Tag: ling mingmei

Trying out different coloring styles: Lynn Minmey

On By Nube ObscuraIn Artist Project, Traditional X Digital, UpdateLeave a comment

My brother showed me this cool picture that was drawn and then had sections of the dress cut out so that the artist could use the sky as her dresses color. Since I was already drawing Minmey so that I could practice with my pen on bristol paper. Bristol paper is cool and all but it starts to bubble up and break apart when I use water media on it so I decided to paint it digitally. And since I was already preparing  the drawing for using photographs as the “coloring” base I figure it would be a good enough time to practice different coloring styles and backgrounds.

I was just focusing on drawing and painting so I didn’t keep any records of the process this time.

Minmey drawn with my G-Pen:

Using photos as the back base for Minmey’s shorts, hair and eyes:

And here is Minmey using the anime style painting with a beach background:

Minmey using the anime style painting with her room as the background:

And finally using the colors from the reference picture:

Here are the reference pictures used:

That will be all for now.

Hasta la proxima,

– NUBE

 

 

 

Human Culture’s Songstress

On By Nube ObscuraIn Artist Project, UpdateLeave a comment

 

Here is the final piece, it will be added to the gallery now.

Human Culture’s Songstress resize

Two questions.

What do you guys think of the final piece?

and

Do you guys know what is on the light panel?

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmey, not the final piece

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I finally got my Copic refills. So I worked on the Lynn Minmey drawing. Hmmm… I guess I could do more, but I wish to move to another piece now so I am pleased with what I have now. I learned quite a bit from this drawing. I really enjoyed drawing Minmey and really want to draw another piece of her sometime soon (except I want to stick closer to the anime aesthetic).

Now that I have finally finished this drawing I have decided on the title for this piece; “Human Culture’s Songstress” a title that most fans of the series will get (I hope…). If you haven’t seen the series please do, despite it’s age it really holds up. Having seen it as an adult I can really pick up on the adult themes that are much deeper than I could have anticipated. In short it is a masterpiece and a classic anime from the 80s.

Here is the final piece, it will be added to the gallery now.

Lynn Minmey FINAL resize

I almost forgot, but do you guys know what is on the light panel?

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update VIII FINAL?

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I say final but I really think I have to do a couple of more touches a little later. In the end I ended up using all the ink in some of my markers and need to buy some refills. I will have to put this one on hold for a little while, I’d say it is at least 95% done. All that is left is a couple of more details really. I am considering adding a shadow behind her due to the lights lighting her from the front, but I am still over all undecided. What I find kind of irritating is that from afar the face (or maybe expression better describes it) I drew and wanted people to see changes quite a bit, if you look at it from a closer point then the real expression becomes more noticeable. I’ll have to look at it a bit more later when I have the markers ready to go again. I really want to emphasize movement as well… hopefully when I come back to it I can make it possible. For now I will leave this here, and as of yet unfinished piece.

Lynn Minmey FINAL resize

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update VII

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I’ll be posting another update later today. Sorry for not posting on Wednesday, I actually decided to give the drawing a few days so that I could review it with fresh eyes and make a decision on whether the way I left it was ok or whether I would change it a bit later. Results of that will come with the second post, so please look forward to that. For now see what I have as of now.

Lynn Minmey XIX resizeLynn Minmey XX resizeLynn Minmey XXI resizeLynn Minmey XXII resize

Hasta al rato,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update VI

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I actually had most of this done since Friday, except the last two scans but I kind of took the weekend off to think and rest a bit, so sorry for those who were awaiting the latest updates.

I’m quite surprised I was taking as long as I was to color the background. As expected dealing with darkness is quite tough, especially when not doing a stylistic approach to it. I had to really think before adding any colors and going over and over (repeating many times) till I had the right shades in place and then eventually adding darker areas around the parts that were supposed to have light both from the light sources and the light being reflected on the ground. I really wanted a shiny floor no matter what since I don’t really deal with such backgrounds due to knowing how hard they are but in the end I decided to go at it anyway. Over all despite the amount of time it took and cont less retouches I felt pretty confident on what I managed to bring forth. Now it is time to actually focus on Lynn Minmay herself which I had a hard time deciding on what color scheme her clothes would have. I actually did quite a couple before scrapping them and coloring them over with what she has now.

In the scans she looks quite darker than in real life, and the hair having no color surely doesn’t help things either. But trust me it shouldn’t look too weird once I have everything else in place. I’m hoping on finishing this tomorrow, here’s hoping it goes along well.

