I just drew this one yesterday. My reference is this photo by Eirian-stock on deviantART. The model is Iribel.

It was a quicker one. Sometimes it's nice to just do sketches like this and leave them in pencil. What I liked about the photo was that the model was quiet and pensive, but also somewhat peaceful. It's a simple pose, but the outfit is also different from what I usually draw, so that was nice to sketch out.

I should do more random sketches like this, I think. It's nice to do something quick once in a while, in between all the Green Corner illustrations.

Hope you like it!

Labels: art, sketches, traditional media

I started this sketch recently, on the 16th. The characters are Alshina and Koru, from my comic series, Green Corner. You may recognize them from a previous special, Valentine Kiss.

I made some small changes last night to Koru's clothing (the shirt collar and tie), but otherwise it's pretty much the same as when I started it. I'm still not completely sure about the way that Koru is holding Alshina's hand, as I want it to be a little softer and gentler, but that's something I can work on during the digital version.

I haven't fully decided on the background yet, but I'm thinking of making this illustration set outdoors with some trees. Cherry could be nice, or something unique to the fantasy world of Green Corner.

I did other sketches to try out more ideas with couples for a Valentine's Day special, but I think this one has the most promise. I actually had an idea something like this a couple years ago, but couldn't draw it out well enough then. It's nice to be able to tell how much I've progressed by being able to draw more complicated scenes. I will still have to make some adjustments to this, mostly to make sure that their relative heights are correct and refine some details.

I hope you like the sketch so far. I did this on scrap paper, so the type from the other side made some shadows when I darkened the scan. I hope you can see the idea clearly enough despite that, but there will be more detail in the digital version, of course.

Labels: art, green corner, sketches

This illustration features four animals having a tea party: a monkey, a bird, a rat/mouse, and a cat. It's a kid-friendly piece this time, because I had an idea that I couldn't help drawing. I hope you enjoy it.

Scroll down to see the progress from start to finish.


There were some obvious mistakes with the pencil sketch, but I focused on getting the concept down as I could easily fix a lot of the problems digitally. I didn't want to spend too much time fixing some of the things in the pencil sketch that are really easy to draw digitally, as it's more efficient for me to just have the idea for simple objects roughed in and finish them later (especially the tray of snacks). If I were to finish this traditionally, I would have done at least one more version that was tighter. When I finish digitally though, my sketches can be rougher.


Just the monkey and the rat, so far. With some of the scenery started.


Flat colour for all of the characters and more of the objects added.



You can see the detail of the dinnerware and snacks better here. The sugar cubes and most of the cheese slices are 3D objects. the crackers were placed using blends. And the steam from the tea uses the feather effect. I hope that's enough tricks for now, but if you have questions, I can do some more mini-tutorials on how I put some of these things together.

Labels: art, illustration, sketches, vector

Here's some progress from a piece I've been working on recently. I've been trying to come up with an idea of what Aena's Hallowe'en costume should be this year. A 1980's inspired pop idol sounded like a fun experiment. I was thinking a little about Jem and the Holograms when I was drawing this, and I think the positive energy is great for Aena.

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, sketches, vector

This is a pencil sketch of me and my cat, Tabitha. I plan to do a digital version of this later to add to my Twitter page.

I'm holding a Cross mechanical pencil in my right hand, in case you were wondering :) It's my favourite pencil for sketching.

The clothing is based on things I own. I may make some edits for accuracy in the digital.

Usually, Tabitha sits on my left shoulder and watches things behind me. I didn't really want to draw her like that though. I thought showing her face would be better.

When I hold Tabitha, I usually support her with my forearm, close to my waist. I don't usually hold her as shown, but I took some liberties for the sketch. I'm not sure yet if I want to move her to my shoulder and then put a sketchbook or something else in my left hand.

I just realized, I parted my bangs backwards in the sketch. Oops! I'll have to fix that later.

Hope you enjoy the sketch :)

Labels: art, sketches

This is my vector of the three boys when they're introduced on page 23 (which is in progress). The panel is a crop of this art, and a fair bit smaller.

From left to right are Suko, Xico, and Mazai.

I kept their jacket designs pretty simple, but noticeably different from one another. Xico's jacket seems to have a bit of a Star Trek influence, but I was initially thinking of something more like a simplified racing jacket. I think I will keep it like this, and maybe add a subtle joke to the back of his jacket.

