So I'm trying to figure out just what I want to draw, what way to express myself, and leave my mark in the art room. I've always wanted to create my own character, but I'm not really good at free-form art, so I figure the next best thing would be to pay homage to a character I love. So there's the easy part, I've figured out that I want to draw one of my favorite/beloved characters.

The hard part is picking just one. I first had to determine what characters were my favorites and why, so first I went off to google image search to begin my quest of finding something to sketch as I though of characters I'd like to draw. I'm writing now to hopefully choose one by the end of this entry. They are in no particular order (well, maybe alphabetically);

Celes - Celes is one of the main characters in Final Fantasy VI, probably my favorite Final Fantasy. She's originally a general in the evil empire, but rebels once she learns of the evil deeds being committed and sides with the good guys. She is probably the most fleshed out and developed character in the game, and it could be inferred that she falls in love with the main guy hero of the game (Locke). She's always in my party when available, and is usually the strongest character.

Crono - The silent protagonist of my favorite RPG ever made, Chrono Trigger. There's not much to say about him because there's no development of his character, but he's always there as the silent swordsman, love interest of the princess, and hero of time. He (as well as the rest of the characters in the game) were also drawn by Akira Toriyama's widely recognizable style, a style I've long since admired being a fan of DBZ as well.

Deadpool - Marvel's Merc with the mouth. The schizophrenic, fourth-wall breaking assassin extraordinare, what more is there to say about the fun loving psycho? One of the most hilarious characters ever created, he's like Spider-Man on steroids and crack, and I already thought Spider-Man was hilarious and awesome enough.

Gaara of the Sand - Kazecage of the Sand Village in Naruto, the manga that started out childish and annoying and quickly took on a serious and entertaining demeanor almost immediately with the introduction of the bad ass who could control sand and whoop Fuzzy-Brow's ass. Evil and crazy until Naruto put him down (though not without an epic fight), he became more stoic and bad ass, and this time on the right side of good and evil.

Gohan (Teen) - Ah, DBZ, my (now) guilty pleasure. I didn't start watching DBZ until the fabled Android Saga hit US shores on Toonami, after years of the repeat showings of the infinitely long Frieza Saga. Everything was fresh and new, the fight scenes were fast paced and broad, and Gohan, the eternal underdog defeats Cell in an amazing show of power, I feel nostalgic writing about it. I've attempted to draw him before with varying results, but his adult characterization always put me off. Whenever I think about Gohan, I think of him fighting Cell.

Hal Jordan - The original and now current Green Lantern. Hal to me is like the Spider-Man of the DC Universe. Witty, wise-cracking, but not perfect and definitely human. Hal has done some amazing things, and still acts like a real person. His whole live was literally blown up, so he went crazy and destroyed an entire Corps of Lanterns. He has since redeemed himself, and continues to be my favorite DC read.

Ibuki - My favorite Street Fighter III character (III being my favorite Street Fighter thusfar). She isn't very good compared to others, but her unique playstyle in a game full of wannabes stood out to me, and being a ninja is always a plus.

Neji - My other favorite Naruto character. There's just too many cool ninjas out there, yet Neji can get by on hand-to-hand combat alone (albeit sometimes with the help of super sight and the ability to choke the body's blood flow). Another one of those characters who starts off as a high-and-mighty jerk, but eventually becomes a pleasant person, who just happens to be bad ass.

Noel Vermillion - Heroin of Blaz Blue - Calamity Trigger, quite possibly my favorite fighting game ever created. I can't vouch much for her character, but her fighting style (dual pistols and hand to hand) is just insanely cool to watch, and so fun to play as. Some people call her cheap, I call them jealous.

Sora - Hero of Kingdom Hearts II. He started out as a goofy, akward and almost unlikable character to me, but by the end of Kingdom Hearts II had grown into the hero I'd never expected, and I was shocked to find myself sad that I had come to the end of his story. From clueless boy, to sacrificial heartless, to wisdom, valor and master hero, the tale of Kingdom Hearts definitely proves the old adage, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Spider-Man - Last but not least on my list of characters is Spider-Man. What can I say about the web-slinging wall-crawler? My first ever comic book was the giant sized foil embossed #100 issue of Web of Spider-Man, my favorite show was the animated Spider-Man on Fox, and my favorite beat 'em up was Maximum Carnage for the SNES. I was never a comic book geek (I'd only ever read the one, at least until this summer) but Spider-Man still managed to capture my interest in every medium I could find.

And that's my list. I could have added many more, and I know I'm forgetting something important, a character from Bleach, or another favorite video game character, but the list is already long enough and I still haven't decided what to sketch! I'll just have to make a split-decision and go to town on it tonight I guess.