My apologies for the long silence. My computer went BOOM sometime ago. Luckily, the laptop I do my art with is not the same I use for school & other stuff. Sadly, I can't access the internet with it. Getting all of my stuff to my wifey's computer takes time (and feels weird) and I'm still looking for ways to fix mine.
My apologies for the rather long radio silence. I had a depressive episode, but everything is starting to get pretty swell now. I now have enough money to stay at home and draw for a little while. I feel super relieved and I hope this will last.
Giving myself a whiplash again by painting something completely different than what I intended to do. Although, I started this one two weeks ago and wanted to finish it before Easter.
Iβve never been very religious, I has a somewhat religious (Protestant) upbringing (like about 63% of my fellow countrymen), but Iβm not really a believer myself (even if I am ordained priest [by Universal Life Church tbh]) Yet, when I got this idea, I wanted to paint it.
Anyways, hereβs black Jesus with a top surgery scar.
Happy Easter (?) to anyone who might celebrate it!
βFallen angels? Bah! Such foul beasts. No matter how stained their souls are, they can never get rid of Heavens stench.β
I still need to figure out what some of the characters look like, but hereβs Myrra. Heβs somewhat inspired by (externally) Tamaki from Ouran Host Club, because wifey and I rewatched it recently.
Random fact: I almost never write angel right! I always write it (with keyboard) as angle.
Once again I was supposed to work on something else and then just didnβt. It is what it is.
My [ππππππ₯ πΈππ βπͺππ‘π] piece got my interest in realism type stuff rekindled, so I might do more in the future for balance.
Iβve wanted to redraw her for sometime now. First time she appeared on my screen (March 2, 2023!), she was just a quick warm up & had a shrine maiden outfit, but sheβs grown a little bit to a different direction since then. I want to use her as a character in a project.
This is my attempt at explaining how I make water reflections. Tbh, I donβt know what Iβm doing.
Making reflections comes usually pretty late in my drawing process, if you donβt count the very basic blocking work.
First I duplicate the reflected object and flip it upside down. Sometimes I play with a transform tool and make the reflection different proportions (didnβt do that here, which was a mistake). This will be on its own layer.
After that, Iβll play with the layer effect (usually multiply/darken + overlay/soft light) and slightly darken the layer and erase some parts.
Then Iβll pull out my favorite smudge tools and start smudging the edges. Depending on how strong I think the ripples will be, Iβll sometimes make really long smudges.
When Iβm happy with the smudge, Iβll make another layer atop of the reflection layer and start throwing brush strokes randomly (I think I should be thinking how the ripples should work, but I usually just throw stuff until it looks agreeable to me.)
More layers over the reflection layer, playing with the layer effects.
Adding details and thinking about my life choices. Might Add more smudge strokes and merging the layers.
Finally, it all comes (somewhat) together when I start the final texturing phase. I might still do some detailing work after this, like add tree leaves somewhere etc.
So thatβs how I usually do the reflections when working with this style. With my watercoloring style things work a little bit differently! Iβm sure there are easier and better ways to do this, but this workflow works for me.
As much I love my manga art, itβs good to use my faux oil brushes and create something different. I think the last time I painted like this was last August? β¦ And +14 hours later I realized why Iβm more keen on making other art (also, A/I created images kinda killed my need to make super rendered images, which is a blessing and a curse.)
Also, sorry for the radio silence. I got seriously ill, for half a week I slept like 20 hours a day due to fatigue and my lips turned blue. I still feel a little bit odd, but Iβm getting better (and going to a doctor is really not an option right now, meds & doctor cost moneyβ¦)