[Art] Keaton the Black Jackal: Commission Preview~ (21/10/09)

[Ren Gaulen]

Nice picture, Keaton, especially the expressions.

[Sunblink]

Thanks for the wonderful replies, everyone! This picture was quite well-received - I love it! Thanks, guys! ^^

Tapewolf made a really good suggestion a bit earlier, and since I still had the PSD I decided to follow his advice. I altered the background in the final panel somewhat so that way it's a bit less flat, and I really like the adjustments. It makes the impact look more pronounced, and plus it looks pretty.

76: Broken Pieces, with New Background-Panel

I'll be replacing the link to the picture on the front page of this thread with this one, since I think this one looks much nicer.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

Tapewolf made a really good suggestion a bit earlier, and since I still had the PSD I decided to follow his advice. I altered the background in the final panel somewhat so that way it's a bit less flat, and I really like the adjustments. It makes the impact look more pronounced, and plus it looks pretty.

Cool.  I can't claim full credit of course - I learned the technique by reverse-engineering DMFA 

[Sunblink]

CLICK HERE

Time Taken:

• Drawing: Unknown
• Inking: 3 Hours
• Coloring: 2 Hours

Took a break from the 100 Themes to practice something someone on DeviantArt suggested. The same person suggested I start implementing colored lines into my pictures, something which I have -never- done before (with the exception of the eyes in my previous pictures; but that's minimal), so I tried it using an older picture I drew a while back and submitted here. Personally, I love how it turned out.

I inked the picture using the Photoshop pen tool. This tutorial helped. The style to color this is far too cartoony, at the moment, and takes so much time that I'll probably stick to black lines for most of my pictures, while intermittently switching to colored lines and cel shading for cuter or simpler pictures like this. I might use some of my shading technique I used here in my typical shading style.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Zedd]

Very nice deary

[WhiteFox]

I... am not big on colored lines, it makes the whole image loose definition. If I were doing it... I'd use stronger shading, or darker lines.

[Brunhidden]

why are stuffed animals more cute as they get mangled?

and yet somehow i am compelled to compliment the adorable little keaton head logo

[Tapewolf]

I... am not big on colored lines, it makes the whole image loose definition. If I were doing it... I'd use stronger shading, or darker lines.

I'd have to agree, I'm afraid.  From a technical standpoint it works well, but artistically, I feel it's lost something.

I haven't seen the coloured-line technique used much.  There are a few I have with faint outlines.  The closest I can think of offhand is Turnsky's Mythical Creatures cover and IMHO even that would probably have looked a bit strange if he hadn't added an outline on the fur.

( For reference: http://dougtheeagle.com/mce/mce.png - The grass, clothes and hair are all done with coloured lines, the actual figure is not).

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

why are stuffed animals more cute as they get mangled?

The Velveteen Rabbit?

and yet somehow i am compelled to compliment the adorable little keaton head logo

Indeed. I overlooked that.

Very, very cute. ;-]

[Sunblink]

I... am not big on colored lines, it makes the whole image loose definition. If I were doing it... I'd use stronger shading, or darker lines.

Hmm. Thank you for the critique. I'll try using both in a future picture.

and yet somehow i am compelled to compliment the adorable little keaton head logo

Oh, thank you! ^^ The same logo's in all of the 100 Themes pictures. I'm rather fond of it as well.

The Velveteen Rabbit?

Ironically, the Velveteen Rabbit was my main source of inspiration regarding the character in the picture's backstory.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Gabi]

O_O Anthro Pokemon!

[Sid]

Colored lines can work well, actually. The Lion King, anybody? Note how black is only used for some key features.

In my eyes, the key is knowing what color to choose for the outline of each shape. It'll take some practice and experience, but I think it can be quite rewarding when done right.

[Sunblink]

100 Themes #84: Out Cold

Time Taken:

• Drawing: Lost count. I kept periodically forgetting and re-adopting this project during the mad search for a transparent ruler.

Currently Listening To: Stygian singing "Ieva's Polka"

I FINALLY FINISHED <3

Before anyone asks, Mel actually doesn't appear in Keaton's backstory. At least, not like this. This was done just for fun, and because I wanted to do something nice for Mel. Plus the idea sounded like a lot of fun, until I ended up getting carpal tunnel from drawing ALL THOSE STUPID ROSES. Goddammit I HATE roses. Hate them to death. I'm going to plant a bunch of roses just so I can set those things on fire, and THEN I'll have the last laugh. So ha.

There is a bit of a story to this picture, but it's really up to you to put your mind to it and concoct your own backstory. Right now some aspects of the picture are kind of unintelligible in the black-and-white, cluttered version, but I'm planning on coloring this in the future using an interesting style I saw someone on DeviantArt use. As a preview, I'm going to skip the inking process and go straight to coloring on this, while leaving the lineart layer on partial opacity so it looks semi-translucent against the color layer. If I do it right, it should look very nice.

In the background, behind the gate, that's supposed to be snow. Blah. Yes. Mel's power over ice is fun to play with. I feel as though I botched this picture somewhat by getting too excited at the end and rushing, but I think I can make this look much better in the colored version. Other than that, I'm very happy with the roses (even though I hate drawing them) and Mel and Keaton. Her mother made that winter outfit for her; don't make fun of her, kids.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I'm guessing there's a string down behind her wings, running across her shoulder blades, with the two wing-mittens tied to either end, yes?

Yes?

So very cute. Very very cute indeed. And yes, I can't wait for the coloured version to show the snow up properly.



Still cute.

[Ren Gaulen]

It's beautiful. I'm at a loss of words. Great work, Keaton! But the mittens look just too funny. I'm sorry, I could not hold back the laughter. But they are cute!!

