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XERO DRAWING – Sailor Mercury The Intellectual Warrior

On By Nube ObscuraIn Youtube VideosLeave a comment

Time spent: 8 hours 59 minutes
Materials used: Sakura 0.7 mechanical pencil, Faber Castell Perfection 7056 pencil eraser, eraser,
Sakura Pigma Micron set Black,
Sakura gellyroll White,
Sakura Moonlight gellyroll: Light green, Dark purple, Blue, Yellow
Reeves Water Colours 18 set: Viridian hue, Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine,
Copic Markers: 0, E00, C1 C3, C5, C7, W1, W3, W5, W7, YR00, Y11, Y17, Y28, V01, G21, G24, G28, BG10, BG78, B0000, B01, B05, B21, B24, B26, B28, B32, B34, B39, B45, B69, B97
Sharpie Oil Based PAINT White Fine Point

And so we continue with the Sailor Senshi series. This time it is the second member to be revealed in the series Sailor Mercury, real name Ami Mizuno. So far, I like her more than Sailor Moon. Though she hasn’t really made a strong impression on me either. On another note, I still don’t quite understand what Sailor Moon’s attacks are based on, most likely they are just random attacks that Naoko Takeuchi thought were cool. But for all other members, it seems like they have an elemental affinity tied to them. For Ami Mizuno it is water, so since the start I wanted to incorporate that. In the end I was thinking about it being either ripples or waves. I never really made up my mind before starting the drawing, but in the end I just combined them together. And surprisingly, it worked quite well together.

In any case, I hope you guys enjoy and learn from this video.

-XERO

XERO DRAWING – Sailor Moon Warrior from the Moon

On By Nube ObscuraIn Youtube VideosLeave a comment

Time spent: 7 hours 56 minutes
Materials used: Sakura 0.7 mechanical pencil, Faber Castell Perfection 7056 pencil eraser, eraser,
Sakura Pigma Micron set Sepia +Sakura Pigma Micron set Black, Sakura gellyroll White, Sakura Moonlight gellyroll: Yellow, light pink, Dark Pink,
Reeves Water Colours 18 set: Lemon Yellow, Medium Yellow, Ivory Black, Phthalo Blue, Violet, Ultramarine,
Copic Markers: R08, R27, R29, Y11, Y17, Y21, Y28, B01, B05, B34, B45, B97, C1, C3, W1, W2, V01, G21, G24, G28.

There was no video last week because I bought a new scanner, but it would not arrive till after a couple of days later after I usually upload a video. So I decided to hold it back and wait for the scanner to arrive. It is a large scanner that allows me to scan areas up to A3 (which is a scanner I have been looking for for quite some time). Now I can get a good quality copy of my artwork here at home.

In any case, for this weeks drawing, we will be doing Sailor Moon. I heard the new series would be broadcasted so I decided to give it a chance and see what it was about. I know I saw some episodes when I was younger but I only saw a few and don’t really remember much. So I said, what the heck, lets give it a chance. After all, I kept hearing good things from both females and males about it. My overall impressions at this point? Personally the old animation looks more appealing to me, but it definitely doesn’t look bad at all. I hear this series is following the manga better so I will see this through to the end to see how good it is. I gotta say, Usagi is rather dumb… But I guess that’s a common feature among Shoujo heroines (as well as Shonen heroes of course). We’ll see how this goes.

-XERO

Xero Drawing – Erza Scarlet Yūen no Koromo (COMMENTARY)

On By Nube ObscuraIn Youtube VideosLeave a comment

Time spent: 9h22m

Materials used: Mechanical pencil, ruler, eraser, Faber Castell eraser pencil
Colored Pencil: water color PrismaColor – peacock blue, ultramarine blue, french grey 20%, true blue, violet, black, crimsom red, lilac, white, blush pink
PrismaColor – ginger root, peach, beige, cream, sand, light peach, 20% french grey, lilac, parma violet, dark purple, mulberry, carmine red, pink, process red, yellowed orange, crimson lake, 50% warm grey, 70% cool grey, 70% warm grey, 50% gold Grey, White, Black
Crayola – pale rose, violet, brown, taupe, lemon yellow, jade green, harvest gold, magenta
Rose Art – violet, orchid
Verithin – dahlia purple
Ultra Color – purple

 

We have made it to the second video, this time the objective is Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail. A good series (that relies on way too much fan service…). For this drawing I thought I would only use color pencils and nothing else. I figured I would try to show different techniques that can be implemented with different tools. The most common one that people can easily get their hands on are color pencils. They are rather versatile and can leave some really good effects, but only if used right. I’m mainly a pencil type of artist so I’m a bit shaky when it comes to coloring. But I have been practicing and coming up with new methods ever since I decided to go pro. I’ve actually been starting to understand how to fully utilize the full potential that color pencils possess. And that is what this video will be about.

Hope you guys enjoy the new format, and learn much more this way. Till next time.

