Hi there! Are you doing commissions at the moment? :)
sure what the hell why not. I don't have an updated commission page. ill low ball the prices here.
'sketch' full body
let's say one full body with/without plain background is $20-45 depending on outfit difficulty. Additional people/figures would be $12-$25 each. so this piece would be something like $55 i like rounding numbers up
v this tonowari would be $20 plus the little bust $8, so $28
'background'
ehhh depends on how big the piece would be but for this picture, background alone would be $20, two figures, $20 each. so a good even $60. if the character or shading is more complex expect higher prices, probably $30-45 for both background and figures.
sketch page.
base price $80. idc.
lineless?
base price $50-$90 for full body, more expensive the more difficult the outfit.
So, I also think that the whole coming of age thing is confusing, but at least in regards to Neteyam, he wore a cumberbund in WoW, so I believe he was considered an adult and had 'come of age' for the Omaticaya, but he hadn't proven himself as one to the Metkayina. Also, to make it more confusing - Spider's tattoo. Why did Spider have a tattoo? I love that he did, but he couldn't complete any of the rites of passage that the Na'vi Metkayina do so... why'd they give it to him? What does it mean? Is it different because he's older than the others but could do what the others could?
I haven't rewatched fire and ash but my new headcanon/idea is maybe the tattoo was given to him by the windtraders???? i cant remember when we actually begin to see him with the tattoo but I think it's after the windtrader scene. Also from what I remember the tattoo is more 'sharp' and linear than the more common Metkayina tattoos. (plus blue-ink)
also,I asked discord group and the consensus is sorta like; 'they were made 'adults' young because of war' OR atleast for the metkayina, they are made warriors much younger than the omatikaya. (late teens for omatikaya, 13-15 for metkayina)
i've privately criticized the age logic for the Na'vi, because here;
(Aonung, listed as 15 years old, 'Too young for ceremonial tattoos')
then in the newest Fire and Ash visual guide;
Tsireya, listed as 13 years old, with a facial tattoo (Aonung also gets tatted.) And while I'm not sure if tattooing is a rite of passage, they (Roxto and Aonung) Wear the cummerbend equivalent into battle, coupled with their tattooing TO ME, means at 13 and 15, they are considered 'adults'. Whether this is normal or not, or if they became adults due to war pressure, I have no idea.
And this is PERSUMABLEY the norm, unless stated otherwise. But by having them considered adults as kids, this obviously raises so many questions-and concerns, because the Sully kids, objectively suck at surviving and warfare.
If Neytiri, at 18, in the first film did all that, then how come even Neteyam, child prodigy seems to not even match half of her expertise.
'The Sullys and kids weren't raised in active warfare' Sure, but Neteyam is still considered an adult, he still would need to have half the skills 18 year old Neytiri had, in order to perform his adult rites. Same with the reef kids.
The main argument i've gotten for pushing this notion is that they're 'not considered adults by the clans' and we don't really know that, because we don't know anyone. obviously Ronal and Tonowari are going to baby their children, same with Jake and Neytiri. even Mo'at and Eytukan baby Neytiri in A1, urging her to flee instead of fight.
Functionally, they are adults, culturally they are adults. obviously they're not fully grown so adult na'vi will see them as children.
AND IF THEY'RE NOT ADULTS. then why... what's the rite of passage for? for puberty? I don't think so??? It's not mentioned I don't think?
friendly reminder the Sarentu "children" are all actually adults. Na'vi mature faster than humans and become adults around 16. Tamtey is about 18 in the game. "But they need to pass a rite of passage to become adults" first of all a rite of passage doesn't change biology. They are biological adults regardless. Secondly the Sarentu clan are dead, and we don't even know what their rite of passage to adulthood was because all clans are different. Tamtey bombing the fuck out of the RDA is enough of a rite of passage in my eyes to ascend her to social adulthood anyway
I'm not positive, but I'm positive they are only considered adults once they do complete the rite of passage. Lo'ak, Kiri and Spider are hovering around 16 and are definitely not considered adults.
but yeah all the sarentu are biologically in the 30s and tamtey physically is around 18-19. ikran taming, being part of the resistance, getting and crafting their own bow and weapons, all the Sarentu are considered adults.
*The collarbone 'V' scar, is a Mangkwan signifier. Mangkwan TYPICALLY have family-based scar, to show affiliation. individuals may vary, chose to create their own family symbol etc. (RAXK probably has no family signifier) and like the Metkayina, these scar designs can be merged together.
'Individual scars usually represent lives taken' for a more neutral Mangkwan AU, this includes animals. When a hunter takes a life, they typically get a mark to celebrate/honour the life lost. scarification for aesthetics is rare for the Mangkwan, instead they use piercings for that.
**EDIT, the size of the family scar, and the area it's applied to can be modified. while scarring for aesthetic purposes is uncommon, if you get a scar or wound, it's encouraged to apply after care, to make the scarring more noticeable. This is something Wukula and Zari would've done.
i feel conflicted of how the Mangkwan are depicted and talked about by the avatar creators and Oona and maybe that's because *they* know the Mangkwan will be redeemed. But as a viewer and someone whose played the DLC's the crimes of the mangkwan feels like entirely swept under the rug.
The Mangkwan being 'evil', scalping, killing and taking slaves *is* easily forgotten. in the DLC, for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora (canon) it's explicitly stated and shown they maim and mutilate the corpses of the animals they kill, many creatures not even being edible.
and with James never mentioning these acts, it feels like they're not supposed to be or seen as evil or villains. Instead whenever he talks about them its about their ceremony, how they're evil because of grief and trauma... but they kill and take slaves.
and I mentioned something like this in private, how it seems like we can't apply our morals to the Na'vi, or else Jake and Neytiri would 100% be in jail. (child abuse ontop of mass murder, neytiri threatening and would seriously kill a child.)
Jake and Neytiri mass murder the marine RDA ship, where the recoms are slaughtered, but also just random RDA grunts. They may (?) have mass killed the rda personal on the train in beginning of A2, depending if there's people in the train. RDA as an organization is evil but we see in the movies and the video games, individual RDA members can be empathetic and switch sides, so we can assume that some of the people they killed were 'innocent' (In the same way Grace Augustine, Trudy, Ian Garvin, Hajir...etc would be 'innocent')
so that leaves me with a really bitter aftertaste when looking and trying to understand the Mangkwan, because they do have culture, and practices and art.
But they also scalp na'vi and take slaves. But regardless, to me it's clear they're not going to entirely demonize the Mangkwan, even though they should.
So what the hell will they do with them? I can't imagine the narrative will actually awknowledge the Mangkwan as evil or killers, because they haven't done it with the Sullys, or the RDA or Quaritch.
i got flamed for saying that the mangkwan will likely be redeemed, because james never uses/refers to them as villains like he does with the RDA/Parker
Because Earth is actively dying, and with no natural resources available, the RDA rose to power and influence on Earth. A major corporation, they create vehicles, spaceships and weaponry; specifically for space travel. The main goal and mission of the RDA is to obtain resources from space to bring back to Earth. They are indirectly responsible for both the worsening air quality and pollution on Earth, as well as for the significant advancements made there, including its technology, health, and overall industrialisation.
The RDA's headquarters is America-based. But every country has an RDA representative.
Though amp-suits and flying vehicles are manufactured by RDA specifically for Pandora, it’s not unusual for one of the RDA-grade weapons or tools to be found on the battlefield on Earth.
Before any plan or new venture is made, there's a set of personnel that has to agree and vote, then write up the venture and the cost, pros and cons, etc. The Avatar program itself took nearly a decade to get green-lit.
Pandora was discovered by the RDA and is the MAIN SOURCE of resources used on Earth, from unobtanium used to strengthen the space tech, to Tulkun oil, to even plant fibers used for architecture.
THE SCIENTIST BRANCH OF RDA IS EQUALLY FUNDED AS SECURITY OPERATIONS.
