Nouveau Daicon

"Nouveau Daicon"
(From DAICON III & IV Opening Animations)
 
I decided I wanted to revisit the DAICON animations, while trying some more art nouveau stylings; something I'm trying to get better at. I considered having two separate illustrations, but couldn't think of enough to fill the pictures well, so decided on making another joint picture between the two films. I also made the characters much more within my own personal style (Something I don't really do much), making them look considerably more realistic. Though I'll admit, I'm still terrible at discerning a child's facial structure from an adults...

I added the picture to an aged paper texture I found digitally, to give the final look of an authentic Mucha-esque look. Also, because I forgot to during the inking process, I changed the roman numerals of the titles from black to their respective colors digitally, as well.

April 1, 2016
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.
Paper texture and touchups added digitally.

We Change the End

"We Change the End"
(Proto Man from Mega Man / Based on The Megas)
 
Along with the last picture I posted based on The Megas' History Repeating: Blue and Red, I did this one for Proto Man, giving him a much more worn, aged look. I went with his Break Man visage to go more with the song "I'm Not the Breakman," which gives Proto Man a much darker history, filled with betrayal and jealousy, seeking revenge on the One who stole his role as Dr. Light's "son."

As with Mega Man's, I wanted to give the background a more simple watercolor look to contrast with the rough inks of the lineart, giving the overall look a strong manga-panel feel. Since Proto Man's base armor color is red, I went with green to contrast with and help him pop. Though, unlike Mega Man's, whose colors were more vibrant, Proto Man's are more muted and subdued. In all honesty, I think I'm happier with the outcome of this one than the other one. lol

March 19, 2016
Ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

The End Begins

"The End Begins"
(Mega Man from Mega Man / Based on The Megas)
 
I recently reintroduced myself to The Megas through their latest releases, History Repeating: Blue and Red, and this rechurned the gears of my gritty Mega Man iteration. I changed the design from my previous homage, instead focusing on a more stoic sort of suspense, with destruction all around him.

I wanted to give the background a more simple watercolor look to contrast with the rough inks of the lineart, definitely giving a strong manga-panel look. I also focused on orange hues to help contrast the blue of Mega Man's armor, though bringing it down to slight purple to not be too offsetting.

 March 19, 2016
Ballpoint pen, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

I Wanna Get the Kitty!

"I Wanna Get the Kitty!"
(Crono, Marle, and Lucca from Chrono Trigger / Gift art for Vinesauce)
 
Over at Vinesauce, Vinny is playing Chrono Trigger; arguably one of the best RPGs ever made, and his self-proclaimed favorite game. When he was messing around on his second stream trying to "catch the cat" in the sewers in 2300 AD, something inspired me to do a piece reminiscent of Akira Toriyama's original illustrations for the game.

I actually did the lineart for this piece twice, as the first time I did it was heavily rushed to display on their booru (to which he showcased that night). I decided I could do better, to which I feel I did indeed. To keep in line with the mock-style of Toriyama's works, I had the new lineart printed onto parchment paper to give it a bit of mood toning. Using the white pencils and gel pens on this colored paper really pops the highlights. The Vineshroom on the wall was a last-second addition to the lineart before coloring to personalize it to the stream.

 February 22, 2016
Micron pens, Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" celery parchment paper.

First and Last

"First and Last"
(Xenogears, Elly, and Fei from Xenogears)
 
February 10th, 2016, marked the 18th anniversary of Xenogears release in Japan of 1998. And it's one of those games where you either never heard of it or it became one of the largest, most narrative-driven, and controversial JRPGs you've ever played, especially at its time. And I still feel it's a game that does not get near the amount of love it deserves, from either fan or its own rights holders, though it plant the seed for Tetsuya Takahashi's two spiritual successors series, Xenosaga for the PlayStation 2 and Xenoblade for Nintendo systems.

For this piece, I wanted to focus on the last scenes of the game, which involved the ultimate reunion of Fei and Elly in the dimensional rift of the final battle. I'd been wanting to do an illustration involving the titular mecha Xenogears for quite some time, however, this proved difficult as it's by far one of the most complicated designs I've ever seen, and can look really strange from the wrong angles... Fei and Elly came together with surprisingly minimal complication, though the lighting style started to baffle me as I approached the lighter shades.
Also, I threw in a hidden "character" for this piece; one that only people who've completed the game would recognize, and even then, may have a hard time recalling. (lol)

 February 16, 2016
Micron pens, Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, gel pens, and chalk pastels
on 8.5x11" cardstock.

Crystal Flash

 "Crystal Flash"
(Samus Aran from the Metroid series)
 
I guess chalk this piece up to the fact that there was an ability in Super Metroid (and some later games) that I had absolutely no idea existed prior to about a month ago. The Crystal Flash is a technique you can use in truly desperate situations to heal all of your energy tanks at the cost of all your special weapon energies. This places Samus in a healing ball, shed of her armor and otherwise defenseless, but growing strong again.

I tried to tell myself the next time I drew Samus would be in her trademark armor, but it seems I went even further back and put her in less than the last one. (lol) I tried to make this look as soft as possible, but of course, my markers will always leave some rather rough lines, still. Fortunately, using pencil instead of pen for the lineart definitely aided in the light look and I feel countered where the markers were working against me. I actually had to do a little extra digital work on the glow, as one of my markers unknowingly ran out, and I'm not sure when I can replace it. It was a subtle touch up, but one that was needed to complete the effect.

 February 07, 2016
Prismacolor Markers, charcoal pencil, colored pencils, and gel pen
on 8.5x11" cardstock.
Added digital coloration, Photoshop Elements.

MegaMan Juno

 "MegaMan Juno"
(MegaMan Juno from the Mega Man Legends)
 
Maybe it was just the shock of this character, who came almost literally out of nowhere in the last few minutes of Mega Man Legends, or his strangely calm, callous demeanor, but something about Juno stuck with me. Once I discovered no official art exists for his character (despite one very rough draft, which hails from one guide book), I knew I had to somehow make up for that...

I tried my best to mimic Hideki Ishikawa's at-the-time style to allow it to mesh with his other designs from the game, though going with the lighting used on the reaverbot illustrations, since he tends to fit in better with them than characters like the Bonnes or even MegaMan, himself. I don't declare it 1-for-1, by any means, but I think I got fairly close. The red digital-esque lines were a challenge to pull off, but I think they came out good given what I was working with. The final touch was giving it a "scanned" look, using some filters and reverse-DNR, just to really cement it into looking "official."

 December 6, 2015
Micron pens, Pigma pens, Photoshop Elements 7.0
4224x5746 pixels