Gahhh I’m so nervous posting this but here it is! I finally got around to doing something special for the blog that introduced me to this fandom. While I’ve branched out into learning about real life engines and Sodor’s lore moreso than drawing, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t pay homage to my roots. Plus, Emma has some of the best world building both in and out of the fandom, and I really wanted to do something special for her. This fandom can be rough, but there’s always going to be a sense of community and a shared love for the art and artists in it. ❤️

Creation wise, these two pictures had me in a chokehold. I’m a perfectionist by heart, and I wanted this to be extra special, so I dipped my toes into stuff that I’ve never done before (more on that later ;) )

I was in the planning phase of this project when Emma posted her updated design for the diesels and this lore snippet for D10. After reading everything she wrote, I knew I had to do something with him. More specifically, I wanted to do something with that paragraph that I quoted. It’s such a refreshing take on 10, and I had to use it.

I wanted to have 10 facing his own ghost, so to speak. He’s seeing himself in Thomas’ position and gets gobsmacked by the reality that he’s become the very thing he fought against. He’s become a threat to Lady and what she stands for. As such, I had to get his expression just right. I needed him to have that mix of horror and denial while still looking menacing, and I think I did a good job at that. It’s not perfect but the effect is still there.

I also wanted to emphasize that 10 was looking in a mirror, hence the smoke trick. It’s just a folder, a clipping layer over some shapes, and a filter, but it came out surprisingly well! I’ve used this trick for some other art (that I need to finish and post lmao) so I knew what I was doing with it.

(Also can I point out how 10’s face changes to look more like Lady’s after the incident between the two? I noticed it as I was doing the lineart and I literally screamed).

My main problem was a lack of references. While there was plenty of older art that I could use, there wasn’t much (or rather, nothing) related to Emma’s new designs. Sure I probably could’ve asked for some sketches or something to go off of, but I’m of the belief that asking for art out of the blue is rude, so I never asked. Plus I wanted this to be surprise, so that was out the window regardless.

In the end, I ended up using a mix of old and newer art just so I could get the details just right. There were a lot of shapes and details in the new designs that I couldn’t make out with what I had, so there was some guesswork too.

The most intimidating thing to me, outside of sketching everything, was the lineart. Usually my lineart looks flat, but, I found a new method of doing lineart that ended up looking fantastic. By constantly switching the brush size, I forced myself to take the weight of the lineart into account, which makes it more interesting and less flat. This, combined with some airbrush shading tips I found, and it made my art 1000 times cooler.

Thomas was an absolute cakewalk while D10 and Lady were a pain in the ass mainly because there weren’t a lot of pictures of them. That…and Lady has so. much. fucking. hair. And don’t get me started on 10’s jacket chain. Granted, I still had fun drawing everything, but it was definitely a learning experience. I’m not entirely happy with how Lady’s dress came out, but it still looks good and is recognizable (plus she’s hidden in the background so that helps lol).

Now…below is a reenactment of what occurred while I was drawing these.

Me: Dammit, I wish I had better images to go off of.

Emma, out of the blue: say no more

Me: Holy shit

*A few weeks later…*

Me: Ok, everything is looking good! It’s mostly finished, I’m incredibly happy with it, and its about as on model as I can-

Emma, one convenient fall afternoon: Bonjour

Me: Are you fucking JOKING-

I actually laughed when Emma posted these because what were the fucking odds that she’d post pictures of the three characters that I just so happened to be drawing? They were an absolute godsend (and a delight to read) and sped things along nicely.

I still had to improvise and use older refs for some of the shapes but overall I’m happy with how everything turned out. I’m especially proud with how Thomas came out, since I’ve always struggled to draw things on model.

I went back and forth on whether I should redo Lady, but ultimately decided to keep her as is. She’s mostly in the background and obscured by Thomas anyways, so it would’ve been redundant since she isn’t the focus (sorry Lady). Plus, I really didn’t want to cover up and delete her gold details. :(

Now…remember when I said I was a perfectionist? Out of everything I just mentioned, the definitive hardest part of all of this was actually posting it. I kept going back and forth between the two, trying to look for stuff to fix and improve, and while I did find things to fix I was just dragging my feet. I did this for weeks, long after the date I originally planned to post this, but in the end, I had to force myself to hit that button.

So here it is, in all its glory! Not only was it a blast to work with but it really helped me regain some of my confidence in my artistic abilities. I’m absolutely drawing stuff with this style from now on and I can’t wait to play with it more.