Serious art is serious.

[bladespark]

I just realized that since I tacked the first kirjak onto the end of a bunch of personal rambling, most people reading this didn't see it. Ooops! So here it is again. Click for a larger version if you want to get all the detail.


And here's the one I just now finished inking. I really suggest looking at the large version on this one.


This is my kirjak. He's a character I recently invented. He's a muntjak-based kirin. Kirins being oriental unicorns and muntjak being fanged deer. So he's a fanged unicorn deer. His details vary a ton, you can see that just between these two drawings. The constant features are the muntjak body and face, (and fangs!) the single muntjak horn, the long flowing tail, and the wings. Though exactly what kind of tail and what kind of wings might vary. For these drawings I actually referenced a saluki tail, and pigeon wings. In the first I also used a goat for the mane/beard, while in the second I used a lion's mane, and added carp scales. He also has anthro and anime-style "uni-boy" versions, which I may draw eventually, though I'm not as good at bipeds as I am at quadrupeds. I also intend to color these eventually. The second one was drawn on watercolor paper just for that purpose, in fact, because I realized that it needed watercolor, but the paper the first one was on really isn't paper I could paint on, but first I have to do some practice, my water color skills are way rusty. If I had money I might hire somebody to do some digital coloring on them as well, I think they'd both look killer with some really good cel shading. But I am broke and I fail at digital color.

Anyhow! I'm really very pleased with these. It's been a loooooooooooooooong time since I've done any art that wasn't pretty quick and dirty, and these came out really well. I hope you all like them too. :)

P.S. I have to thank Nambroth again for the wing tutorial and for the amazing inking that inspired me to try to improve my own inking skills.

Comments

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

OOoh, even better still, that one looks amazing! And the scales turned out great. :)

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

He's still not quite perfect. They never are! But I am very happy with the improvement from the first.

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Yes, we're all perfectionists when it comes to our own work. Never perfect enough! ;)

How do you do your inking, btw? Build up areas as you go, or do you have a variable pressure pen? In that regard, any particular tools to recommend? I haven't a proper inking pen to speak of but would like some (mine are all crap, or too thick, or etc). I used to do some inking a long time ago and I've long forgotten my usual techniques...

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I have a pair of microns, one is a .3 and the other a .05, so I do the heavier lines with the .3 and the fine lines with the .05, and then I go back over where I feel I need to build up additional variation. I'd like to get some more pens, since really I need something in the middle, the .3 is too thick for some things which I end up building up a ton with the .05 and it takes forever, since it's ridiculously fine.

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks! Even if I don't have clients who want this level of complexity, I definitely want to practice for myself.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

*nods* You have to do personal stuff sometimes too, it can't all be for the customers! And there's something about doing fiddly little details... they're such a pain, and yet they're so satisfying when they're done!

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Totally, I agree (on both counts)! I'm thinking of getting a DeviantArt account in the hopes that it will encourage me to actually produce and post stuff. I signed up on Elfwood and a digital art forum but it hasn't seemed to work yet... *LOL*

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I've never been on Elfwood. DA... eh. I think at this point I'm there to watch people as much as to post my stuff, I don't get any business worth mentioning off of it, and while I do get a good bit of comment on the costumes, when it comes to more traditional art it is a small pond in which I am a very small fish, compared to the more talented and better publicized artists that get most of the attention there.

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Ah, gotcha. Well, I may still dabble with it just to feel part of the art community, if nothing else.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

It is a very good place to network artistically.

[chaotic-era.livejournal.com]

You've done an excellent job with the inking! I also very much like how all the different animal parts come together so well. Inking in a piece of art always seems to be just as labor intensive as when you first drew it in pencil IMO.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I'd say in this case it was more work than the sketches. :P And thank you. :)

[chaotic-era.livejournal.com]

Most of the work looks like it was probably filling in all the details. Especially with all those scales.

[keplilly.livejournal.com]

Wow, those look awesome! I really like it!