And here's my pencil sketch, before I adjusted their relative heights:

Labels: green corner, illustration, sketches, vector

I've been sketching different figures today for page 21, which is one of those pages where there's more body language than action. This can be a little challenging when it comes to framing, to ensure that there's enough interest for the page while not sacrificing the most important aspects of the body language.

These sketches probably look a bit strange out of context, and Zalanda (on the right) will likely be flipped for the final. I used some pose reference for these, as my earlier sketches didn't have the right energy.The gist of this page is that Zalanda mocks Aena for being clumsy, to which Kasha objects with "That's not a very nice thing to say." It's Kasha's remark that Aena and Zalanda are reacting to here.

Obviously there are some mistakes that I'll be correcting in the digital version of these, but they're reasonably tight pencil sketches. There's something about Zalanda's expression and pose that reminded me again of my influence from Dan DeCarlo. I read Archie comics when I was a kid, but I'm not really sure when my illustrations started to show the influence of Dan DeCarlo's style. I think it's become more obvious in recent years, and now I tend to gravitate towards drawing female characters who look somewhat innocent yet flirtatious.

I always find it interesting to contrast Aena and Zalanda. The characters are sisters, but even if their physiques were more similar, they carry themselves in drastically different ways. Zalanda often poses in a way that exudes confidence and an unspoken, yet obvious "look at me." Aena is playful and energetic, but she can also be subdued as she is here. Aena has a greater range of emotion that she shows, so I have a lot of fun drawing her and experimenting.

Zalanda tends to be a bit more restrained with her emotions, and she will seem rather one-sided in the comic for the most part. If I haven't drawn her in a while, I also tend to find her more challenging, because her figure is extremely curvy, and I'm more accustomed to using proportions that are more natural (like Aena).

I hope you like this hint at what's to come for the next page of Green Corner.

Labels: green corner, sketches, traditional media

I've just finished this illustration of Alice, this time creating black and white as well as colour versions. You can see the progress below from sketch to greyscale digital, to colour digital. I made some changes to Alice's hair for the digital, for consistency with my character design. I also added teeth in the digital.

Time for the digital was just under three hours, with about 20 minutes extra for changing from greyscale to colour (I re-coloured with live paint, not live color).

For my Alice Project, this illustration will be obscured with the garden in front. This was an interesting pose, and I was a little concerned about making sure Alice looked childish enough, and not too curvy in her hips. I think it turned out pretty well, and I really liked adding colour to this one. Alice is a very vibrant and expressive character, so she's a lot of fun to draw. I think that colour only enhances her.

I hope you enjoy the images.

Labels: alice project, illustration, sketches, vector

This is a pencil sketch of Suko from Green Corner. The model for the pose was Andrew, of FDF.

I thought this was a very interesting pose and instantly thought of Suko for this one. I plan to use this as a basis for a future vector illustration.

I know there's a little awkwardness with his right arm and hand, so I'll try to fix that in the digital. I'll probably make some adjustments to the clothing as well. It was tricky to approximate the folds in some parts, so I'll work on them some more.

Labels: green corner, sketches

I've been sketching more than usual in my sketchbook recently. I often sketch on loose paper, and I think it's partly because my sketchbook is a bit larger than I'd like at 11" x 14". I prefer 9" x 12". These are from the past few days, drawn with mechanical pencil. I may end up making digital illustrations of all of these. All sketches were darkened and treated to minor cleanup in Photoshop.

I hope you like them!
Aena from Green Corner in a more natural, human style (no pointy ears). The dress and hair is inspired a little by style in the 1930's. It's not meant to be accurate for that time period, I just wanted to create a classy look. Sketched 9/18/08, finished 9/20/08.

---

Practice in a more natural style. I used a photo of myself for reference (for the expression and the hand), and I think that's come through a little in the face, though it's not intended to be a self-portrait. I really like how the hand turned out. Drawn 9/20/08.

---

Aena from Green Corner in a bit of a gothic lolita style. Photo reference used for the pose. I'm not happy with the hand between her knees, so I'll probably change that when I make a digital version.

I was originally trying to have Aena cosplaying as a stuffed doll, but ended up going in this direction instead. I'm pretty happy with this. I have trouble with seated poses sometimes, but the body has turned out quite well here. Drawn 9/20/08.

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, sketches, traditional media