4/7/15 - Lyn Sketch Progress

I actually did this right after posting yesterday but I'll put it up here because I think it looks much better with the shading:

I tried something different here: all of the value is only one color brush; it simply has variable opacity. It's all eraser and one color. Again, I'm trying out a new approach.

I think it came out alright. Now that this portrait is worked out, I'm moving on to the next part: choosing and refining a thumbnail!

Until tomorrow!

4/6/15 - Lyn Prep Work

So I'm going to do a full painting again. Like the Twin Swords, except this time I'm going to take my time between steps and really finish each part to the point where I am 100% satisfied with each step before moving on to the next one.

This time, I'm going to work with an established character as I'm focusing on the rendering and artwork itself, not the design. Since I'm in a Fire Emblem mood, I chose Lyndis (FE7).

So, here's my initial portrait work. I'm attempting to make it read like Lyndis in my style instead of an anime style. The costume is from the Fire Emblem Awakening DLC official render. It'll be more apparent later; this is mainly a portrait study.

Obviously it's not there yet, but I just thought I'd introduce the project now.

I'll be back tomorrow!

4/5/15 - Value Added

So I realized perhaps a little too late that I did this technique wrong - I missed a rather crucial step (in fact, the reason I wanted to try this) which means I can't try out the new colorizing technique on this B/W sketch. Whoops.

That said, I did add some value:

So that's all for now. Sorry bout that; I did want to take this further but the whole point of going further was to try that colorizing technique. That said, I have something else cooking. More on that in a few days - I'll probably fill the interim with daily warmups or something.

Till tomorrow!

4/4/15 - FE Inspired Line Art Practice

So I started this yesterday and got a bit further today - lineart like this takes longer than I thought! Here's the finished 'step one' of the linework:

Up next I'm going to do a value pass then add color after. I'm trying this technique again and I'm going a bit slower this time - I'm taking my time with each step and so far I think it's working out much better.

Well, that's it for now! Be back tomorrow!

4/3/15 - A Step in the Right Direction

Not much to report today - I worked on a few different things but I'm hoping to show others in a more complete state, so here's a color version of yesterday's sketch:

It was fun to play with color gradients in the wings and skin - I like how that came out but I think my lineart needs significant improvement if I'm going to continue in a style like this. Well, that's why I'm practicing line I guess.

So that's all for now; hopefully I'll have something fun tomorrow!

4/2/15 - Another Bird Person Test

I got a project that allows me to experiment more with bird people, so that means more tests!

This one was also a linework test - I want to practice linework and also see if this style is conducive to good paintovers. So here it is:

It's sort of an in-between of the slightly older stuff I wanted to mimic and the bad stuff I was doing in days past. I think it came out okay, but only value and color work will truly tell if this will look good.

Until tomorrow!

4/1/15 - Creative Writing

So today was a schoolwork day - the only art I got done today was thumbnails, and I have no means of scanning them in on hand (nor would they be particularly interesting to look at. So nothing fun to show today. Sorry.

That said, I don't want to leave with nothing to show, so I'll put some of the creative writing work I did in here:

There she lay, strewn midst the fresh rubble, exuding an air of serenity even among the countless fallen and tattered flags wavering in the faint wind whistling through the shattered windows of the sanctuary. Her eyes drifted up to meet mine and I understood, so I played her a song she would recognize as bravery and courage, and of loss and deep sorrow, it was a song ushered forth by a lifetime of friendship and of bittersweet triumph, but all that echoed in my ear, accompanied by the mourning wind, was her elegy.

We had to create a scene within one or two sentences. I thought it ended up sounding kind of neat, and I might illustrate it soon, if I have the time.

So that's all for today. Be back tomorrow!