this makes her proud.

The other major factor was this is the first illustration where I've tried doing multiple narratives all at once. While it's a cute picture and it's a cute way to put Megman into a fun context, there were a lot of different reasons for why I developed it along this path as I worked on it.

The first was to reflect what Megaman meant to me - he and I "grew up" together in a way and so, when I think of the character/series, my fond memories are of OG MM. It's the same reason he's playing with Airman - my favorite MM boss from my fav game in the series.

The next was to "tell a story" about the idea of destiny. The stuff around Megaman hints at what he's to "grow up" to be, and the view at the window shows that there's a very real and pressing reason for him to grow up that way.

The other was to just have fun! I really liked cramming as much information and nods to as much Megaman mythos as possible.

Some pieces are literal (boss toys), others were nods to non-canon Megaman games (Rush is actually in his form from the MM racing game), and other things were made to re contextualize something into another form. Stuff like the E Tank as a mug, Zero in a poster (since he's not "real"...yet), the Protoman scarf and clock...

All in all, I really enjoyed this, poured a lot of heart into it, and am thrilled that it'll be sitting with so many other great works for all sorts of folks to see!

OH *AHEM* NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT STUFF:
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MEGA MAN TRIBUTE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER
-the book is premiering at the San Diego Comic-con at the UDON booth (#5037), July 20-24
-for fans not attending the show, you can preorder the book at UDONstore.com ([link] )

MEGA MAN TRIBUTE SOFTCOVER
- The standard softcover edition is also available for preorder on amazon.com ([link] )


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