This is the second time I have drawn the original Gundam. Truthfully the last time was in my opinion a failure. Despite that, it did amass a good amount of views. So I figured I owed it to my viewers to create a better version now that I can draw at any pace I feel like.
For some reason though I just kept getting problem after problem. The first attempt the video got messed up because of a new sketch book that I bought. Then I just couldn’t get the pose to come out just right in my head so I had to redraw the whole drawing over and over again. That of course takes time away from the camera that is recording. Which then leads to the batter draining out and take some more time to charge up. In the end it was a whole mess that took longer than it needed.
Even so I was pleased with the way it came out. A background would have looked nice but trying to incorporate space (as in outer space) with color pencils is quite hard because of the amount of color you have to put in. I developed a technique for this using markers/water color paints but the paper would most likely start to buckle. So… yeah.
In any case here it is. Now that I have uploaded a version that I am pleased with I can finally move on into other mobile suits late in the future.
In commemoration of the new Dragon ball movie that has just recently been released in theaters (sadly only in Japan), I present to you my rendition of the newest Super Saiyan form… Super Saiyan God. I really like it, specially because of it’s simplicity. I had seen many renditions on the internet, some had Goku with really really long hair (probably taking Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan 4 as inpirations). I wouldn’t doubt it if Toriyama sensei saw any of these, and because he likes to go against others and be different I’m sure really wanted to make a really simple design but still make it different from anything done before. And so with that we get a form that’s between Goku in his normal form and when he becomes Super Saiyan with the big difference that his hair, aura and eyes all becom red. Because of all the expectations many fans had, many were of course dissapointed with this design. But again to each his own. Its just how some hate Goku’s Japanese voice (which seems strange to me) and others love it (I have had the pleasure to grow up with the Spanish English and last but not least the original Japanese voice, and despite all the hate I absolute love the Japanese version). I really hope I can get my hands a copy of the movie soon. I’m sure it’s going to be great.
Once again, I seem to be late in uploading this. It’s really starting to get pathetic… Sure this time it wasn’t a whole month, but still. In any case I seem to be posting this two days late, so I’m sorry about that.
As the title states, this time it is Linlin’s turn. The second of the only two Chinese members of Morning Musume. She was definitely one of the funniest, if not the funniest of the members. Her energy was always high, and her way of viewing the world was inspirational. I remember seeing an interview where she said that she would laugh in front of a mirror in the morning in order to get more energy. I found that to be an amazing habit.
I would most likely get along best with Linlin since she is crazy about anime and Japanese pop culture. Plus since were are both foreigners (to different countries of course) we would have a lot to talk about. And we are actually about the same age, she’s just a couple of months older than me.
It seems that she will also be debuting this year as a solo artist, which I am extremely happy to hear. After hearing the song that she composed and wrote the lyrics together with Ai chan, I know for certain it will be successful.
It also seems that she is continuing with cosplay, which brings me to why I decided to draw this drawing the way it is. Since anime and cosplaying seems to be a big part of her life, I find it only natural that I draw her as though she was an anime character. Which is why I chose to do a cute but cool outfit, reminiscent of what you usually see in an anime. I feel that a cute but kind of punk style would suit her well.
So far this has been the hardest drawing (of a Morning Musume member) that I have done. The reference that I chose was probably the culprit (since her left side of her face was darkened by shadows making it hard to apply the right amount of contrast). I guess I’m still not as good as I should be… Plus she look rather different these days, she is most likely using circle lens? I hear those things make your eyes look really big.
After the first two “If they were real” videos, I feel like going back to drawing some more anime themed drawings. For this video I decided to draw characters from one of my favorite animes: TORADORA. It’s a really fun, serious, inspirational and emotional story. If you have not seen it yet I highly recommend it. For the most part the animation and art style are definitely really good. But I feel they could have made it even better. Truthfully the only reason I complain, is because of the time a certain side character dyed his hair (I really thought it looked a bit…).
In any case, this drawing took about five and a half hours to complete. But that was to be expected since I had to color it after all. Over all I wanted to try and bring out the feel of a certain artist I have talked about before, Banpai Akira. This time though I made sure to not look at any of his works and see if I could pull it off on my own. I had to do quite a bit of experimenting, and I really don’t feel I did too bad. The only complaint I have is with Aisaka’s hair. Maybe I should have done it a bit darker (more on the brown side, instead of the light golden hair). But oh well.