-XERO

 

SPECIAL A present to Sayumi Michishige

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The story of me and Sayumi Michishige starts off quite simple, in fact this was probably the case for many Morning Musume fans as well. I really didn’t like her… Clearly it wasn’t because of her looks (she’s so cute and beautiful it almost seems too incredible to believe she is real). But her personality that she showed on variety shows made her seem really mean and stuck up. Although I mainly blame some of the “fans” who commented on Morning Musume videos for giving me that impression of hers (I’m to blame as well of course for listening to their thoughts). Of course, at the time I felt like this, I was very new to Morning Musume and was barely beginning to learn more about each individual member of the group. Like many had said Sayu was definitely giving the aura of a narcissist, but after a couple of weeks of cramming in as many videos of the members as I could find at the time, things began to change. I also started to pick up all the subtleties of how each member acted and I noticed that sometimes Sayu wasn’t so sure of herself and what she said. She was definitely quick to recover and change the subject or keep going with the original onslaught of remarks depending on the situation. At first I wasn’t too sure what to think about it, but I began to question whether she really was as bad as she made herself out to be.

Sure enough my suspicions were right, in fact I was entirely right. She was mostly playing the role of a narcissist, but I still didn’t quite understand, why? In the end it was very simple, the entertainment world definitely prefers someone who is fun to watch and listen to, and although many of Sayu’s comments could be deemed mean or hurtful it was obvious that she was really thinking about what she uttered so they weren’t too painful so people didn’t take it seriously. In fact after saying one of those “Shige mean” comments she seemed to leave it open so that others could react. By becoming, arguably, the most famous variety show ace of Morning Musume, she made sure to raise the name of Morning Musume as high up as she could. Even if people came to hate her, as long as they have heard of Morning Musume she didn’t mind it. And truthfully that is what made her so endearing. She didn’t mind getting hated as long as the group was to prosper. Truly a woman worthy of my love.

She truly is the perfect women in my eyes; cute, smart, and nice (believe it or not). Not only that but her code of honor and respect for the group and members is absolutely alluring. She definitely deserved to be the last leader of the Platinum Era and Sixth Generation.

Her beauty is just so … I can’t even comprehend how she could be blessed so much, and what makes her even more amazing is that she seems so humble (this is something I really like about Morning Musume, despite being so famous they don’t act stuck up and feel like they are better than everyone). What I specially like about her appearance is her long black hair, it just seems so natural that she kept it like that. I seriously can’t imagine her any other way. I’ve seen her with wigs of other colors but black was definitely better. And I’m glad she herself took note of that. Speaking of notes, I remember her talking about doing self study sessions of what she could do to improve whenever she made tv appearances to not embarrass the rest of the group, having heard that I just absolutely gained another level of respect and love for her.

In any case.
If you happen to see this message:

お誕生日おめでとうございます.

Happy Birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS.
Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

XERO Drawing OPERATION – Misaka Mikoto ( Railgun )

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I’m really surprised that this drawing took me so long to draw, but I guess it is expected since I decided to add some background this time around. The time accumulated for this drawing was … 19 hours and 10 minutes. In a way I find that astonishing, but believable since I was making up techniques as I drew. I’m surprised I didn’t get stuck and end up ruining the drawing. One thing I have learned though is that adding various colors to a certain object or objects will make it more believable and realistic so I made sure to go in with that type of mentality.

I’m sure many fans of the To Aru Majutsu no Index and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun know that a new series is being aired at this moment, it seems to be focusing on Misaka and her involvement with her sisters/clones. And I have to say, it is absolutely amazing. Both the story and the animation. I seriously wish more anime’s put in that much effort at least into the animation. In any case, this drawing is inspired by the fight between Misaka and Mugino Shizuri ( no. 4 as the strongest level 5, known as the “Meltdowner”). Their confrontation ended last week and it was awesome, plus it also left it open for some more “encounters of the level 5 kind” (yeah… I know, stupid joke).

Throughout the drawing I really did not know what I wanted to do yet. I just had a goal to draw her in a pose I haven’t seen before. So I just made things up as I went along. As I was drawing I decided to have her injured but still willing to fight, and I also liked the idea of having her fight outside (meaning I would have to draw a background as well). One thing I did want to include was her shorts. Usually I don’t like upskirts in anime/manga but because she always has shorts I find her to be a really awesome character that doesn’t feel the need to flash in order to be popular. I seriously feel that more female characters need to be like that. Plus her shorts are pretty much her trademark (well that and electricity, gekota, etc.). I did feel kind of bad making her bleed, but I feel that makes her look more vulnerable and human like. As well as making the situation look dire. If anything I feel the drawing only needs a bit of rubbing/blending in order to make it smoother (mostly in the sky).
What do you guys think?
Any Questions/Comments?

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

My setup for making videos.

