9-Salience

This one took... A lot longer than I had intended. Originally, I wanted to do a quick drawing of the stitchpunks back during the human-machine war. But a sketch of 3, 4 and 7 grew to involve 1. And then I thought, why isn't 6 in there somewhere? I never get the chance to draw 2... It just kept sprawling out, and this is what happened. The background slowed me down quite a bit, but I think it turned out alright; something about a gold and grey sky always makes me nostalgic.

I apologize if the scene feels a little... grim. 6 walks with a weird gate, you see, so I've always wondered if he had an injury to his leg in the past that failed to mend properly. Just my little ounce of speculation. ^^

Anyway, the theme of this picture was to try and express the unity and group morale of the stitchpunks. After all, the only way they could survive was to stay together; and they were each built with a particular niche or role in mind that could aid in that survival. It often strikes me just how strongly a crisis can bring out the best in people. Corny, I know, but hauntingly true. The gravity, or salience, of a situation is a testament to the strength of the people involved. These humble, battered little characters in 9 may all have their flaws, but as a whole they are remarkably strong. It's one of the many reasons I love this film.

Credit where credit is due: 9 belongs to the brilliant animator Shane Acker.