This was probably the hardest one to draw. Not because of the difficulty but because of not knowing how Bulma would look like in real life. In my view she could go either way in terms of looks (Asian or Caucasian). So I decided to do some research to help me decide. Much to my surprise that added more to my confusion. As it turn out it seems that Buruma was meant to represent Xuanzang, the Chinese monk (and protagonist) from “Journey to the West”. One would think that it would all end like that and I would just draw her as a Chinese girl, but after examining the original drawings for what would later become Buruma, I found out that he (Akira Toriyama) had a Western girl in mind
So, did that image still carry over to the Buruma that we all know? I was really contemplating and reaching the same conclusion that it could go either way. And since I pretty much imagine Trunks as seeming Caucasian for some reason as well as seeing her family which is made up of one blonde mom. At the very least she could be half and half. But to not complicate things, I will just make her a white girl. With that in mind I’d say that was probably the only character I feel they casted right in that horrible live action movie (too bad they did not give her the full light blue or in some eyes light purple hair). Of course since it was supposed to be based on the original Dragon Ball then they would need a younger actress (or at the very least, make her look , girlier). Not that the right casting would have changed the outcome of the film…
I also tried to pinpoint the source of the name. That of course would lead me no where. After all, as most fans know, Buruma means Bloomers. And again this would not give me a definitive answer since these are/were widely used in both Japan and Western countries. The origins of the garments would not help out much either. So I scrapped this as a deciding factor.
Any way, that is how I came to the conclusion of how to draw Buruma. I infact did use a model to draw this interpretation (from a picture I found in the internet of course, after searching for hours…). Here is the picture of said cosplayer:
As you can tell I borrowed greatly, and mostly just added the bunny suit, as well changed her hairstyle. I’d say she fits the part perfectly. She not only looks like her but also has that youthful look that reminds me of the early days of Dragon Ball.
I also had some other images in mind of course. Some that I personally preferred and would have used if I decided to go the other way. here are the links:
pic 1
pic 2
And so, there you have it. What do you guys think?
Let me start off by saying, that just like JunJun’s mother I seemed to have messed up JunJun’s birthday by a whole month… (yeah, really smooth…) But better late than never, and in a way this is kind of like her Morning Musume birthday (yeah, I’m just making excuses now). Now back to the description.
JunJun is one of the only two foreign members on Morning Musume (would that also include all of Hello! Project ???). I really feel she along with LinLin had it tough. For one, they both had to master a new language, adapt to a new culture away from their families, go through the difficulties of adjusting to the hardships that come from being a Momusu (learning how to; sing, dance etc), and to top it all off, also trying their best to over come and tolerate some of the hate that came from some of the racist fans. Truly a lot of hardships. It really is easy for one to not pay attention to such details, specially when some girls from outside of Japan would do anything to join Morning Musume.
Although her time in the group was short, I’d say she did make quite an impression on a lot of people. I really cannot say what the full plan was when Tsunku decided to incorporate two members from China. He kept saying things along the lines of expanding to Asia. But I wonder if he also had some other plans to go along with it? I wonder if in some way he was trying to change the image that people had of Japan out in the Mainland? Whenever I start reading about Japan, people always seem to make them out to be as racists who think of themselves as more than (or above) the rest of the people on their continent. All I have to say is that like in many countries (if not all), there will always be racists. It just seems to be a very sad truth about humans. But what people just don’t seem to understand is that just because there appears to be a large group of people who speak of hate to other countries and/or ethnicities, you should not group a whole country as if it is filled with these types of people. In many cases (if not all) the groups are actually very small, but they appear to be big because they just happen to be the loudest (in other words they are big loudmouths). It is these types of groups of people that ruin the reputation of people that can range from a small group to a whole country. I should know, there are a lot of these types of people in my home country of Mexico. A beautiful place filled with really nice people, but there always happens to be some idiot who ruins the image for everyone.
Kind of off topic again… In any case I found her to be a hard worker, who tried her best to get incorporated into the group. She also seemed to be a really funny person from what I saw on Haro!Moni (too bad it ended so soon).
Now that she has moved back to China I noticed that she has gotten far too thin. When in Morning Musume she was already thin to begin with, but looked really healthy. Now she seems so fragile. She’s also not the only one, it seems that Ogawa Makoto has also slimmed even further, and just like JunJun, she seems extremely frail. Maybe this was the reason Hello!Morning and Haro!Moni always seemed to incorporate food into the show. Like most man I do prefer a women who is in shape, but there really is a thing as too thin.