Lynn Minmey XIII resizeLynn Minmey XIV resizeLynn Minmey XV resizeLynn Minmey XVI resizeLynn Minmey XVII resizeLynn Minmey XVIII resize

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update V

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I got quite busy these last few days again, but I did get to advance on this piece. It takes quite a bit of thought process to continue after finishing one area and moving to the next. And doing on area require one to go back to previous sections to make sure they compliment each other color wise. Don’t know how long this one will take but I have been learning quite a bit from it and am no longer afraid to work with darker colors. I used some previously learned techniques which made things easier but had to develop some new ones so that I could work with a dark setting. I’d say the hardest part is making the lights look like lights. I’ve added some more details to make it look better than the last scan shows but you guys will have to wait for that update. The scanning always takes away the real lighting of my work and I have to correct it afterwords so it feels really off when I see the scanned piece on the screen.

Lynn Minmey IX resizeLynn Minmey X resizeLynn Minmey XI resizeLynn Minmey XII resize

In any case I am making progress. Just a bit more and I can have the background done so I can actually start on the main focal point.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update III

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I’m really contemplating on how to go about this piece. I need to stop overthinking it but I feel I can probably come out with a nice piece if I do this right and on top of that learn some new techniques… Anyway this is what I have so far.

Lynn Minmey I resizeLynn Minmey II resizeLynn Minmey III resizeLynn Minmey IV resizeLynn Minmey V resize

I went back to basics and bought a pencil set so that I can start using H level pencils again. Since they are so light they give me less problems when erasing them and if I do it lightly they don’t leave a mark either. I should be able to get better and cleaner work this way. The drawing is almost done now, I think I will change the background lights and make them smaller so that it appears as though the stage is much bigger. The hair is rather tall and fluffy huh?  I was thinking of making it a bit smaller but after modifying it a bit I decided to not alter it too much so that I can make it look as if it was bouncing as she was dancing so that it looked like she was in the middle of movement. After adding that and a couple other details I should be ready to color. Here’s hoping I can pull off what I am imagining.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Lynn Minmay Update II

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I had two final classes this week but I still have to do a couple more things until the 27th but over all I should have more time to focus on art (among other activities that will benefit my body and mind). Hmmm. I had a couple of days worth of searching for some more references of Macross and the main idols (Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda) I will be using for this piece. Although I kept working on the piece throughout the week I didn’t really get much progress since I couldn’t decide on the outfit and the background.

Macross is quite interesting isn’t it? It has a very obvious 80s feel to it (it makes sense since it was made in the 80s) and yet is set around this time period. With that in mind I can actually modernize it if I felt like it. Though one can argue that the fall of the Macross on earth and the war that came from it might have stopped the progress of innovation when it comes to music and fashion. I think about things too much…

Anyway I decided to keep with the 80s feel so I set out to look at the concert performances during that time. I mostly focused on Akina Nakamori and after a couple of videos I came up with this:

Lynn Minmey rough draft II resizeLynn Minmey rough draft III resizeLynn Minmey rough draft IV resize

I wonder if it even makes sense? I want to make this so 80s it brings nostalgia for those who actually lived it or saw the movies and music in the 90s.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

Next project 5/1/16: Lynn Minmay

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I have decided upon the next project for my next piece, and that is non other than Lynn Minmay from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (my all time favorite anime). When I first watched Macross I really came to dislike Minmay, she seemed to fickle and self-centered. But upon re-watching last year now that I am older I came to really like her. She was written in a way that doesn’t make her dislikeable, in reality she only saw Hikaru as a friend and nothing more (at least throughout most of the series) so seeing her not treat Hikaru as anything more than a friend is quite understandable (having experienced it myself).

Anyway, despite what people might think regarding her personality and actions she is quite cute making her a good model to draw. I went on a binge of downloading and searching for references. Eventually I got the idea to actually search for actual photos of idols from the 80s to serve as a firsthand visual reference to make something a bit different and more in tune to reality. That’s when I learned that Minmay was actually based on two of the most famous idols of the 80s in Japan. Those idols being Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda. They are quite famous even now, I was actually quite surprised how much of a fanbase there still exists. And I’m glad because I found treasure troves of reference pictures to make my artwork come alive.

I can really see the influences in Minmay after looking through the photos. At first I was thinking about using a Chinese model for the drawing but after learning that these two were the influences I decided on just using them. And just before writing this I learned that Lynn Minmay is actually half Japanese from he mothers side so it’s ok if I just use Matsuda and Nakamori as the models.

I’ve written quite a bit so I will just leave it at that, here is a little taste of what I have done so far:

Lynn Minmey rough draft I resize

I know it doesn’t look like much yet, but I am quite happy with the base I have so far. I want to start incorporating movement into my work. And I truly think this is a good chance to do so. Drawing shouldn’t be hard anymore, what I worry is when I add color (which I still haven’t mastered).

Here’s hoping for the best.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO