"Narwhal Fencing"

For this one I tried a few times to doodle out what I thought looked like a fencer in action. Given how often my interpretation of reality is at odds with the way things actually are, it's always a good idea to check references.

"Ho! Ha ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!"

And even the fact that I've taken fencing classes didn't really help with an accurate illustration. Also, I sucked at it, suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of an uncouth barbarian whose attack during the final competition employed about as much technical finesse as Conan. Or more accurately in this instance, I was about as effective as this character.

Turns out, as is usually the case, that photoreference route via Google Image search had its distinct limitations as far as getting the gesture just so, at least for the purposes of meshing exactly into the scenario I sketched out from my mind.  

As it happens I have a friend who fences with the campus club, and readily provided me with the perfect pose. Now if I could just get someone to drop by the studio with a good example of the real deal when it comes to the whale. And brace yourself, this touched off another cascade of material (Jacob's Ladder effect) for another, upcoming panel. Thanks Dustin!