A very quick drawing for this years Halloween. Hope you guys had a great day.
I like the idea so I might make a better version (though that might be more for me…)
Hasta la proxima,
NUBE Booooo!
Halloween/Fall Artwork; Ghost Girl by the window
I was hoping to do a bit more artwork for the seasons, that way I had a bit more to aim for and to just get into the spirit of the holidays around the year (I feel that if I continue not to do so the years will just continue to feel monotonous and boring). I might do another quick one for Halloween before the actual day. Though Dia de los Muertos is also approaching…
It’ll be fine…
I guess that midterm and the extra work that piled up really did a number. But that’s life I guess.
I want to be able to meld reality and anime a bit more, so I want to play around with that a bit more. And this is one of the paintings where I am giving that a shot.
I am wondering if the way I do watercolor paintings look good to others or If I should make them look smoother so that the grain of the paper isn’t as noticeable. I can do that a bit more if I use color pencils to go over the watercolors I already put in. I have used this technique before, but I want to get better with just watercolors first so that I don’t just rely on color pencils to fix my inexperience. Once I get better I will try to combine them again, but hopefully this time correctly.
In any case this is the painting in question:
There’s something about the character design of the ghost girl from Pokemon X/Y that I really like. So that is the theme for this year’s halloween painting. I was also looking forward ot seeing if I could make her zig-zag mouth look like it could belong to our world (what do you guys think?).
The painting itself is largely inspired by this picture I used as reference:
Cosplayer: Cherry Neko
One other thing I really wanted to try out was seeing if I could choose the right color schemes despite the reference pictures having different colors. As I’ve mentioned before color is still something I’m struggling with. So this was designed to be a good challenge for me to play around with that. I’m still relying on references but I will learn faster this way, and I will have a better understanding of how colors work as well.
I’m starting to get the hang of watercolors a lot more, to the point that I’m no longer afraid to try new techniques and push ones I’ve used before further. I still get a bit frustated when the sessions go for too long and I can’t quite get it right, but that’s fine (nothing a little rest can’t fix).
Strangely enough I actually drew this picture various times (four times) and colored it twice. Once with Copic markers and the second one with watercolors which is the one you see above.
Here is the original sketch/drawing:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37997922582/in/dateposted-public/
Here is the Copic version done with one of said four drawings:
The copic version exists because I wanted to first try out the color schemes that I thought would work. I did this because I didn’t want to use too much time painting only for it to come out wrong. And since Copics are faster to use and dry almost instantly it was a perfect medium to try out the colors. I was almost thinking of just using the Copic version as the final piece, but then I ran out of a couple of colors and buying replacements would be too costly so I just decided to start all over with watercolors. In other words I made this piece twice which is one of the reasons I haven’t posted in a while. But I’m finally done.
For those that are interested here is the process:
From this angle it look like a good start, but I would later learn that I had made quite a couple of mistakes.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975118286/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/26252727129/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975115126/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/26252725479/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975112316/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/26252724059/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/24176567568/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319671004/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/24176565838/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319668314/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/24176563958/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319665864/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319664754/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319663354/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319661714/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319659964/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319658714/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319657424/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319656314/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975099496/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975099066/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975098526/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975097926/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319650324/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975096866/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319648004/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975095856/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319644924/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975094196/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37319641914/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975092656/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/26252707219/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975090236/in/dateposted-public/
Thinking I was pretty close to the end I noticed that the proportions were quite off. The head was much too big for the body, the shoulders were too small and so were the hips.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/38029011271/in/dateposted-public/
On top of that, after taking a break from painting when I came back I decided I needed to make even more changes to it.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcloudxero/37975444346/in/dateposted-public/
And this was the final version I decided to go with:
Well that’s it for today. Hopefully I can get another piece out before Halloween (though it will be simple if it is).
Hasta la proxima,
-NUBE
Quick Update 10/21/16
The deadline for voting on the winners of the art contest on DrawCrowd was yesterday on 10/20/16 and yet only the cosplay category winner has been announced… None of the actual Corel winners have been mentioned at all. That’s truly strange, I wonder if the winners have been notified yet? Having said that, there are two pieces that I feel should be first and second place (of course this is just my top picks).
For second place I would choose this one:
Artist – 녹충
She appears to be an artist from South Korea.
I really like the way it looks, it’s simple and gives a scene that would happen in real life.
My pick for first place:
Artist – Miimork
She appears to be from Thailand.
This one has so much going on. And without words you get a story out of this one image. I really like it and feel it deserves to win above all other entries. The description says it all though, “This is the illustration of my friend who’s studying architecture. Back to school, new project, and old friend.”
In any case, good luck to the winners.
As for my work? I have been uploading artwork to DrawCrowd in intervals and at different time periods to see when it is most effective. I started with a Reina Tanaka drawing, uploaded at night which got over a hundred views in a day. That amazed me.
It was this one:
Uploading to Pixiv you barely get a hundred if that in about a week and let’s not even talk about the abysmal views on DevianArt. After I believe five days it is getting close to 500, amazing huh?
After that I uploaded an Ai Takahashi drawing about two or three days later in the morning. And that one exploded in views. In one day it got around 6,000 views! I’ve never had that many people look at my work in such a short amount of time. After two days it is getting close to 9,000 with two likes and one promotion.
