Heaven Near

"Heaven Near"
(Original Character)

This is a counterpart piece to an illustration I did back in 2015. I actually conceptualized this way back then, but failed to get anywhere with it. Since my interest in my story has suddenly skyrocketed (See: every other post for the last 2~3 weeks), I felt the need to finish this one in between my character designs.

 I was concerned about using the character's main color palette since the outfit for her here differs from her actual design, but the other plan would have either clashed or blended with the background. I think keeping with her proper colors lets her pop from the image more.


October 30, 2017
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.
(*Paper texture added digitally via Photoshop Elements)

The Show Must Go On

"The Show Must Go On"
(The Big O)
 
Another long-shelved project completed! I first fully saw The Big O late last year, and I loved it, from its visual aesthetic (at least in the first season), to its form of storytelling, to its giant robots. Big O has a lot to like, though it also has a lot to throw off casual viewers. Either way, to me, the pros far outweigh the cons, and it earned a spot among my favorite anime.

I mentioned on the previous one that I did was to reference for this. Despite how it looks, this image is NOT digitally inverted. It was colored relatively side-by-side to the OFFSET version, using it as a reference to how the shading lied naturally, and used another screencap for color reference to color this one, because in series, Big Venus appears inverted like this. The line work was done with a white gel pen, especially to clean up areas where the markers bled into the negative space. This may be my most ambitious piece yet, and it definitely paid off!

October 13, 2017
Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11 cardstock

The Show Must Go On Ver.OFFSET

"The Show Must Go On Ver.OFFSET"
(The Big O)
 
Another long-shelved project completed! I first fully saw The Big O late last year, and I loved it, from its visual aesthetic (at least in the first season), to its form of storytelling, to its giant robots. Big O has a lot to like, though it also has a lot to throw off casual viewers. Either way, to me, the pros far outweigh the cons, and it earned a spot among my favorite anime.

This one's actually a bit of an odd duck in the collection. Aside from it facing forward, this piece for the Big Venus isn't exactly "screen accurate." In fact, the only reason I colored this piece was because I needed a reference to do its true version. While technically part of the "Cast in the Name of God" collection, this one can be considered a variant.

October 13, 2017
Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11 cardstock

Ye Not

"Ye Not"
(The Big O)
 
Another long-shelved project completed! I first fully saw The Big O late last year, and I loved it, from its visual aesthetic (at least in the first season), to its form of storytelling, to its giant robots. Big O has a lot to like, though it also has a lot to throw off casual viewers. Either way, to me, the pros far outweigh the cons, and it earned a spot among my favorite anime.

The third piece in this "Cast in the Name of God" set is the more penultimate Megadeus, the Big Fau. I was very happy to pull off its off-white base color without using my typical myriad of greys. The background gave some minor issues as it started to clash with the name. I was able to separate the two a bit, but I feel I could have done a little better. All in all, though, I'm happy with the turn out of this one.

October 12, 2017
Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11 cardstock

Ye Guilty

"Ye Guilty"
(The Big O)
 
Another long-shelved project completed! I first fully saw The Big O late last year, and I loved it, from its visual aesthetic (at least in the first season), to its form of storytelling, to its giant robots. Big O has a lot to like, though it also has a lot to throw off casual viewers. Either way, to me, the pros far outweigh the cons, and it earned a spot among my favorite anime.

The second piece in this "Cast in the Name of God" set is the first true rival Megadeus, and the second Big, aptly named Big Duo. Not much to note on this one, it followed pretty straight-forward. I think its color palette is my favorite among the set, though.

October 11, 2017
Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11 cardstock

Ye Not Guilty

"Ye Not Guilty"
(The Big O)
 
Another long-shelved project completed! I first fully saw The Big O late last year, and I loved it, from its visual aesthetic (at least in the first season), to its form of storytelling, to its giant robots. Big O has a lot to like, though it also has a lot to throw off casual viewers. Either way, to me, the pros far outweigh the cons, and it earned a spot among my favorite anime.

The first piece in this "Cast in the Name of God" set is the titular Big O. I think I inked this piece 3 different times before landing on a style that I was satisfied with. The colors came a bit more naturally, at least, though I will admit some of my markers were giving out on me, resulting in a lot of layering to get the coverage and colors I was aiming for.

October 10, 2017
Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11 cardstock

Samael Waits for You

"Samael Waits for You"
(Hellsing)
 
Casually speaking, I'm not usually one for violent supernatural thriller series, anime or otherwise, but something about Hellsing -or more specifically, its OVA- stood out to me. I don't know if its how well its story is told, the interesting mix of supernatural creatures and military, or even its surprisingly apt grasp on history and the woes of churchdom (on more than just Catholicism, at that). Or maybe it's how well Team Four Star had been doing on their Hellsing Ultimate Abridged. I dunno, but it was definitely a series that actually stuck with me in a positive way. My wife enjoyed it more than me (Which is saying a bit), so she commissioned this piece from me... Back in January.

Needless to say, like many pieces I do that are of the larger format, I got overwhelmed and shelved the piece well into the inking phase. But, of course, I decided to pick it back up and finish inkin as well as color it all in one day. I should really stop caving to my anxieties.

The many eyes, as well as the shadow matter they dwell within, were my biggest issues with the piece, but all came together pretty well. I remember feeling a little "unwell" after doing all the impaled bodies on the right-hand side of the piece, but I tried my best to keep them more silhouetted. A lot of this picture took me outside of my comfort zones, so hopefully they don't come off as too subdued.

September 23, 2017
Normal pens, Micron pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and chalk pastels
on 11x17" cardstock