Another picture update!

I completed the two pictures for this week. That's 3 down so far and 2 to go before March. Check out the post on the Katara if you haven't seen it before. It's one of my favorite weapons of all time. The Katara of the Rajput.

I didn't have much else to say this week because I'm still plugging away on the world building. Unfortunately I haven't directed much attention to Devil Dog, but that will change soon. I've almost got all the basic stuff into the World building book. Then it'll just be a bunch of fleshing out details of various things as they come to me. Once I've reached that point, my brain might release me from that world and let me get back to Devil Dog. Apparently my goal of creating impossible tasks has been an absolute success. I have failed part of it, but I've made more progress the last few weeks than I did all of last year. See you next week. For those of you who like the corporate holiday called Valentine's Day, I hope you have a great one.

Kitana and the Tessen!

It’s Just a quick update today. I attempted to do some shading on the Kitana picture, but it wasn’t turning out well. I also tried to change the boots to sandals with straps up to the knees like something Romans would wear, but apparently I’ve never tried to draw toes and they weren’t working out very well at all, even worse than my rubber looking fingers. That's when I dumped that picture and went back to this version. It's no where near as awesome as the one that Midway did, but it's the best I can do for now.

Kitana Preview by TL Jeffcoat

So after doctoring up the lines and colors some, it is as good as my skills can do for now. Maybe later I’ll come back and put in some shadows, but for now, she is ready. Click on the link below to see the entire picture, and if you’re into weapons, to check out the Tessen, which is what Kitana is most known for besides her curves and being a princess.

Tessen of the Samurai 

That's one out of five pictures done for the month, now back to writing, and then finishing the two I'm doing for the Rajput's katara. Here's a sneak peak to the first one I'm on. Already made good progress. The Katara post is one of my most popular Weapons & Warrior's posts, which is why I chose two drawings showing three different variations of it. See you next week with those. I honestly didn't notice the similarity in names (Kitana and Katara) when I decided to do these drawings in this order, lol. My list showed Tessen and then Katara.

Katara preview by TL Jeffcoat

Weapons & Warriors: The Rajput, Sons of Kings

The Rajput warriors are a noble caste that once ruled portions of India and Southeast Asia. Their reign dates back to the fall of the Gupta Empire sometime in the 5th or 6th century and lasted until 1947-1950 when the final Rajput princes joined their kingdoms with modern India after it achieved its Independence from British rule. They were given the option of joining Pakistan, India or remaining independent. Overwhelmingly they decided to unite with India. Rajput literally means the son of a king and they were born as nobles and trained to fight as soon as they were old enough to learn. They were mentally focused and well respected warriors by all who traveled in these regions. When the British occupied India, they recruited heavily among the Rajput because they admired the warrior culture that they felt could help them with the colonial army.

The Rajput had to defend their lands against many invaders over the centuries. Some of these powerful enemies were the Mongols and Arabs. Despite being outnumbered, they held their ground and repelled almost every invader that tried to conquer them by force. The region ruled by the Rajput was very fertile and productive and was very irresistible to its neighbors. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Islamic invaders constantly troubled the Hindu Rajput. The Rajput fought valiantly but often fought amongst their neighboring Rajput kingdoms as well. This inability to unite caused many problems towards the 1300’s and Islam began to spread throughout their lands. Eventually they allied with the Mughal Empire in the 1600's and remained loyal even after the British supplanted the Mughal power 200 years later.

Weapons & Warriors: The Katara of the Rajput

Art by TL Jeffcoat

This is one of my favorite weapons in the Rajput arsenal. Its design is pretty simple, but the weapon itself is far from simple to use effectively. The Rajput carried these weapons as a form of self-defense and status. Sometimes inaccurately referred to as a bundi blade, these deadly daggers were the fiercest purely offensive style weapons ever used by the Rajput. Training of this weapon involved dual wielding techniques and was a style of martial arts all its own. Improper training of this weapon left a warrior vulnerable to attack, but once trained, the dual wielding Rajput was a force to be reckoned with. The Rajput hunted tigers with these blades. Killing a tiger with such a purely offensive and short ranged weapon would be a boost in status for a Rajput, marking him without question one of the bravest and most skilled warriors in the land.