I also hear that she now has a boyfriend (one of the perks of graduating from Morning Musume). I’m happy to hear that. I think she is the first of the Platinum Era.
I disappeared for quite a while again haven’t I? Sorry things have been getting hectic on my end. But I was finally able to start up my new project “If They Were REAL”. I had a really hard time figuring out which character I should choose for the very first video. Seeing as I mainly focused on girls all the time, I figured that I should start it off with a man this time. But even then, who?
That’s when I started to go through nostalgia and looked through a handbag where I happen to have my the early drawings (well most of them) I have accumulated since I was a child. That’s when I remembered my original idea of not only doing renditions of current anime characters but to also bring some of my favorites from my childhood. Despite that I still could not come up with a character that told me, this is the one.
But eventually I just decided to start off with Dragon Ball, pretty much the anime most kids grow up with (even now). Although I do not have a problem at all with Dragon Ball Z, in my mind it will never compare to the original Dragon Ball story. I feel that Akira Toriyama was really forcing himself on the series since the end of the Piccolo saga. I’m sure some of you have heard that although Akira Toriyama wanted to end Dragon Ball fans did not allow it, not once but several times (I hear he wanted to end it all at the end of the Freeza saga), and then kill off Goku at the Cell saga (something that did not pan out yet again). Though despite all this, he created something that even to this day has become a phenomenon that we all know and love. Yes despite liking the original series more (even as a child) I won’t deny that Dragon Ball Z was awesome. And seeing Goku transcend everyone on Earth and eventually the universe was inspiring.
Now lets move on to the drawing and the reason I decided to draw him as he is. As most of you know (I hope), Dragon ball is very loosely based on the story of “Journey to the West” or “Monkey”. In short, a monk and a couple of heroes (Sun Wukong/ Son Goku included) go on a journey to retrieve sutras. Like in Dragon Ball, Sun Wukong is the strongest of the group just like Goku. In an case let’s go back to Goku. Many people have been “debating” on whether Goku comes from Asia or whether he should be any other ethnicity (although most who argue this point want Goku to be white, more on that later). But since Dragon Ball is extremely influenced by Chinese cultural themes (as well as Japanese of course), and “Journey to the West” starts on China, or at least on the mainland of Asia. I can easily say that Son Goku is not white. And since Dragon Ball was a Japanese story, I’m sure the author wanted to not only entertain the audience but also to some degree (as it is with most shonen manga-ka’s) inspire it’s readers. So I’m sure he had a Japanese boy in mind (who was crossed with a monkey…).
Later in the series (when the Dragon Ball Z series began), it was quickly revealed that Goku was not of this world. Instead of being an Earthling and somewhat a freak of nature (I don’t mean that in a bad way), Goku was instead an alien from the planet Vegeta. Many Western fans like to use this fact to say that Goku is white. But lets not forget that this was only added because Goku was far too strong to fight anyone on Earth. So it would really get boring if he had to fight the same people over and over. The obvious solution was to expand the field of possibilities. I’d say there were only two options. Fight in the heavens or in space. Of course as the story progresses both options are actually used, but Space enemies seemed to be the main focus.
Sorry for sidetracking a little. Even assuming that Dragon Ball was started right when Raditz showed up on Earth, what? All aliens have to be white right off the bat? There can’t be other aliens that look like any other ethnicity? Then if Goku could not be “Asian” then why not have him be Mexican instead (that would have been cool by the way)? I’d like think that planet Vegeta much like Earth, has many different variations on it’s inhabitants much like Earth. But because the story was not even meant to be this way in the original I still believe that Goku is of the main land of Asia, most likely China (if not Japanese, since it is a Japanese story, written by a Japanese manga-ka). I really don’t see why many fans try to argue that all characters are white because they “look white”. Instead just get their personal background and make decisions that way. I’ts not like there aren’t many foreign characters in the many anime’s that exist to this day any way.
This statement is of course not to say that if someone wants to cosplay as a character they should not be allowed to do it. No, cosplay is for fun. Do some people better fit the character? Well, YES. But that should still not give the right for people to prohibit others from doing it. I really don’t understand these wars that are going over the internet. What I’m trying to say is, don’t try to change the ethnicity and nationality of a character just because of the way YOU see things. And don’t try to stop someone from cosplaying or admiring someone just because they happen to not be of the same ethnicity or nationality.
That was rather long I know, but I was hoping to only write this once (at least extensively). Going back to the drawing, I’m sure that some of you if not most have seen Goku in this pose before, if not here it is:
I had others in mind, but in the end I went with this one.
