This jungle Matoran image dates back to around 2008 or early 2009. It started off as a pencil sketch which was then copied and colored over with Prismacolor pencils. I used a mix of metallic pencils, regular pencils, and a hint of jell pen.This illustration was made as play, and there really is no set significance to the piece; but I may be using it eventually as a snip scene for the Life of Lewa series. It would apply quite well to the series, being that this Matoran's mask is heavily inspired off Lewa Phantoka's mask design. The figure actually reminds me of a fancier version of Lewa's little boy whom he named Phantoka. So, this image may be used at a later time for something like that. I think my original intent for this picture was to display a Le-Matoran in his natural habitat, and judging by the expression, he's quite fascinated by the camera and strange being holding it. It's a fun concept to look at that way, but I also feel this scene could apply to a mischievous Phantoka, letting his curiosity get the best of him.
To make this image better, I went and outlined it in Photoshop, also tweaked the levels. To the left is the original image before it was outlined; notice the difference of how much dimension and clarity it gets with some black lines added to it? I went through several outline choices before settling on the fully outlined image of both the character and the plants (final image choice displayed at top of post). Also, being that colored pencil has a rather scratchy feel to it, I decided to experiment with the smudge tool in Photoshop and see if I could smooth out the colors and make them blend; this resulted in the right image above. I like the way it melded the colors, but it also seemed to diminish some of the details and crispness to the image, so I chose to stay with the original scratchiness of pencil.
Since I spoke about the quirky little Le-Matoran, possibly child, I also wish to include the image above which pertains the the jungle region as well. This image dates back to around the same time as the jungle Matoran image, and again was a pencil sketch that I scanned then colored over with Prismacolor pencils. I made this picture as I day dreamed of what Le Koro homes looked like (this was before I knew as much about the Bionicle universe); and I drew up this cute little tree home which has two huts, a stairway that curves up around the tree, and a tree home elevator. Who lives in this two part home is unknown, but I playfully like to imagine that perhaps the little Matoran shown before does, or perhaps Lewa himself actually lives here now and then. It's never mentioned that Lewa lives in any home; but if I were to apply this image to the Life of Lewa series (which I just might) I would say that this tree home is indeed Lewa's living quarters, he just rarely stays in it, preferring to sleep in the trees underneath the stars.This may connect onto the reason why his home is always a mess since he just drops stuff in it, and occasionally eats there. Any other time though, he may actually have a Matoran neighbor who takes care of the place, could be why there's a second little hut... that or in a joking respect, the smaller hut is Lewa's outhouse or shed. One other thing I enjoy about this image is that the way I colored it makes it look like someone took a picture of Lewa's home while they were vine swinging past it.
These are the two raw images as pencil sketches before color. Left is jungle Matoran, and right is the tree home. Funny how far a little color will carry a picture.
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