Merry Xmas 2018

"Merry Xmas 2018"
(Original)

I don't often do holiday themed pics, but for some reason, this year made me want to. It also gave me a reason to use my characters again, and further flex my newfound style.
I first did this piece a s a quick "ink sketch" a couple days prior, but something wouldn't let me just settle with that. So I redid the piece on a larger scale and made it full color. Making sure the face and height differences between Rhapsody (left) and Elysium (right) were another challenge for myself. Not a tough one, necessarily, but something I need to make sure I can do consistently in the future.
For the final, I did add some digital effects just for the sake of not letting the text seem so stark with the traditional art.

The raw piece and the original sketch can be found below.

December 27, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and POSCA paint pens
 on 14x17" smooth bristol stock.
Background/foreground effects and text done digitally via Photoshop Elements 7.0

"Merry Xmas 2018" (traditional piece)

"Merry Xmas 2018" (original ink sketch)

December 24, 2018
Micron pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock
Background text done digitally via Photoshop Elements 7.0

Fated Sword Dual Balance ©Studio OZKai

Halcyon Days

"Halcyon Days"
(Animal Crossing/Gift art)

This one was part of a secret project I was doing for Christmas gifts for a few friends this year. However, due to time and creativity walls, this was the only one that saw production.
My friends here are fans of Animal Crossing, pumping unknown amount of time into the last installment, New Leaf. I decided to put them into the world that brings them joy, along with their favorite villagers, Bob, Avery, and K.K. I balanced their designs with normal proportions with AC human facial features.
Despite the size of this one (14x18"), coloring did not take as long as I anticipated, doing most of it within two sittings.
The other pieces I had in mind for my other friends may see the light of day, someday, but it definitely won't be in time for this Christmas, lol

December 2, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and POSCA paint pens
on 14x17" smooth bristol stock.

Le Ciel

"Le Ciel" 
(Legend of Legaia)
 
A random one-off pic for the PS1 game Legend of Legaia, depicting its 3 heroes; Vahn, Noa, and Gala. Admittedly, it's not a game I've ever beaten, but have seen the majority through my now-wife's and her brother's playthroughs, back in the day.

I wanted to give it a manga feel, for whatever reason. Not really much to it beyond that.
An unexpected issue with this piece, however, was that all three of them wear predominantly blue... And along with a hazy blue backdrop, this oversight really drowned out this piece. I attempted to alter some of the colors digitally, but they still don't differ enough...

The name of this piece is a pun on the names of their "weapons," the Ra-Seru. Since they're heavenly "artifacts," I decided I liked the similarity to the French words for "The Sky."

September 16, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

The Host of the Slayer of God

"The Host of the Slayer of God"
(Xenogears)

Xenogears had been on the mind a lot this year, being the 20th Anniversary and all. And I wanted an excuse to do an Alphonse Mucha-esque art nouveau piece. This also makes my third Fei piece in one year.
I wanted the background effect to go through the primary colors and also reflect the struggles Fei had gone through over the course of the game, with Zohar and a Xenogears motif adorning the top. The colors on the actual piece mixed too much between bright and dull, so I decided to mute them a bit for the final render, as well as add a "paper texture" to the background.

September 2, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 11x17" cardstock 
Paper color and texture added in Photoshop Elements 7.0

UNDERTALE Character Illustrations - Waves 1 + 2

"UNDERTALE Character Illustrations"
(Undertale)
 
-Wave 1-
I had recently watched a playthrough of Undertale, which is a game I have been wanting to play (And since a Switch announcement has been made, I'll likely wait for that), and it's amazing how simple of a game it is with characters that are so easy to get attached to. I decided I wanted to do a few simpler illustrations of the characters.
I tried to go more off of Temmie's style for the base designs, but making them simpler in style. Of course, she didn't actually design most of the characters, but I feel her style's the more solidified for the game's art direction. Nothing against Toby, of course.
For the first set, I did Fr-- the Human, Flowey, and Toriel; your first 3 characters met in the game.

July 28, 2018
Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock 

-Wave 2-
For the second set, I did those you meet on the way to Snowdin; the Great Papyrus, Sans. and Lesser Dog because I had the space for him over Greater Dog. Since I gave the Human the red SOUL (the default for them), I was going to theme the bosses who change your SOUL's color by giving them their respective hearts - With Papyrus's being the blue SOUL.

July 29, 2018
Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, and gel pens
on 8.5x11" cardstock

Dreams

"Dreams"
Key illustration

I knew I'd get around this one, but I'm definitely glad I waited.
Like all my recent illustrations, I did this on a large sheet of bristol board, with Terra being the only inked portion on here. The trees got a very loose outline in pencil, but were made mostly straight in marker. The large bird in the sky was also more defined in blue colored pencil and colored so that it looked high in the sky.
All the lighting tricks you see were done with colored chalk pastels and a lot of anxiety. This is also the first time I've done this illustration where I had the crop area in mind when coloring the piece (the colors exceed a good few inches past the crop area for good bleed).
The original piece was called "Fate," but I changed it to match the title of the first chapter for which it's the cover to.

June 25, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, POSCA paint pens, and chalk pastels
on 14x17" smooth bristol stock.

Fated Sword Dual Balance ©Studio OZKai

The Prophecy

"The Prophecy"
First volume cover illustration

Yet another redo of this illustration, but one I'm far more proud of in size, layout, and overall execution.
On top of updating their faces to be more consistent with their updated illustrations, I changed the coloring style, the angles at which Oni and Elysium are facing, made their hair longer and curl up higher to act as strategic censoring, and even made the lighting distinct on each character.
The background phoenix is now just black with a radiant red from the center, which is mostly obscured by the forefront figures.

June 23, 2018
Micron pens, Sakura Pigma pens, Prismacolor Markers, colored pencils, gel pens, and POSCA paint pens
on 14x17" smooth bristol stock.

Fated Sword Dual Balance ©Studio OZKai