I feel that I should probably get memorable and easy to identify poses (usually from the creators original work). If you guys have read or seen the manga/anime starting from the beginning and skipping right to about the end, you will notice that Akira Toriyama’s style changed quite a bit. For instance, later in the series the characters have somewhat longer faces compared to the original more round ones (which I personally prefer). So with that in mind, I used the original art style and made Goku quite cheeky and a bit chubby as well as short. What came out was an extremely young looking Goku (I’d say it was the cheeks that gave him such a young look). But that was a characteristic used widely in the story, which is why many didn’t take him so seriously at the beginning. I could have changed his hairstyle a bit, but I felt that I should try and make it look in the same iconic way we know and love, while still trying to give it a sense of realism. Sadly the picture I took made some light areas look much brighter than they should so you can’t see the actual drawing I have in my sketch book. But you should get the idea of the final drawing.
This has been the first installment, I really hope you enjoyed it, and if you have read through the whole thing. THANK YOU.
Although I still look at old episodes of Haro!Moni I had stopped looking for new information about Ai Takahashi since most of her work seemed to be revolved around plays and such (which I can’t find, are they even redcorded?). Every once in a while I do stop and look for information but I had not found anything too interesting aside from photos and the occasional appearance on a show (although they were usually bellow five minutes). Recently she has become more active though and in some rare instances I have managed to find some full program appearances on variety shows and just recently on the J-melo show where she not only met with fans but also sang along side Risa Niigaki. For those who have not seen it I highly recommend you see them:
But these are not the recordings I was mentioning, after all these appearances were not released until the last weeks of 2012. No the recordings I am talking about are actually much more recent. I actually envy those who were able to attend her show quite a bit. Not only did the fans get to meet her, but they (to my understanding) also received a signed calendar as well as actually hearing Ai chan singing some old songs that we know and love as well as some covers from not only new Morning Musume songs but also from other artists even a special song that was composed by LinLin! and the lyrics written by of course LinLin chan and Ai chan. Although that song was definitely for me the highlight of the whole fan meeting (which was named “CRoss RoAD”, sounds cool doesn’t it?), another thing that captured my attention and really made me happy was hearing Ai chan covering a song by Utada Hikaru.
Ai’s cover of one of Morning Musume’s singles after her graduation (personally I really love this version, although I would like to here what this would sound like with all the Platinum Era)
Ai’s cover of Utada Hikaru’s “Automatic”. I guess you guys probably do not know but I am a big fan of Utada Hikaru, like with all fans out side of Japan I first learned about her from her song “Hikari” or in my case “Simple and Clean” that was featured in the Kingdom Hearts game (another thing I follow). In any case, hearing Ai Takahashi covering songs from probably my favorite singer is just absolute magic. I really love the way she handled it. I really can’t express how big a deal this is for me.
And this last video is the song composed by LinLin the youtube video is naming it “Forever Loving You” but I hear some are saying it is still unnamed (I’ll have to study this up at some point). This was an absolutely amazing song. The melody is just so soothing and relaxing, add to that Ai chan’s amazing vocals and you have one of the best songs sung by Ai. I was actually very surprised at how touching it is (although I do wish I understood all the lyrics). What do y0u guys think?
And so we finally have another drawing of a Morning Musume member. This time we are drawing Aika the first of the eight generation. Strangely, she is not as popular as many of the other members. I really do wonder why that is, every time I go online people just seem to spit out the same words, from my experience it just seemed that someone out there started this and it spread till it got out of hand. I do wonder what is with humans and our inability to go against the norm. In any case, what ever others have said I really do like her. Although I will admit that she isn’t my favorite.
If there is one thing that people should appreciate is her amazing perseverance while in Morning Musume, and even now while in H!P. Despite her many difficulties and weaknesses she pushes on and tries to overcome them. This quality of hers is something I hope many look up to, I know I do. This I believe is her strongest charm that many (for whatever reason) over look.