BRIEF HISTORY. VERY BRIEF.
Pandora was founded roughly 30 years before the events of the first movie, in 2124. Due to how far Pandora is from Earth, there were several failed missions to even reach Pandora. First successful ‘landing’ was a little before the Avatar program was conceived. The first settlers could not return to Earth, so the plan was to simply colonize what they could for the next batch of researchers and explorers. This led to the idea of ‘Avatars’. The Avatar program was created and running in a neat 15 years prior to the movie, in 2139/2140 .
AVATAR PROGRAM
While Dr. Grace Augustine didn't come up with the idea of transferring a humans conciousness to another body, she is the one that successfully created the first Na'vi/Human Avatar. (USING LAB-GROWN/CREATED NA'VI DNA. NO LIVING NA'VI WERE USED.)
Originally created *on Pandora* The new tech of Avatar's allowed humans a safer way to explore Pandora, and at the time, a CHEAPER option than sending over all these materials and breathing supplies. However, by the time Jake Sully and Norm Spellman arrived in 2154, the operation of creating Avatars were a lot more costly, as the newest Avatars were updated to be more alien than human.
The Avatar program is contained within the RDA. Thomas Sully and Norm Spellman would've been a part of the RDA to even *know* about the avatar program. OR they'd have to have been accepted personally by Dr. Grace Augustine to participate.
Because Pandora is well-known, Na'vi are known to the general Earth. But like with existing Indigenous cultures, no-one cares about them.
Na'vi are to the general public is what the Mursi (Ethopia)/Tiwi (Indigenous Australian) or even Inuit (Northern American, like...way North) are to an average joe. But also Na'vi are alien's so there's even less of a care for them.
Basically, it makes sense for Jake to know about Pandora but not know what a Na'vi is.
Which leaves us with The Ambassador Program.
While Grace Augustine came up with avatars for this purpose, the first avatars were too uncanny to the natives. So, needless to say, in 2139/2140 the ambassador program was scrapped, with resources focussing on using the existing avatars as extra bodies for heavy lifting, and exploration on Pandora. John Mercer, and Alma Cortez, young and ambitious, and eager to make a name for themselves, re-introduced the TAP program, using natives instead of avatar’s.
Children were not originally the target, and most likely not even included in the pitch meetings.
Grace Augustine was aware of this program, and criticized it heavily, alongside Parker Selfridge. The Na’ring forest native’s were already distrustful of the current operations. If this new TAP program even had a chance to work, it’d have to be elsewhere. Which, John Mercer and his crew managed to get permission to relocate, and the rest is well, history. *Sarentu massacre would’ve happened in 2140
COOL SO WHY DO WE CARE? The RDA began making new plans for the Avatar program, unbeknownst to the Head of the Avatar program and the head of the Sci-Ops operation on Pandora, Dr. Grace Augustine.
The RDA were now looking at the long-term plans for the Avatar program. Earth is dying, what good will the advancement of tech do on an overpopulated and polluted planet? The Avatar program...may be the next evolution of Humanity...
Parker Selfridge would've been aware of the long-term goal with the Avatar program. Dr. Grace Augustine was ultimately disapposable. The RDA already knew how to re-create the avatar program with or without her help.
So by the second movie, the RDA's investments went all in on the plan to colonise Pandora. Setting up strong security and working tirelessly to restart the Avatar program. (This is why there'd been a 15-year lag. RDA had to regroup after the war and then vote and develop a long-term plan, all the fun paper-work stuff.)
SO...WHATS THE RDA GOAL *NOW?*
As of the third movie, the RDA's goal is to entirely colonise Pandora, Australian style. (And punish those who were responsible for the war in the first movie.) Sending militia to secure the land before sending over elites with their Avatar bodies, and then normal Earth guys. As is, Tulkun oil, and the flora and fauna of Pandora are paying for this long-term goal.
Also, needless to say...the RDA may or may not be obtaining the Na'vi DNA as ethically as they did when Dr. Grace Augustine was in charge.