This one:
What does liking and promoting mean? DrawCrowd is pretty interesting in that you have two options to let the artist know how much you like their art. You have the standard like option. By liking an artwork you are making a personal and private list of work you liked while letting the artist know that someone liked their artwork. Promoting an artwork on the other hand compiles a public list that is shown in your profile showcasing artwork that you deem good enough to recommend. It’s a really good system that creates a chain reaction of exposing artwork that others that follow said artist might like as well.
Now back to the third piece I have uploaded thus far. The third piece is the Halloween painting of Yuzuki Yukari I made last year. I uploaded it today in the morning and it has already reached close to 20,000 views! In just one day! This site is incredible at giving exposure to one’s work. I’m really glad I decided to give it a try. It did so well in fact that it has made it to DrawCrowds daily ranking! These daily rankings are a list of artwork that are popular during a day and are showcased on the homepage of DrawCrowd giving the artist and art piece more exposure. I debuted at #195, so I still have a ways to go compared to other artists. I wonder if I can reach the top 100?
This one:
Well that was a quick update. I also have another announcement but I will leave that for tomorrow. Till next time.
Hasta la próxima,
-Nube
Yuzuki Yukari – “Halloween Pumpkin Smash” Youtube videos
As mentioned before. I have started to record myself drawing my artwork again. I wont be doing it all the time. But I will be trying to do it at least twice a month or so. Again, it also depends on whether I get request on Youtube. I plan to make another Halloween video aside from this one.
Anyway, here is the Yuzuki Yukari video. There are two versions, a short fast version and a longer slower version that is easier to follow.
Main video:
Secondary (long) video:
I do apologize. Looking through the video I noticed that the camera’s safety strap falls into view at the start of the video, and there was a mistake with my emblems popping up a bit earlier than it should. But seeing as it takes massive amounts of time to render an hour long video I decided to just leave it as is and pay more attention next time. I had a lot of difficulties starting up the video. I mentioned before (I think), that I upgraded to Windows 8.1. That means that I had to re-install some programs and transfer some files over to my computer from my external hardrive. And that ate up some time. But, now I have everything set up and ready to have the raw videos just plugged in modified and rendered just like the old times.
Hope this helps the people that wish to learn from my style.
I will add another post later today to let you guys know what I will be working on next.
-XERO
Yuzuki Yukari Halloween Drawing
Back on my Youtube page I was asked to make a video drawing Yuzuki Yukari, a Vocaloid. I had already drawn her before, so I decided to try something a bit different and also try a different version (something I found out while looking for references). I believe she has three different outfits that correspond to different versions of her voicebanks.
Now, as I have stated before. Making a video out of a drawing takes some time. I’m not able to move about freely when drawing, and have to be mindful of what I do so that the camera is able to pick it up and in turn allows the viewer to watch and hopefully learn from my actions. It can get a bit annoying but oh well. I’m sure that with time I will be able to do it much quicker and easier.
As for the drawing, I decided to make it Halloween themed. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with the background of this drawing. After all, I am still planning on making two more Halloween drawings… But after playing around with my rough draft, I finally came upon an idea and just went with it.
Video will be uploaded to Youtube and linked here as soon as I am done editing it (here’s hoping to have it ready by tomorrow).
In any case, what do you guys think?
Ashita mañana,
-XERO
Plans for October
So here is just a couple of plans for this month. I have three Halloween drawings I have in mind, two that will hopefully please everyone, and one made for me. Aside from that I have one drawing request on my Youtube channel for Yuzuki Yukari. I will probably have that as a Halloween themed drawing as well, but I’m still not sure yet.
Well, that’s all for now. Off to work on them now.
-XERO
Obscurus and Ame ‘Halloween’ + Update
I will be updating the website pretty soon, sorry I had to take care of some things on my end before I could come back to finish the construction of the website. I will be adding some more artwork to the “gallery” and updating the “prices“. So I hope you guys look forward to that.
Anyway I want to do something a bit different. I have a lot of old artwork that is actually pretty good, but I need to color it in better and polish it over all. So I will be doing that with a couple of drawings. We will start with the one below. Since it is October I felt it fitting for the season (more on the drawing later).
Hope you guys look forward to it.
-XERO
How to Draw Challenge: Black Star
Request by: key1197
Before I begin, I would like to apologize for taking a week off. I was working on a very important project and it took me alot more than I expected. But now that I am back I will be uploading videos as much as I can. starting of course with the requests.
To start things off I will be drawing Black Star. Now I was only given the name Black Star so hopefully I got the right character. When searching the internet for references I got a lot of diversity of images, seeing as this black star had the highest amount of appearence (for the anime catergory anyway). I went ahead and drew this guy. I had heard of Soul Eater before but have not read nor seen the anime until just this week. I gotta say the artwork is interesting. I really liked the halloween motif that the background carries, but like most manga and anime’s these days, it seems to rely alot on fan service (I know that isn’t a bad thing, but I seriously prefer good story to fan service any day). The story isn’t too bad, I guess it is mostly for laughs but I just didn’t get too into it after reading the first volume. I’ll check at least two more volumes and see where it goes from there, after all, most series start off slow and rough until eventually they begin to pick up speed and get amazingly good.
Hope you enjoy it,
– XERO
Darkcloud Xero's Online Shop 