The official reblog blog for 999 Week! Tag all posts #999 Week, and they'll be reblogged to this blog for easy access. :)
Visit the tags page to find a certain character or year!
Spoilers for all games are untagged!
What is 999 Week? Well, for a “week” in September, the Zero Escape fandom comes together to celebrate the first game in the series, 999! Want to participate? Simply create and upload any kind of fanwork (fanfiction, fanmixes, fanart, cosplay pics, etc.) for a character from 999 on a specific date! You don’t have to do all the characters, of course; any that you can is appreciated.
Each character gets a specific day in September, corresponding to their bracelet numbers! So they’d be as follows: Ace (9/1), Snake (9/2), Santa (9/3), Clover (9/4), Junpei (9/5), June (9/6), Seven (9/7), Lotus (9/8), and 9th Man (9/9).
September 10th is reserved for any extra characters (“Zero,” Nijisaki, Musashidou, Nona, Funyarinpa, Science Boy, etc.). We can’t leave these guys out! Also, here are some guidelines:
If you are late on any day, feel free to upload it the day(s) after!
Feel free to just make content for as many or as few characters as you like! Any and all posts will be reblogged and appreciated!
Tag everything as #999 week so everyone can track the tag! Also: make sure you tag spoilers! (#999 spoilers should do!)
I’ll be reblogging every work I see on the tag to this blog (@999week), so if you want to see a collective of everything, follow us here!
Any kind of support, or even a signal boost, is appreciated! This started back in 2012, so we’ve been going for quite some time. We love and appreciate all the fans and their hard work to celebrate the games!
As always, we hope everyone has a great time this year!
999 Week: Days 9 and 10 | The 9th Man, Mister X and Cap in No. 9 (White and Black on Wine) by Mark Rothko
Thoughts and original reference under the cut!
Alright, look, listen. I know you're thinking I finally lost my mind after this drawn-out series. Well, you would be right about that, but also, I think this was pretty much one of the first recreations I knew I wanted to do. I know there's at least a couple of Cradle fans who might have been looking forward to the end of the series and might be a bit disappointed that I didn't really draw these guys. But I promise if you stick around for my analysis, you can hopefully see where I'm coming from with this piece.
Like other pieces belonging to the color field movement and associated artistic currents, Rothko's work has often been disregarded as banal or underappreciated for its apparent simplicity. Now, as far as matters of personal taste go, differences of opinion are understandable and valid. But as an art lover myself, I think it's important to have an open mind and at least try to meet art halfway.
Rothko's work is impressive from a technical point of view alone, nevermind the emotions it is known to evoke. It really is difficult to appreciate on a screen or photograph, but as someone who had the pleasure to see some pieces of his at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, there is so much depth to his brusthrokes, use of color and the appeal of his canvasses.
Now, how does this all relate to the characters I chose to... well, draw isn't really the right word here, so let's say represent? Well, it's not that I think that the likes of Kubota, Nijisaki and Musashidou are really meant to have more to them than what is given to them in the text of the game. But as an enjoyer of transformative fan content myself, I couldn't help but feel curiosity about them anyways. Their connection to a favorite of mine such as Hongou really captured my imagination. I guess when you are the kind of person who might wonder about what could lead someone like Hongou to become the kind of person he is, it follows that you might wonder the same thing about the other three in charge of the Nonary Project.
All of this got me thinking about the way certain art movements are meant to be engaged with, which I was talking about before. Rothko himself hoped that his paintings would lead the viewer to seeing more than merely the colors and shapes. In a way, isn't that very similar to what speculating and coming up with headcanons is like? To extract meaning from something, independent of what other people see or don't see, or what the author intended or didn't intend to convey?
In terms of why this specific painting was chosen, I thought that the color composition was fitting for the characters I was representing. White for Musashidou's hair, red for Nijisaki's rose, and black for Kubota's glasses. I also wanted my recreation to have a hint of dark humor, so the maroon in the background represents... well, the gore. And look, I'm self-aware enough to admit that it's pretty unserious of me to overthink these characters in particular, so I'm kind of making fun of myself here too.
Closing thoughts time!
This entire series proved to be challenging in many different aspects. It really encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone with my art and try new things, and it definitely gave me a lot of food for thought on the topic of the relationship between art, artist, subject, medium and viewer. Is it possible to ruin art by modifying or reinterpreting any of those components, and if so, to what degree? And... is that what I did to the pieces I referenced and recreated in my style?
I don't know if I have any definitive answers, but at the same time, that's fine, I think! It made me happy and meant a lot to me to share my thoughts on things I'm passionate about with you all, and that's what I value the most out of this experience.
999 Week: Day 8 | Lotus in Self-Portrait With Red And Ochre Abstraction by Yvette Coppersmith
Thoughts and original reference under the cut!
The finish line is so close! Apologies for the late upload again. Guess we are doing 999 Month instead, huh?
In all seriousness, I'm learning a lot of lessons on motivation and time management with this event. It has been incredibly enjoyable so far and the feedback I've been getting on my pieces has kept me going, but next time this event rolls around, I'll make sure to prepare way ahead in advance. I mean, with more time to spare than I estimated.
Onto the piece I bring to you today!
This painting is a self-portrait by artist Yvette Coppersmith. Similarly to the one chosen for Santa, I found her portfolio while looking for inspiration for my own art during a period of growth. The way she uses color and her clean shape language are captivating, as are the textures. I stepped outside of my comfort zone a lot with this drawing by attempting a lineless style for the first time in a very, very long time, and I have to say that while the process was difficult and not something I might do often, I'm immensely happy with the result.
