Warrior | © 2012 Keelan Rosa | Pencil and Photoshop | Prints start at $13.29
This almost wasn’t a cyborg illustration at all – I was experimenting with showing different emotions through the eyes, and decided to give this woman something to be angry about. Namely, facing down the enemy who took out her original eye and necessitated its replacement. Which, of course, requires drawing in a replacement.
The scar’s synthetic too, obviously, which is a whole other interesting topic. Scars have long been used as symbols of pride, a mark of what we’ve survived, in some cultures even going so far as to be implemented in rites of passage, but as medical technology advances the odds of being visibly scarred drop. It’s not overly far-fetched to think at some point in the future, serious injury won’t leave obvious scarring, and anyone who *wants* a scar will need to actively work to get and keep it – a task made more difficult by doctors who assume everyone wants to look smooth and beautiful. So what will the end result be? Will we develop alternative ways to show what we’ve been through? What’s to stop some wanna-be badass from getting the same synthetic scars as true survivors, and how socially acceptable will ‘unearned’ scars be?
Aesthetically-only, in this image, the scar draws attention to the eye. Which, for a scar like this, is the whole point: this warrior reminding the rest of the world not only of what she’s survived, but of the end result. This eye sees things others won’t. This eye doesn’t play nice with retina scans. This eye changes who she is and what she can do, not necessarily for better or worse but she won’t let anyone else ignore it if she can’t.
Mostly pencil with some colour washes done in Photoshop
Prints available starting at $13.29 | Original pencil art available for $15.00