Fan art for Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba's "Bakuman"

I originally intended this for Shonen Jump’s recent Bakuman fan art contest, but a lack of ideas plagued me till the last few days. Ultimately I went with an odd “Death Note” mash-up, which… well, I imagine they received quite a few of those entries. However, I’d like to think my execution didn’t turn out half bad. Character outlines done with a Hunt 56 nib, everything else with a Hunt 107. Also, I must say, even with crappy, watery ink I loved the feel of inking on watercolor paper (and am apparently a texture freak); hardly any bleeding or tearing no matter how fine the cross-hatching. Definitely a combination I’ll be using more often.

Title character of Nodame Cantabile, available in English from Del Rey. Check it out!

Still practising my brush technique. Like (I think) I’ve said before, I’ve not had much experience inking with a brush so it’s slow going trying to pick it up. Lots of fun in trying, though.

*Getting fairly major surgery, or at least I like to think so as it’s a whole bloody organ getting removed. So yeah, God willing, I’ll be recovering and getting my shit together (see what I did there?) for the next few weeks. In the meantime there’s plenty of studying to get back to.

Also, let me say: Colonoscopies work. If you’re getting on in years and have never been checked, please do. I’ve seen people (and have myself)  put off getting examined due to the pain, shame, humiliation, and so on. Yes, there is plenty of that to it. However, none of those things makes regular colon screenings not worthwhile.

Aoba of Mitsuru Adachi's 'Cross Game'

I’m working on another watercolor, but I’m trying to take more time with things instead of rushing through work. And since I figure I need more practise with pens, brushes and tones anyway, you get this. Enjoy your weekend!

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I’ve actually had a hard time producing much of anything worthwhile after the debacle that made up that last post.

[Not so much the picture itself -- while I wouldn't consider the page Thoroughly Pleasing, I'd like to think it's more than Good Enough -- so much as the content. A thrilling romance featuring a black slave and his white mistress circa 1830? And in a Hollywood film? Yeah, that'd end up being suuuuper classy. Still kicking myself for taking that.]

Anyhoo, I recharged my creative batteries via novels and anime, decided I needed to learn to use a brush (which, yes, had nothing to do with the issue bugging me, but was a fantastic distraction , and went up to the mountains for intensive training. I grew a beard and everything.

Fuzzy wazzy had a bear, which made for a pretty mean stew.

I came back down, ready to put my new skills to the test, and this is the result:

Luke Cage 4 February 2011. Watercolor & ink

And this was my SECOND stab at watercolors. I am ashamed. Could have been so much better. Ah well.

The first attempt, because I said I would:

Superman 25 January 2011

I confess to being Somewhat Pleased by this. And last night I was working on this:

Loose Pencils

Tightened up with color pencils

Used a light wash of yellow as the initial base, then worked more med. washes over that.

In retrospect, should have stopped here. Taken a nap, whatever.

... Whoops.

Yeah, that crimson washes didn’t work out so well. The last time I used watercolor, lo and many year ago, it was on a super nice block that could hold 8+ washes easily. This paper… maybe 3? So it wasn’t long before I noticed there wasn’t much tooth left in the paper (the pigment getting lifted off while I was working it might have been a good clue <_<). So yeah, whoops.

Luckily, a gallon of ink covers a great many mistakes.

So. Could have been better, but it could have been so, so much worse. Luckily, it also just so happens to be FUN, and who doesn’t like that?

Don’t really have much of anything to say to add to the MMF, so here’s some sketches instead.

First up, a daydream I’m surprised newer character Boa Hancock hasn’t yet had of main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy:

She really didn’t turn out well at all. Note to self: drawing when you’re bored is good. Being bored with what you’re drawing, not so much. Luffy’s babies still amuse me, though. Boa Hancock… It’s hard for me not to love a character who kicks kittens and baby seals to make an entrance. Yes, really.

And for a bonus, here’s one of Luffy and my favorite new character, who sadly will probably not make many more appearances beyond the Impel Down storyline, the Sphinx:

I love the way Oda designed as basically a lion with some feathers thrown on its back, and the face of a dirty old man. And he gave it a huge forehead that more than vaguely looks like a hairy ass-crack. The occasional stray panel aside, he sadly only appears in a few pages (reads top to bottom, right to left).

click to view full size-ish

click to view full size-ish

These pages got expanded into an episode all its own when they were adapted into the anime, and the episode is magical. And yes, I am thoroughly disappointed the Sphinx didn’t get adopted as the official mascot for the comic. Don’t judge me.

As if I needed more reason to love this comic, it also gave us 10 of the best (and most satisfying) seconds of fist-to-mouth in animation history:

More wonky anatomy, but I was having fun so screw it.

Anyhoo, you can watch it, in its entirety, for free on Youtube. Legally, even! So check it out!

Still one of the (very) few games I play on a regular basis and that I’ve beaten. And on God Mode, no less. Yes, I am quite pleased with myself, shut up. Something about chopping mythical beasts into pieces is quite the stress reliever, apparently. Who knew?

Both of these would be true, but they would also be horrible lies. The fact of the matter is the next few entries in the sketchbook are so horrifying I dread to unleash them upon the world! However, me being all about the full disclosure, look ye upon these ink scribbles and despair!

Another dip pen regret. Also: fuck Barry Allen. Wally West is my Flash.

I loves me some Darkseid. Why the random color? The world may never know. <_<

So yeah, that’s it. Since I need to do about 60 pages by the end of the year, I’ll probably be posting less, at least from the sketchbook, though I’ll try to throw together something. Really need to come up with a regular schedule for this bloody thing…  :-/

I’m pretty sure this is actually the first time I used a bic pen for drawing. Outside of school, at least. <_<

And this one I regrettably inked with dip pens. Which I love, but the paper is so thin and fragile, the tearing and bleeding make it more trouble than it’s worth.

Really wanted to do more with this one (especially a background, preferably with monster detritus), but I spent too long on it as it is. Yet another thing to get around to the second time through the book.