Selfies....?

I got the trial run of Paint Tool Sai, and I tried to get as much mileage from it as possible...so I painted some selfies.  I am a product of my generation.

Ok the last two I cheated.  I traced it because I just wanted to go straight to painting.

Procrastinating with my buddies Prismacolor markers and then clashing my two obsessions together

I really should be schoolworking.

But, I'm not.

Instead, I'm playing around with Prismacolors because I was super curious how they're like in comparison to Copics.

My conclusion is that Copics are the better designed markers. I feel like the colors are more vibrant and are easier to blend.   I also like how versatile Copics can be with appearance, like you can create cell-coloring drawings or watercolour painting-like drawings. As for the physical design of the marker, I feel like I spend less time with Copics in trying to figure out what color marker I'm holding. However,  I also noticed a sense of comfort with Prismacolor Markers that I don't have with Copic Markers.  Despite my love for Copics, I actually get pretty nervous when I hold Copics, like I'm not worthy of being in the presence of these magnificent markers.  I often have to give myself a pep talk before I can get the Copic markers to meet the face of the paper/board.  For Prismacolors, I just go for it.  In a sense, I think Prismacolors is beneficial when you just want to do quick sketches.

I've noticed a trend. I find that when I want to experiment with new material, I tend to draw self-portraits.  

Yupe, that's me boppin' my head to music in front of the teeny mirror that I use for self-portraits and expression references.

Ever since I got into Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin (進撃の巨人）series, I've been  thinking about which Takarazuka actress could play which character from Attack on Titan.

In this sketch, I tried out (from top to bottom):

Ayabuki Mao = Hanji Zoe

(she, uhm, well she was in a lot of troupes, like Flower and Snow).  Ayabuki Mao has such a wide smile and she wears thick-rimmed glasses so well, she reminds me of Hanji-san.  Also, she has a cute dimple. I always enjoy her lovely and warm performances, she never disappoints. Another actress who kind of reminds me of Hanji-san is Hokushou Kairi.

Suzukaze Mayo = Rivaille/Levi

(Former Moon Troupe Otokoyaku Top Star AND the voice of Anime Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin).  Suzukaze Mayo was considered a Fairy-type otokoyaku. She does resemble a fairy and she's short for an Otokoyaku.  And Levi, well, he's short.  Despite the fact that Suzukaze Mayo is naturally cute and feminine, she has a freakishly amazing man-deep (speaking and singing) voice and she can also do this (death) glare that pierces through you.  With these elements, I thought she would be a perfect Levi, but I think my sketch just made my Suzukaze Mayo/Levi look like a drag queen.  I tried to make her look more Levi-like but it became a senseless task after 5 minutes. Another actress I was thinking about for Levi was Ichiro Maki, who also can do a chilling glare. I might try her next time.

Otozuki Kei = Petra Ral 

(Former Snow Troupe Otokoyaku Top Star) Actually, I was debating between having Otozuki Kei be either Eren or Petra because Otozuki Kei looks boyish, but she also reminds me of Petra because she is always grinning and happy-like.  I was also considering for Mikasa too.  I think I'm just in love with Otozuki Kei's face.

I totally picked up the wrong marker when I was doing Otozuki Kei/Petra.  Audience, White China Marker can be your friend in dire Marker times.

I think it's ironic that I'm playing with markers because in the past I refused to believe in markers.  I thought markers were rigid and only cocky Manga fans used them. 

Hahaha. 

Haha.

Ha.

Does this mean I'm a cocky manga fan?

Beginning Inspirachannel Themes

There is an artist named Carli whose work and ideas I quite like.  She created this blog community, Inspirachannel, to inspire and motivate fellow artists or creative beings.  This is a fantastic concept because, I, myself, am a lazy artist so if I don't have an art class I tend to stop drawing all together. The way Inspirachannel works is that Carli posts a new theme almost everyday, and we submit our work to the blog so we get to see what everyone else did.  It's pretty sweet.

Theme 1: Self Portrait

100% caffeinated painting.  Well, with exception of the occasional ink intrusions

I hadn't painted in coffee for awhile, so I thought I would give it a go.  As I was going along, I wanted to give up because it looked like a huge brown blob of blehness, forgetting how difficult rendering in coffee was.  But around 60% into this, it started to look like a person, well, like me, so I was pleasantly surprised.  Now, I feel this painting looks prettier than real life me.  Does this mean that if I douse myself  with coffee, I'll be a beauty queen?  It'll be the greatest beauty discovery ever.

Theme 2: Spiritual Animal

Just chillin' on me tree with me hibiscus laced coffee.  

 To be honest, I don't have the same intensity in affection towards sloths like Kristen Bell, not even 50%, but I do think they are adorable and I move kind of slow, like a sloth.  Also, I smile and laugh terribly a lot.  It's quite ridiculous.

Theme 4: Greek Mythology

Seriously, Daphne got the short end of the stick.  I mean, in summary, she got stalked and then was immobilized.  The story of Apollo and Daphne sounds like a plot for a really bad American horror movie.

When I was a child, I used to love reading a beautifully  illustrated Greek Mythology book and one of the stories was Apollo and Daphne.  Basically, Apollo is a cocky bastard who pisses off Cupid, (FYI, bad idea lady and gents) who in turn makes Apollo fall in love with Daphne.  Now Daphne is a rather modern-like maiden with the radical idea to not get married.  As Apollo vigorously pursues Daphne, Daphne pleads to her father, the River God, to help her escape her stalker and her father turns her into a tree. Yes, that was her father's solution to "help" her, to turn her into a tree that has no means of running. AND then Apollo proceeds to feel her up and use her barks and leaves for his beloved rituals.  For young Rie, this story sounded romantic for first 30 seconds but seemed mostly unsettling  and unfair for Daphne.

Theme 5: Horror

Sadako is groovin' by crawlin'.  Apparently, the TV is not as spacious as advertised. 

Hands down, Japanese horror film Ringu is more terrifying than its American counterpart. If you don't mine, I prefer not to talk about Sadako because she scares me shitloads and I prefer not to dream about her tonight.

Oh, it seems like I miscounted?  Well dear reader, excellent observation skills. I actually haven't drawn Theme 3: Shuffle song yet. Saving it for next time.

Also, Carli said she liked my work and I was like:

OMG THANK YOU