Much of Coppersmith's portfolio is made up of self-portraits. It's difficult to find much information on each specific piece, but I think they're best understood together. The self-portrait as a genre is one that has always intrigued me from a psychological point of view. Art demands understanding and looking at the subject on a deeper level than casual observation, so when the subject is yourself, I bet a significant degree of introspection is needed to capture what makes you you. It's also fascinating to me to think about the many things about yourself you might learn in the process of not just looking at, but bringing into existence, a rendition of your own likeness for hours upon hours. At least that's always been my impression!
I felt that Kashiwabara's qualities embody well the wisdom of the self-portrait as a genre. It's unfortunate and unsurprising that the way she conducts herself in the game earns her the distrust of the characters, and by extension, the players. On the one hand, I understand why. Fiction is often treated as an idealized version of reality where heroic and villainous traits can often be exaggerated without suspension of disbelief. From this point of view, a character acting in more morally neutral ways is often seen as less agreeable than the ones the narrative props up as virtuous. But I must confess that I actually saw myself reflected in many of Kashiwabara's attitudes and behaviors during the Nonary Game. I am a regular person, just like she is. I have people I care about, and if I were in her situation, I would be desperate to get back to them too. I doubt I could be as assertive as she is in the game because that's not my personality, but found myself seeing where she was coming from with a lot of her proposed plans of actions, and of course, intrigued by the way she was written as a character.
This is all a very lengthy character analysis paragraph to say that Kashiwabara is a character who won't say sorry for being the way she is and prioritizing herself and the things and people she cares about. For how guarded and skeptical she is, her being one of the few characters who genuinely have no idea what's going on ironically makes her "paint" one of the clearest self-portraits unlike those characters who hide parts of their identities or pretend they are not the people they say they are.
As a closing thought, I'd like to point out, however, that this is one of two self-portraits in this series alongside the piece I recreated for Akane day. Is it significant in some way? I don't know, but it's interesting how these very different characters (one unabashedly open about where she stands, and the other performing a fabricated identity out of necessity) both led me to different conclusions and takes on the experience of portraying "yourself".
Anyway, that's all for now! I'm looking forward to completing this series once for all. The inspiration for the last piece might not be something you will see coming... but... oh well, you'll see what I have prepared!
999 Week: Day 7 | Seven in The Heroic Dosser by Peter Howson
Thoughts and original reference under the cut!
Whew, the end tail of 999 Week is making me feel the burn, but damn it, I will finish this series!
It's Seven's time in the spotlight! This piece provided many expected and unexpected challenges. The original painting has such a distinct texture and aesthetic that was really hard to work with considering my limitations. The shading on the hands and face was probably one of the biggest "trust in the process" moments in this series, and again, while my technique is limited, I'm honestly really pleased with how the details turned out!
The original work is one of several paintings with the same title and similar themes in Howson's portfolio revolving around the image of the Glaswegian working-class male figure. There is an emphasis on his masculinity and his physique. The proportions feel massive and the details on the rugged hands and face being specially striking.
I felt that the way the subject's physicality is portrayed fits his character well. He might not be what most would call conventionally attractive if you judge him by the aesthetic sensibilities of the game (compare his design to the way the younger men are designed). Similarly, the colors and shapes in the original painting might not fit most people's idea of what an idealized art style should look like, but the personality and appeal of the subject is undeniable. It certainly captured my attention and imagination. It makes me wonder who this man was and what he's thinking about. I feel the same way about Seven too regarding all the mysteries surrounding him.
Now, despite the clothes he is wearing in the Second Nonary Game, we know of course that Seven is not really a manual laborer but a detective. The social commentary is unfortunately lost in my recreation, but there were other themes and ideas that I felt were fitting. I see a lot of Romanticism in this piece. All the shapes appear to move and bend and reflect light and cast shadows as if the environment is being molded around his presence and his will. The man stands at the edge of a walkway like a Romantic hero, in a way that seems reminiscent of pieces like Wanderer Above A Sea Of Fog (which, in fact, was one of the first pieces I considered for Seven, so this is definitely a theme I knew I wanted for him when I started planning this series). The railing that appears to bend in his grip separates him from the rushing waters below as dramatic lights and shadows envelop him. The setting is urban rather than natural, but nature is present in the water, and possibly the illumination in the background, which to me seems to have a bit of fog or mist catching in the beam of a streetlight.
I think all of these ideas came together very nicely for the kind of character Seven is. I thought to portray him in his appearance from nine years prior to really emphasize his role as a savior. The background was changed to the deck of the Gigantic, but really, all I felt needed modifications was the building behind, which in my version is one of the funnels of the ship. I wasn't really going for a scene that might have happened when he was aboard (I was trying to convey something more symbolic, like I did with Snake's piece) so the idea to keep the water level almost up to the deck was my way of conveying the urgency and danger of the situation he found himself during the rescue... and yet, the threat of the ship sinking contrasts with his confident stance and thoughtful expression.
Thank you for your continued support of this series and apologies for the fact that I'm running really late with these last few pieces! I'm hoping to finish all of them in the coming days, even when 999 Week proper is already finished. See you in the next one!
"I didn't come up with all this. All I did was follow Zero's orders."
I had a completely different idea at first but it wasn't satisfying enough, so I completely redid it. Also alt. version (basically just linework) under more bc I like it lol
Sacrifice. Day 9 with Kubota for my Hongou / Nijisaki themed comics for @999week !
Yipppeee all done with the comics! I'm excited to share the last nijisaki painting :) That's 2 paintings and 16 pages worth of comics done for my first ever 999 week yay! I miiiight try my hand at drawing a Musashidou one... but I am pretty busy lol.
