Another Try at TAS

Haha, I'm so much happier with this entry than the last one! I'm starting to get the hang of GIMP now... What happened is that last fall my laptop died, but I got a new one which is totally awesome (I can listen to music AND draw at the same time now! ). The only thing is, silly me, I can't remember where I put my Photoshop disk. So I'm trying GIMP instead. My last picture was really fuzzy because I was using the paint tool for lining... but when I started this picture I finally discovered the ink tool. I like this tool way better than Photoshop's. 
I decided to give cell shading another try. It's kind of a mystery to me how some people can make it look so nice, so having no idea what I was doing, I experimented a lot here and it was actually really fun. And I like how it turned out in the end, although it's nothing like what I expected. 
Also, I'm so proud of myself for drawing FIVE humans in one picture! I'm excited to introduce you to the whole Westward family at once, from left to right: Kathleen (mom), Anthony (middle son), Alexandra (youngest daughter), Logan (oldest son), and James (dad) on Vivace. 
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Horse name: Vivace
Rider name: James Westward
Stable name: Climax Stables
Class: Triple Arrow Show Jumping Advanced Class
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Vivace got time off from training every year for the breeding season, and this year James noticed that it took the stallion longer than usual to recover his previous fitness. This wasn't surprising, because Vivace was now getting quite old, and James realized sadly that it wouldn't be long before Vivace had to retire. For one more year, however, James let Vivace regain his fitness at his own pace, and when Vivace was ready they planned a quick trip to Triple Arrow Stables. The day before the show, however, when James was riding Kate in their outdoor arena, Kate decided she knew a better approach to a jump than James did, and he ended up crashing into the dirt. He got back on her and proved he really did know better, and didn't think too much about the fall after that. 
The next morning he woke up before dawn to ship Vivace to the show, and when he tried to get out of bed he found his whole body was stiff and sore, especially his back, where every muscle felt knotted. He struggled to hold off panic as he wondered what was wrong with him and how he was going to get through the show. Kathleen ordered their sons out to bathe and load the horses, and then she attempted to battle James' affliction with hot pads, painkillers, and sweet tea until he was able to get down the stairs. 
"A little fall like that should be nothing," James groaned to Kathleen. "I feel like such an old geezer." 
Kathleen patted him on the shoulder, but he could see that she didn't know what to say, and that she was rather concerned for him as well. 
The boys somehow managed to get the two horses ready and loaded into the trailer on time, and James made it into the truck and they set out for Triple Arrow Stables. It was a short drive and soon they had the horses settled at the show ground. Logan's class with Lori went first, and James found that walking around helped more than anything else, warming up his muscles. He even forgot about the pain briefly as he watched Logan and Lori's show. His son had worked so hard with Lori, training her steadily and patiently, and now it showed: they seemed almost to read one another's minds as they bounded around the arena. Standing by the rail with Kathleen, James couldn't help feeling amazed that his son was so grown up and able to train horses so well on his own. James grinned at Kathleen, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. 
As soon as Logan had taken care of Lori he hurried back to James and asked, "How are you feeling, dad? Can you still ride?" 
James felt rather annoyed at how worried Logan sounded, and it was true that his back still felt...less than ideal, but he said, "Of course." Before he knew it, his family had Vivace ready and they began warming up. At least Vivace seemed relaxed and professional. He had done this so many times that he didn't care about all the people watching, and even James' tension didn't both him. A lot of James' cues were more clumsy that usual, but Vivace knew what to do on his own, and James was very grateful to have such a trustworthy horse. He would miss Vivace badly when he retired. 
As they waited to enter the arena, James muttered to his horse, "Maybe they should retire me instead. You're in way better shape than I am right now." How was he supposed to ride feeling like this? James took a deep breath and forced himself to think about something better...All the time that had passed hadn't only brought bad things. He was getting to see his kids grow and learn so much, and to see Vivace's foals be born and become race horses and show jumpers themselves, and he had gotten to spend so many years riding Vivace, a privilege he hardly felt he deserved. Even if on a morning like this it was hard to remember it, he knew he was blessed and he wouldn't give up what he had now for anything. 
When the announcer called their names, James and Vivace rode into the arena, their family cheering them on. 
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Main references used: for James and Vivace by CalyHoney, for Kathleen by StockEffect, and for the kids I used tons of different ones...