Another thing that really surprised me was that she seemed to have an interest in Mexico! My native country. Upon hearing of the news I truly was overjoyed that a member had set it’s eyes on the beautiful country that is Mexico (which sadly is trying to overcome some harsh problems at the moment, I really do hope that things get much better). And not only did she just talk about it, (information on whether she had anything to do with it, is based on my judgement, only some wishful thinking and deduction) but it seems that plans had been planned to take a concert to the soil of Mexico. They even sent a video where she and Ai Takahashi (which made it even more amazing and filled me with such joy) talked in Spanish hinting of one day going to visit the Mexican fans. The video is at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbCPH94c-xw
Sadly the fans screamed every once in a while so some of their speech was muffled (I can’t blame them though). But alas the members that I actually cared about are now gone, and even then four other members had already graduated as well. It’s not that I would have been able to go if they did happen to visit Mexico, but just the thought that they took to the time to visit my country would be a great honor.
Well it seems I got a bit off topic, in any case I really do hope you guys enjoy it.
It is a new year and also a new era for this channel. After drawing requests for two years using this channel and my closed account: zero9archangel, I have come to the realization that it was finally time for me to be selfish and start drawing what actually interested me. In any case, I would like to thank anyone and everyone who either participated by asking for requests or just happened to stop by from time to time to watch my videos.
How to draw Challenge was designed for me, so that I could try out various different art styles (which mainly seemed to focus on anime and manga). One other challenge was so that I could try and increase my speed when drawing while still maintaining good form and technique which would become apparent at the end, when the drawing was actually finished. Doing good speed drawings was … tough. It seemed that my drawings always seemed to lack something, I just couldn’t really figure out what though. And then I started drawing for my self these past few months, and that is when I realized the difference of a rushed drawing and one that had an ok amount of time given to it. Getting frustrated and wanting to produce better pieces I decided to give in to my selfish desires. Not only will I not be taking requests, but drawings might not be posted on a scheduled basis as they were before. This will give me the freedom to draw to my hearts content.
But you as the viewer will also gain something. A much better display of my skills and what can be possible to create with just your hands and a pencil. I also plan to incorporate color every once in a while. So I hope you will look forward to that.
Aside from this, I am also starting a new project where I draw a character from an anime/manga or game and draw them the way they would look in real life. I plan to call this project: “If they were real”. My plans are to determine every single factor from name to nationality and any descriptions till I can finally flesh out a character. I’ve noticed that many artists just get characters and completely change them, mainly making them white despite being Japanese or from some other ethnicity. So I hope you guys look forward to that.
Lastly I suppose I should talk at least a little bit about this drawing. If I could liken my self to any animal it would definitely be the tiger. That amazing power, agility and speed they possess is something I have always tried to achieve. There reputation around the world is definitely noteworthy. And let’s not forget about their aesthetics either, they are amazingly beautiful animals. Having looked up to them, I have had an urge to draw one for quite some time. Looking at the the many types of tigers out there I would probably be a Sumatran Tiger, although they are not the biggest they are still rather fierce. And there is something about that cheek hair that looks cool.
It would be utterly amazing if I could achieve a title that reads: The Tiger Emperor Xero, when it comes to drawing. Although that’s clearly me just fantasizing.
It has been quite a while since I last uploaded something. But I personally prefer it this way. I really do think that quality over quantity is much better. For this installment I have added another SPECIAL video to commemorate the birthday of another one of my favorite Morning Musume members… Kamei Eri, the sleepy turtle.
I found her to be extremely beautiful and cute when I first got into Morning Musume, and as I got to know her and the rest of the members more, I just could not get enough of her and her segments. She really made things so funny and interesting. I recently found some of her old appearances on some variety shows and couldn’t stop laughing when they declared her as the person who would most likely communicate with aliens. At times her expression really made me think she actually was.
It’s a shame I was only present to see her last year on Morning Musume (that’s what I get for learning about them late). Whatever she decides to do on her future, I can only hope her the best. I’m sure she is capable of forging a path just for her, whether we as fans are able to witness it or not.
As for the drawing, I’d say that I had the most trouble replicating her face. I really took quite some time to draw her out. I had to redo a lot of details. Even at the end, I question whether I was able to truly capture her essence. In any case it was really enjoyable. Now, for those of you who do not know, recently Ai Takahashi released a couple of pictures of the current Eri, who actually allowed her self to get pictures taken of her. And that is where I got my reference material. In other words you are looking at Kamei Eri as she looks in 2012. She really hasn’t changed much, the only difference is that she has her natural dark hair. Which I truthfully prefer, she looks extremely cute and natural.
request by: 1993KINGoo
This one really gave me a headache. It just had too many details I had to take care of… But anyway here it is. It was requested that I draw Iron man riding a nine tail fox with cup of tea and wearing a top hat. The background would consist of them being on the moon with cherry blossoms on the background. And so that is what I did…
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