The big, the bad, and the high-kicker. And a sweet lil baby in a helmet.

I went a long time between drawings and in some ways I can tell in this one. Firstly, I drew this too big for my new (and smaller) scanner. So I had to scan it in two halves which I divided by character. The red border was just to keep them separated since I wasn't about to meticulously match them up perfectly.

Secondly, this drawing concept was actually somewhat overwhelming for me. I put it off for months because I didn't know how I was going to design the armored suit on the left or how I was going to draw a girl high-kicking in a hanbok. This really should have been three separate drawings, which is why there is no background either. I didn't want to clutter the drawing more. The scan didn't come out so well either.

The girl in the armored suit is my very own Amy. She is holding and protecting our baby Sun Su. Baby Sun Su is wearing his real-life tiger pajamas, and a helmet to keep his head from bouncing on the armor (picture of Corean cartoon Pucca on helmet). Plus he happened to roll off the bed last week! So we are being more careful in real life with him (although he doesn't actually wear a helmet at home).

The armor itself was modelled after the fearsome Corean turtle boats of the 15th-16th Century, the first iron-clad warships in history, as invented by Admiral Yi Sun Shin.

[Admiral Yi ("acknowledged to be the greatest naval tactician ever" according to some sites) kicked much enemy ass with his invention and strategy. Admiral Yi also invented some interesting smoke and fire-breathing devices as well. Hence his dragon-turtle boats were a fearsome creation. There is a famous monument of him in Seoul in traditional Corean armor.]

Her right glove is supposed to be a sort of a flail-glove in which those spiked balls retract and extract from the fingertips to be used as a claw, a flailing weapon or even a grappling hook of sorts (they would make more sense if seen in action). The balls have yin-yang swirls on them.

The pole weapon over her left shoulder is a glaive-like blade, a common ancient Corean weapon. My intent was to draw it with a chainsaw-like apparatus over the blade edge but it didn't come out so clear.

The "V" on the bladed weapon in back and on the chestplate are references to a classic 1970s Corean cartoon called "Taekwon V," about a giant tae kwon do fighting robot.

The metal box next to her says "Ra Myun" ("noodles") in Corean. In America, we have pizza delivery. In Corea, they deliver noodle dishes (like ja jung myun) in insulated metal briefcases like that one on motor scooters.

Not much to say about the guy in the middle except I wanted to draw more Asian males in my drawings. I didn't draw myself because I want to draw Asians that look Asian. Not half-Asians that don't look very Asian. My mom doesn't quite understand when I try to explain this to her.

He's wearing brass bindings on his otherwise minimalist coat, and royal emblems (four-toed dragons for royalty, five-toed for the god-like emperor) on the sleeves. The tigers were drawn from a Corean painting and figure largely into Corean folklore and pride. Tigers could be either unpredictable and comical or brave and dangerous.

Evidently he is the leader, but he is also the least imposing of the three. Mystery.

Visually, the simplicity and lack of detail in his clothing serves as a nice balance between the other two very "busy" characters. Either that or my hand was getting tired.

Yuhjuh means "woman." I can't help but imagine those large bell-like hanbok dresses hiding some major armaments underneath. Such a beautiful and modestly dressed lady could turn out to be a true femininja fatale working for The C (Corean Corps). That was a very difficult pose to draw because of the foreshortening in the kicking leg. Plus, I really wanted to show more camel-toe but I restrained myself.

In her right hand is a hairpin (binyun), which is why her hair is not tied in the usual hanbok bun at this time. In her left hand, is one of the ornamental knives (jang do) that women were traditionally given to protect their "chastity and honor."

On her boot is another Corean pop-culture cartoon, Mashimaro. Deep in her hanbok, from left to right, are: (1) a katar or punch-dagger with 52 hatch marks etched on the scabbard, (2) a folded up crossbow, (3) sheathed blade, (4) three section staff. Sorry, guns are illegal in Corea, and in my drawings as well.

I like drawing anatomy and nudes, but I usually hold back because I do not wish my drawings to be considered solely pin-up art -- especially Asian woman pin-up art. But I had fun drawing the muscle anatomy, especially the legs.