Vaarna's original Finnish character / ink on paper

vaarna · Post by **vaarna** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:27 -0700

As I read my first Usagi ever (Grasscutter) and listened to some Finnish folk-metal (Amorphis, Pohjannaula), I had a vision of a somewhat ronin-ish female cutting heads up north. She's just taking her first steps as I'm trying to get acquainted with GIMP. Coloring will appear once I get the hang of it. Sheesh! I named her Usten Ojanko, reminiscent of Usagi Yojimbo but with a Finnish twist.

http://personal.inet.fi/taide/perho/usten_ojanko.html

Post by **Steve Hubbell** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 13:13 -0700

COOL!

I am now looking forward to seeing more artwork featuring Usten Ojanko.

vaarna · Post by **vaarna** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 0:05 -0700

Hey, thanks!

One source of inspiration for antropomorphic characters is the Canine Kalevala by Mauri Kunnas. Great dogs doing all kinds of mythical stuff! And of course The King Arthur -saga with cats.

Usten seems to come up whenever I'm attending a class. Boredom springs creativity.

Stan Sakai · Post by **Stan Sakai** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:01 -0700

Wonderful.

Are the weapons Usten Ojanko holding traditional weapons, or something out of your imagination? If they are traditional, what are they called?

Beautiful costume.

vaarna · Post by **vaarna** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:35 -0700

The shorter weapon is vesuri (or a variation of one). I guess it's billhook in english. A handy tool we use at school (I'm studying to be a gardener) cutting branches.

The longer weapon is viikate (or a variation of one, again), scythe. Naturally, a one-hand viikate is pretty stupid an idea, but I like the idea of this half gardener / half bodyguard traveller who tends to peoples' orchards and wrestles evil every once in a while.

Originally Usten was supposed to be a lynx, but after reading Grasscutter she was definitely a rabbit!