On By Nube ObscuraIn Update1 Comment

About a month ago I was asked to make  a video of the setup I use to make my youtube drawing videos.  Sadly I was quite busy  until recently with school and some projects that will be incorporated into youtube and this page as well of course. I think it would be much easier to just do a quick guide here instead of making a video. The process isn’t really all that hard, and setting things up usually just needs the things lying around the house.

Anyway I’m sorry Caio Mitsukayro, I really wanted to make this sooner. Hopefully it will still be of use to you.

Here are some pictures so that you can get a feel of how it looks:

IMG_20130525_195446

 

My room seriously needs another paint job, but ignore that for now. Below is a closer shot:

IMG_20130525_195453

 

I don’t know if you can tell, but that is my camera up there in between the boxes. Currently I am using a Cybershot, I really don’t regret buying it.

IMG_20130525_195509

 

As you can tell, I have my laptop right next to me. It’s really helpful in case I need a couple of references or if I want to hear music as I draw. I won’t deny it, but most of the time I’m also watching something online as I draw (usually late night shows, well that’s a lie. I only watch Craig Ferguson if it’s a late night show…). In any case the desk was created by me at the end of last year. It’s nothing fancy but it does it’s work. It can actually fold up and become part of the wall to give me more room when I need it. It was chains so that I could ignore the legs, this makes it easier to move around when I need to step away from the desk, or I need to fold it up (I rarely do it though.).

 

IMG_20130525_195559

 

This is what I see when ever I draw. Truthfully all you need are some boxes and a small tripod or something that can hold the camera in place while it records. As you can see I use two lamps, this helps in the glare that might come from the graphite applied by the pencil and will minimize shadows. I used to do it by sunlight, but that would make the light in my videos inconsistent. Specially whenever nightfall came around and I had to change to a lamp. If you have ever seen some of my older videos you might be able to notice it (have I posted any of my old channel’s videos up?).

IMG_20130525_195609

 

As you can see I have setup a small mirror that’s attached to my toolbox. This is important because it allows me to see how the camera is doing (how much time I have left, how much charge I have, etc.) and it is also very useful when setting it up so that you know the sketchbook is in the frame. So if you happen to move it in the moment or by accident you can just adjust it mid recording. The set up is quite easy, and can be done in seconds. Now if you notice the video will come out upside down, but that can be easily edited on a video editing software (this feature is present in the free Windows Movie Maker), you just select all the video files and turn them upside down, giving you the appropriate view. I’d say that’s all that is needed. One can get elaborate and put an adjustable tripod on the wall (horizontally, facing down like in my set up) so that it hangs that way instead of using boxes.

I hope this is helpful to anyone who is also thinking of making videos.

-XERO

Graduation Special: Tanaka Reina 卒業おめでとう

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This obsession with Morning Musume is almost over it seems…Now that one of the last two members that kept me interested in the group has finally reached the end of the line in terms of Morning Musume.

After about ten years of giving fans happiness and humor, Reina Tanaka makes her exit to her own rock band, LoVendoR. Although I will miss her being in Momusu, she will at least not totally disappear and continue to sing. No matter how one looks at it. This will be a big hit to Morning Musume since she was the main vocalist. Now Morning Musume will truly be entering the new era. The new members are cool, but I think that my own involvement in this group has also ended (at least until Sayu decides to graduate as well).

I know change is need, but I don’t necessarily enjoy when it happens. I’ll probably still hear Momusu’s new songs from time to time but it will definitely not be the same. Now I understand how long time fans felt when my favorite era (Platinum Era) took control of Morning Musume. It really is a different feeling and that connection is definitely minimized. All one can think about is the good old days. Luckily for fans they left a lot of material to remember them by.

I’m really at a loss for words, so I’ll end it soon.

This has to be one of my best drawing so far. I really tried to bring in all my techniques and effort in my arsenal. And I feel it really shows. I was extremely pleased when I was taking a picture of the drawing and the camera recognized the face as a real one. Although I know I can improve more, I’m definitely going in the right direction. I can only hope Reina happens to enjoy it as well. I’m kind of saddened that I did not do something like this for the past members of the Platinum Era. I’ll have to make it up to them someway sooner or later.

What do you guys think?
Any Questions/Comments?

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

 

XERO Drawing OPERATION Gundam RX-78-2 II (COLOR)

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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.

What do you guys think?
Any Questions?

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

XERO Drawing OPERATION – Goku Super Saiyan God

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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.

What do you guys think?
Any Questions?

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

 

SPECIAL – A present to LinLin (Qian Lin)

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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.

In any case.
If you happen to see this message:

お誕生日おめでとうございます.

Happy Birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS.
Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

XERO Drawing OPERATION – Aisaka and Ryuuji

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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.

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO

 

If They Were REAL – Buruma (Bulma)

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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

link: http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101014203835/dragonball/images/f/f1/Firstdraftdbgang.jpg

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?

Hope you enjoy it,

– XERO