Just eatin' pizza

This was my first time using vector layers in any art software.

Originally, the drawing was being rendered in Clip Studio Paint. However my computer suddenly stopped working about a month ago. I've been trying to repair it manually ever since... But I couldn't wait any longer to finish my piece.

The main image of the card was almost entirely finished when I had to start over.

But wait! It gets worse!

As you can see my canvas was "restored" multiple times. This is because my file is so complex that it corrupted everytime I left the app for the day. Restoring the file forces me to watch a replay of my drawing being created. (Thankfully, not in real-time.)

The Upright Illustration

On the main image of my card we have James and Mary on the night they met. To symbolize the ceremonial cups traditionally present on the card, they're shown holding red solo cups.

In the novelization by Sadamu Yamashita it's briefly mentioned they met as young adults at a mutual friend's house party.

The positive symbolism of the Two of Cups is all about new horizons - a fated meeting of two partners. In our illustrations case, this is the beginning of a passionate romance that will depend on the continued cooperation of both partners.

James Sunderland and Mary Shepherd are excellent avatars for this card, as we will see in the section about the reversed side.

The background is deep water, to symbolize the endless potential of a new relationship. It also serves as a reminder of this couple's inherent connection to Toluca Lake. Both romantic and tragic.

The Reverse Illustration

The colors on the reversed side evoke a very different mood than the soft pink pallet of our opposing side.

I was inspired by the colors used in this official poster artwork by Liza Shumska. The poster was a limited item on OKS that I really wanted but couldn't afford at the time.

The contrast was just so nice to look at, though I don't think mine is as lovely as the poster, haha.

Other inspirations!

I wish I could have captured the closeness of this card from a Spanish language tarot deck by German artist Norbert Lösche.

And finally, but honestly a huge influence on the look of my piece, I was inspired by the pop art style on this punk album cover. This is one of my favorite albums and I've been listening to Less Than Jake since I was born. I always loved the silliness of the image - I've had days where I'd like to jump into the water in my work clothes too. The illustration was done by Steve Vance, a highly prolific comic book artist who worked on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

he's gotta be a skater, or at least owns a skateboard. probably retired this hobby too because his bullies hung around the skate park and picked on him until he stopped going

often spent his spare time in some shitty arcade somewhere. maybe drove out to rural areas to sit by a tree in solitude

eddie's parents degraded him for how he looked, adding onto his negative perception of himself

(takin' a bit from the remake?) he hates eating around people entirely. he still does it, but he doesn't like it

dislikes being stared at for too long. it makes him feel like he's being judged

he'll eat a bunch, feel guilty, and force himself to throw it back up. he repeats this pattern quite often.

dude definitely listens to indie rock, indie pop, and 80s mixtapes

on that note, i'd think he'd listen to queen

the poster in that other room in the apartment you find him in already has these implications, but i wanna expand on it. he constantly looks through fitness magazines, but in a "reopening a wound" sort of way. he wishes he looked that way and is ashamed for it

100% an older brother figure to laura. i find it super cute that he drove her to silent hill (at least i believe he did?!)

the hanging flesh thingies in his boss fight resemble more how he sees his own body than how he sees other people as a whole. it isn't hard to see them as a reflection of himself and i always wondered why nobody pointed that out

eddie wasn't necessarily hiding any malicious intent from the start. i know his whole thing is to appear as unassuming as possible so his abrupt turn into madness feels more shocking, but i'd like to imagine it's less of a hidden evil or spiral for no reason. for example, i believe at the beginning he is scared and riddled with guilt, this pushing him further into his own delusional mindset. sympathetic until he allows himself to rationalize his actions. i also don't think he killed the dude in the fridge, considering the state hes in it wouldn't make much sense until later on when he starts shooting people

maybe a little bit of a momma's boy? ayayyyy

undiagnosed autism, adding onto his alienation from society

not necessarily a bad kid at any point in his childhood. maybe a little bit of trouble here n there, but nowhere near a public nuisance. he seems like he'd rather stay alone in his house

his part time job was his one of his only sources of comfort, as quite a few customers exchanged friendly remarks with him

he's shit at drawing but he absolutely does doodle smiley faces all over anything he can find. james sees them scattered throughout silent hill and they eventually become few and far between

leg shaking tic, idk what its called a lot of people have it. i think he displays it in the game but idk

has eczema

was involved in sports as a kid and into his teenage years, but because of the constant torment + being straight buns at it he eventually lost interest