art journey contest WIP - initial sketch

I'm entering the latest DA contest. This time I want to try posting each stage of progress for anybody that is into this kind of stuff

So the first stage: sketching the general placement of elements with pencil and outlining them with a pen. After scanning and applying the template, I will trace the image with vectors starting from bottom to the top. When the space is filled with elements I will then be adding details, background and lightning.

The theme of the contest is to depict your journey as an artist. And my journey was simply wanting to draw comics and video game stuff.

There was a time when I thought that I would grow up and produce some "serious" art but nope. Not gonna happen. I went to art school at one time and by the time of graduation I learned what "serious and great art" is about. I understand it and appreciate it. But I don't really enjoy it. I don't care about seeing it nor trying to make such art. I have always been drawing fantasy stuff. Imagination stuff. Things that I was growing up with. Things that stuck with me since childhood and became part of me. All the cartoon animals with guns riding tanks and fighting anime kid pilots in giant robots. And demonic red skinned cyborg elves. And some more robots with swords and arm cannons. That is the stuffs I want to see and make. That is art that I care about. My journey brought me to a place when I don't feel that I have to mature from it anymore. Today I can embrace it as who I am and what I make. This is what I like to draw and this is what I will be drawing. And it will be full of awesome. If I ever manage to be drawing for living, I will be drawing jetpacked cats with oversized guns leading an army of evil pacman spawns and such. Or something close. 

So this is basically what my submission is about Enjoy!

Tools: pen, pencil, inkscape and probably gimp.