Supergirl
I know this is going to be a little strange, but I'd like to talk about another Supergirl picture I drew prior to this one; one that could never top any rendition I could ever do involving the "Maid of Steel".
It was late in November and during a time when I didn't own a car so the only way I had to get around was by walking. Fortunately, the hospital I was employed at was five miles from my apartment. Unfortunately it required me to leave an hour and a half before my shift. But I always gave myself a little extra time so I could take a shower and relax before I was on the clock. Well, there were days when I'd give myself a little too much time and wound up sitting in the cafeteria; often finding myself playing my PSP or drawing. This particular November day was one of those incidents where I whipped out my sketch pad.
I didn't notice her at first; a cute little 8-year old girl in a hospital gown with a sad, ill look on her face at one of the tables while her mother was fixated on a television program and eating something from a tupperware container. But she noticed me. And maybe it's because I was already in my scrubs and didn't look dangerous or maybe it was because her mother was so close by, but she showed absolutely no fear as she walked over and asked what I was drawing. When I told her it was a super hero I created, Susan (that was her name) lit up a little and shared with me her fondness for Supergirl. It was, as she said, "the coolest hero in the world."
You can probably figure out that I wound up drawing a picture of Supergirl for her. It was my first crack at it, and if I don't say so myself, it turned out pretty good. I even borrowed some of her crayons and colored it. And while some of my co-workers got on my case that I made her a little mature than she should be (wake up people, she wears a mini-skirt!) when I ran a xerox copy of it for myself, it was just so satisfying that I might have made this little girl's stay at the hospital just a little bit better with such an unimportant trivial thing.
Sure, there's so many things I like about this illustration: from the pose to how I drew the symbol, to even how I created the planet in photoshop. But if I was going to compare the two, it's no contest the one Susan might still have in her possession is better. - Jake