Tag: update

Training on my digital skills

So for that last days I have been working on my digital skills. And despite all the advantages of being able to go back and redo things infinitely it is still quite tough going from traditional to digital. It’s quite frustrating. But I eventually came to a great discovery after learning that I can use my traditional drawings and color them digitally. I have had the idea of doing this for quite a couple of years but I never really learned how to do it, till now. Turns out it was actually quite a simple thing to do. I just had to create a new layer and make the actual scanned drawing into a layer and then place it on top of the new layer and also change the drawing layer from “Normal” to “Multiply” and I can keep all my outlines and even the shadings intact. And that is exactly what I dreamed of being able to do. For now I will work on an old drawing from 2006.

I’ll keep you guys posted on this. But I will say that this is a dream come true. I can now do digital art, but I will also be able to use my traditional skills as well. This will make the transition much easier and now I have to only focus on coloring.

Things are looking good.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

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Human Culture’s Songstress

 

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

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Mikoto Misakas and Tsuyu Asui

I’m sorry that it is a bit too light but hopefully you can see it.

It took me a while to start this piece due to some things I had to take care of and me actually going out to see Colorado. But now that I have actually finished that I can continue and finally finish it. Here are two updates. Although I plan to make this simple so it shouldn’t take too long to finish it.

Misaka's dream I resizeMisaka's dream II resize

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Messer and Kaname Update I

So as you can tell I changed the drawing a bit from the rough draft I posted before.

Kaname and Messer I resize

If you can tell above I was thinking of having Kaname in her Walkure uniform, but after seeing episode 11 I started thinking that for the scene I was going for it wouldn’t really fit. So for that reason I went ahead and used the outfit from the scene where Messer revealed that he was saved by Kaname thanks to her song back when she was the lead vocalist.

Kaname and Messer II resize

The outfit really reminds me of Ai Takahashi’s outfit in the MV “C\C Cinderella Complex”by High King.

Kaname and Messer III resize

By this point I decided that this was set in the future as a memorial where Kaname sings AXIA in Messer’s memory. This scene of course is inspired by both the time Messer and Kaname talked (before he died) and the scene in episode 11 where Kaname decided to continue singing and become a stronger singer.

Kaname and Messer IV resizeKaname and Messer V resize

And now here are some scans as I colored Messer and Kaname.

Kaname and Messer VI resizeKaname and Messer VII resizeKaname and Messer VIII resize

Kaname and Messer IX resizeKaname and Messer X resize

I will continue to update this as I go along, almost done.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

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Ideas and rough drafts for the next projects

I have quite a couple of projects I will be working on, the matter now is how long it will take… I have three different pieces I have in mind but for now here are two rough drafts.

 

The first is a drawing of Kaname and Messer from Macross Delta. Based on episode 10, but after seeing episode 11 I decided to change things. Especifically for Kaname.

If you haven’t seen the series skip the next part.

(spoilers)

I had hoped that there was more interaction between Messer and Kaname but in the end it all turned out to be one-sided huh? But in the end it at least managed to inspire and light a fire in Kaname (as well as everyone else) to be more assertive and increase one’s ambitions to be better at what they do.

(spoilers END)

Overall I think I will only use watercolors for this piece… we’ll see.

Kaname and messer

Now for the next one I decided to do a Boku no Hero Academia drawing. Truthfully this series is amazing, easily made it to one of my favorites (if you haven’t read or seen it, please do, it’s an amazing series). Anyway, all the characters are likable and very unique. One of my favorite characters (although to be blunt almost all the characters are) is Tsuyu Asui. It really didn’t take long for an idea to pop into my mind as for what I wanted to draw. If any of you guys have been checking this page and my work for a while then you all might know that I am a big fan of the To Aru series. So of course a crossover drawing becomes logical. It’s a bit rough but here you go.

Tsuyu and Misak, Last Order and Sister

The idea is there now. Getting an idea and looking for information and references for details takes quite a bit of time, but now that that has been done, hopefully the final drawings go without a hitch.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

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Lynn Minmey, not the final piece

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

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Plans for this summer and some thoughts

I have been in my real summer vacation for about a week now, and I managed to take care of quite a bit of obligations I was putting off. I feel a whole lot more free and at ease because of it. Now I want to focus on strengthening both my body and mind now that I have some extra time. This will of course help in keeping me focused when working on some more artwork so I am quite excited.

Strengthening my body will of course come from training (or physical exercise), due to some prior accidents I wasn’t able to really be too active, and add to that an artist who is also a university student and you have someone who is for the most part stationary and sitting down. That of course will take it’s toll on the body… I plan to be close to how I was in high school at the very least. I really don’t like having become so weak recently so I will undo it all starting this summer now that my body can actually take the physical stress again.

As for my mind I also want to increase my knowledge on digital mediums seeing as I can work a whole lot faster that way. I don’t ever plan to leave traditional artwork of course, digital will always be secondary but I do have to understand and use it so I  rented these books from the public library.

DSC01590

I also want to finally finish learning Japanese (well learn how to speak it fluently, I will probably never be able to master it since I will never stop learning huh?). I will be taking Japanese classes starting next semester (I also needed the credits in any classes so this all works out) so I went and bought the textbook to refresh my memory (I took a year of Japanese in high school) and be ready for classes.

DSC01591

I also really want to see more of Colorado this year. I’ve lived here most of my life and there are still so many places I have yet to see, it’s really a shame. So I want to visit new places this summer (focusing on hiking areas since I really love the mountains).

Overall I plan to make this summer the best I can and really enjoy it. New work will come of course so please keep coming back to see new updates.

Hope you guys also get to enjoy this summer (or winter for some of you) as well.

Next post I want to talk about my plans for the next artwork and some reference materials I bought.

Hasta la proxima,

-XERO

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Lynn Minmay Update VIII FINAL?

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

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Lynn Minmay Update VII

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

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Lynn Minmay Update VI

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

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Lynn Minmay Update V

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

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