I Feel Better

Nothing is wasted and life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours 

My entry for Pure-Escapism's contest of her character Hurricane, set to the song 'I Feel Better' by Hot Chip. Despite the song's title being quite positive, the first time I listened to it, I felt it had a much more bittersweet feel to it.  Therefore, this picture came to be. I wanted to draw the character Hurricane after his accident (for those that don't know, he was a part of a pack of storm chasers, but an unknown incident caused him to lose his tail.  While he can still fly, it's not as fast or as accurately as he once did.  This not only shunned him from his family, but he is unable to follow what he once loved doing in life).  

I imagine this as Hurricane's first flight after the accident.  It's been weeks since it happened, but he hasn't been able to bring himself to fly knowing it'll just be a bitter reminder of his glory days.  Eventually, he can't ignore the skies any longer.  His takeoff is rocky, his steering a bit off, and he can no longer fly as high, nor as fast as he once could. Still, he finds some measure of comfort simply drifting through the clouds. While the storms in the distance send flashbacks pounding through his mind, he's able to keep going knowing that at least he still has the ability of flight.  It isn't much, but he embraces this fact as if it's the only thing in the world that matters.  In a way, it is.  He has no pack, and his passion has been denied him, but as long as he can still soar, he finds that life is worth living.

PS I love love love the water brush on SAI