The Man in Black by @Thorvald (El Thorvaldo)

My 19th submission to DYOS X. [link]

There is a lot I want to say about the background to this page, yet six years later it's still too sensitive to declassify. I don't actually consider this the "official" introduction of Toyoda, as this was merely a foundation for if, once I had worked up the self-confidence (and equipment) to post hand-drawn cartoons, he might be integrated into the storyline.

His silhouette was deliberately made as vague as possible, to the point that all you can really see of his actual body are his hands. This was a strategic choice, as I didn't want to put a face to him until I could do so properly. My colleagues that do know the full story may be asking: "Is Bjørn meeting the 'original' Toyoda?" The answer is yes. ;)

If you can believe it, Toyoda's original role in DYOS was conceived as comedic, and the whole mysterious backstory intended to be a lead-up to the bait-and-switch punchline of his introduction proper. This was still my primary goal as late as λftermath, but as he became an integral component first of the Combine arc and then lord_joakim's twist on the Gem, the dramatic themes that emerged became much more attractive story-wise. My long-suffering counterpart @GenMarshall will no doubt be delighted to know that his Gmodification of Toyoda was one of the contributing factors in this shift.

To think I was convinced I'd have this whole thing wrapped up by the end of 2009...

The flag to the left is part of a third-party addon for the Nogovan Armed Forces. It isn't actually 'posed' besides a forced z-coordinate so that it fits in the shack; I was fortunate to snap a shot when it looked like it might be pinned to the wall. The dialogue is actually the same screenshot repeated; fortunately for me the only elements that needed to change were those I was drawing overtop.

Operation Flashpoint/ArmA: Cold War Assault © Bohemia Interactive.

[Originally submitted to DeviantArt January 2014.]