man how was the last blog post posted on Friday? IT WAS A LONGASS POST AND EVERYTHING ON THIS POST WAS DRAWN ON FRIDAY TOO. I must be on crack. [EDIT: OH WAIT NM I PROBS POSTED IT AT LIKE 3AM LIKE I USUALLY DO LOL]
ANYWAY this is a continuation of my previous attempts to draw a fight between them. As you may remember I tried to do that a few times before, they were ok but I wasn’t really happy with any of them, and I wasn’t going to paint two full body characters in painful designs if I wasn’t ecstatic about the sketch LOL… but I was listening to this song–nicknamed “the duel”–on Friday and for some reason this image popped up? Maybe that’s what people call “inspiration” but really it felt like some sort of cheating. But whatever LOL I’m pretty happy with this sketch, and the people I respect the most all said nice things about it so I will probably cg it when I feel like torturing myself. click here for a very uninteresting wip gif
Then I coloured granny ross (so manry… do you see it as rose-ian or ross-ian? lol)
I was going to make her kimono a little fancier with patterns and things but I went for toning practicality and decided not to. The original idea for her was a lot more korean hanbok than japanese kimono; I accidentally drew a full kimono after I looked up how they work LOL (and realizing that I’ve been drawing it wrong all my life harhar) so I’ll probably make the bottom part more dress-like in future edits. I would keep it like this but this looks like it would be extremely challenging to keep up with walking behind Rae LOL. She used to be the general of Arenscura, then switched over to become the minister after the previous minister left, because of the extensive knowledge of Arenscura she accumulated after looking after the country for so long, and she was getting old. I might not go with this story though because it poses problems for how Rae should interact with her because she would have to be his mentor figure, but at the same time I want Rae to have absolute authority and an environment free of any restrain, so I don’t want anybody in the palace who he would have to show respect to.
and lastly a picture of bb with a srs face requested by Jenny… I was like dude it would just look like veloce dressing up as bb LOL. it was so weird and hard to do this kind of serious face because the way I distinguish bb is mostly with her eyebrows and eyes, which are killed by this expression LOL ):
YAAA SCENE FROM STORY GUESS WHO SHE IS SAYING THIS TO
I don’t think I’ve ever bothered to actually draw their differences much, but blackbird is supposed to have a smoother, rounder cheek/jawline and flatter face, whereas veloce has an angular one. blackbird has a little muscle tone but I never draw it because I don’t know anatomy and don’t know what is too much/too little HAHAH. Veloce’s body is like that of some lady who never does any work, and it doesn’t show at all that she can fight, because her abilities didn’t come from training, and her fuel is in her spirit not her physique.
{ darkfire }
Oh dear, looks like someone was stupid enough to interrupt Veloce's and Blackbird's sexy time.
{ Saiyon }
oh lol, well it you put it that way I guess you are right. I hadn't thought of that! Anyway, I hope to see it finished soon !
{ Saiyon }
Hey, this sketch looks great! It's very dynamic and balanced. You should really color it! I would only change one thing: I remember that you drew them kissing in your other attempts. Well, I think it looks better when their faces are like really really close.
The granny looks cool. I like the ornament on her hair :) You really make good desings with ornaments
Keep it up!
{ Shilin }
thanks for the advice! I want this one to genuinely look like a fight rather than something suggestive, so I like the space between them. Also closeness in this pose would make blackbird look like some rapist because both of veloce's swords are posed to defend, and it's an otherwise normal environment with nothing else supporting the suggestiveness so it would look very awkward
{ Helios }
Oh snap, yes, that duel needs to be colored. I saw it on that voting thing yesterday and was hoping you'd post it in an entry C: The previous fighting pose you used for the cover of your art book was great, but this one feels so much more expansive, like an entire story. I hope it's in the book! Otherwise I'll just have to buy a print~
srs business BB, yerp, that'll take some getting used to. I'd say to do reverse personality pics for the main cast, and then I remember that mini comic with a smiling Veloce…the world isn't ready.
{ Shilin }
haha if I paint it, I will put it in the book because I'm sure I would die from it and my death must be made worthwhile LMAO
{ Janice }
Okay, art anatomy nerd out…that hand on blackbird is drawn so well, I look at it more than the actual picture lol >>!! I think if you want her to have a bit more muscle you should make her deltoid stick out just a bit instead of making it flat.
{ Shilin }
d-deltoid… LOL *googles*
{ Shaolin }
If you want some tips to show emphasis on female muscle tone try to look up pictures of female sprinters and (lightweight or featherweight) boxers for references.
Featherweight Boxers: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/04Affnh9DGfYd/610x.jpg
Sprinters:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2648/3740618344_81578f3b02_z.jpg
Sprinters because of the low BMI and their leanness and featherweight boxers to show a leaner muscle definition for fighting. While both sprinters and boxers may be a little bit more bulker than bb, looking at the athletes musculature would help with the right muscle build and ratio in certain body parts—like arms, legs and so forth.
{ Shaolin }
But female pole-vaulters or gymnasts would probably fit more into the more aerodynamic (and functional) muscle build you might be looking for.
***Best bet would be —->Pole-vault: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7sYaJP0RyU4/SXZy5MCSs0I/AAAAAAAABns/bDmP1MlcMZU/s640/Yelena_Isinbayeva2.jpg
Gymnast: http://slog.thestranger.com/files/2008/08/nastiabeijing.jpg
{ Shilin }
THANKS FOR THE LINKS AS ALWAYS SHAOLIN
{ Shaolin }
No problem. Hopefully the pics helped out a little bit.
{ R e a f u }
When I look at Madame Rosien's kimono, it seems a mix of Japanese and Thai fashion, with the sarong like wrap over her shoulder. Though you don't like the idea, who whole mentor/mothering figure to Rae would be cute…she could nag him about his political exploits "I told you to make the peace treaty >|!"
You know, this is the first time I can say I've seen BB looking really pissed, she usually has this impish, playful grin.
{ Shilin }
ooh thai, I'm not familiar with southern asian clothing (nor do I like them much) but that sounds about right. It's totally just a bastardized obi wrapping right now lmao
{ Kersheys }
The Duel: I would buy the artbook for that one sketch alone. Will the final version be an artbook exclusive or will you be posting it up for people to see? :)
Rosien: My first impression on the name made me pronounce it as "Row-see-en Kee-ur". The patterns that you pick for some of the cloths are beautiful – do you make them by yourself or did you get some stock somewhere?
I don't know who BB would want to disappear but I can only think of two situations at the moment: The King going after Veloce (assuming he has the guts to do it again…) or whoever her contractor is (and BB wants to end their deal prematurely).
"Veloce’s body is like that of some lady who never does any work" -> LOL I don't know why but I laughed so hard at this.
{ Shilin }
ya man veloce that lazy snob
I will probably post the picture if I CG it LOL… it takes way too long to do for a print-exclusive pic. I will probably limit those to simpler, easier pieces.
the patterns I used for her sheet are screentone design patterns I got from deleter along with the rest of my tones, it's just that I have no practical use for them in the manga so this is the first time I've ever used them lmao.