[Tapewolf]

That is gorgeous.  I particularly like the little muffs on the tops of her wings.
Simply concealing them might have been more sensible, if less artistic.

The only thing that is a little questionable to my mind is Keaton's eyes - the pupils are very dilated, which makes her look slightly spaced-out...

[Cogidubnus]

I must echo those above me - still absolutely cute, and as I said the first time, I still love those roses. Really, really awesome, Keats - I can't wait to see what you do with it when you color it.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

[gives Keaton a giant hug] It's beautiful! You make Mel look very elegant, even with that "yeah, I made roses bloom in the middle of winter" smirk at Keaton's shock. The wing mittens and the jester hat give me the giggles. Don't tell Keaton's mom.

[Zedd]

It looks really cute

[Sunblink]

Wow everyone, thank you all so much for your comments on the last picture. It was so well-received. ^^ I'm definitely going to color it eventually...

Oh, but here's another picture.

100 Themes #98: Puzzle

Time Taken:

• Drawing: 2 Days

Currently Listening To: "It's Not Over," by Daughtry

Ehem. Uh, those who are keeping track of my DeviantArt journal know that I promised I'd take care of 64: Horror next in my 100 Themes series, but I spent most of Saturday from the computer in celebration of the summer, just when the doodlebug bit me. Horror is already completely inked, so all that needs to be done is the coloring, which I need my computer for, of course. But I was desperate to draw something and I didn't have reference for the characters involved in the next 100 Themes topic (Hero), so I improvised. I'm such a bad person. 

This picture will definitely be colored. I'm already inking it, panel by panel, and it's giving me a lot of grief. I was planning on giving it colored lines, but given my typical shading style, I decided to go with my usual black lines (after a LOT of experimentation and coloring and erasing and coloring again BLAAAAARGH). Not a problem, considering I loved how Broken Pieces turned out. Might give the background colored lines instead but that might be sort of awkward... but I won't know until I try it. Besides, I'm saving the method of alternate lines for Horror (kind of).

I've been on a major Lianna kick. I love my crazy little traumatized thing. I've also been on a major background kick ever since I finished drawing Out Cold. The scene is taking place in SAIA, which is kind of implied within the picture - Fa'Lina's clan marking is present on one of the portraits, but it's obviously flawed since I didn't have reference at the time. It'll be fixed in the colored version. If you look really closely at one of the diplomas, you'll see the same marking. Another thing I'm really proud of is the puzzle. I counted all the rows and the pieces to make it completely identical in both panels it appears in. The number of pieces on the box is also accurate to the actual number of puzzle pieces drawn. I kind of botched Lianna's expression in the last panel, but this might have been early in her rehabilitation process in SAIA so she might not be at her best.

Oh, and in the corner is Lianna's weapon, Mister Hammer. She's probably not used to being apart from "him."

For those who are curious, the cobra is Desdemona Duskayne. She's a king cobra, but since that, too, was drawn without reference to the actual animal, I kind of disobeyed my promise to draw animals a bit more accurately to their realistic counterparts. That'll be rectified in future pictures of Desdemona, since I like her too much to draw her only once. As the scene implies, she is a psychiatrist, and is assigned to helping rehabilitate Lianna and help her recover. Poor gal's been through a lot of traumatic shit in her life.

Anyway, look forward to the next 100 Themes picture soon: Horror. Hero will be next, most likely, since it's kind of been leading in the poll ongoing in my DeviantArt page for a while.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

I'm not sure I've seen much of Lianna.  You've done a good job on her design, and well, everything, really.  I particularly like the "That's that.  Now what?" look on her face in the main panel.

Out of interest, whenabouts is this set?  She seems to be making some progress with her recovery, which is all to the good.  My one question is that  I thought she had a warhammer rather than one from a carpentry set.

And as for the Fa'Lina clan mark, it's drifted a little through the strip anyway - I certainly recognised it even before I read the description.

[Sunblink]

I'm not sure I've seen much of Lianna.  You've done a good job on her design, and well, everything, really.  I particularly like the "That's that.  Now what?" look on her face in the main panel.

Out of interest, whenabouts is this set?  She seems to be making some progress with her recovery, which is all to the good.  My one question is that  I thought she had a warhammer rather than one from a carpentry set.

And as for the Fa'Lina clan mark, it's drifted a little through the strip anyway - I certainly recognised it even before I read the description.

Heh, thank you ^^ Actually, I've drawn Lianna twice before, but her design, while mostly consistent since then, has been altered around her hands. I'm surprised you  like the expression since I thought that was the weakest part of the picture.

About when this is set... um... I'd say rather early into her rehabilitation, when she was introduced into SAIA. I find it's the only explanation to her depressed expression. So maybe a little before Future History? As for the hammer, I always imagined Mister Hammer to be rather like an enormous carpenter's hammer, kind of like the one Kammi has here. Partially because it'd be multi-functional given the large hook in the back, and because the coliseum Lianna was held captive at didn't really have very advanced weaponry. A warhammer would be super-awesome, though... I like those.

I feel I should mention that Lianna used to have a warhammer before the Jyraneth Empire fell, but it was confiscated by the Kamei'Sin around her capture. Which is a crying shame, since I liked that thing. The warhammer is about the same nature as Keaton's Morningstar, Catastrophe.

Also, I'm glad you recognized the clan marking. XD That's a bit of a relief, given I was kind of worried about it.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Next, you get a real puzzle.

The 1000 piece "Purple Horror".


For those who haven't heard of this monstrosity, it's painted precisely the same shade of purple across the entire jigsaw. On both sides. With 1000 almost, but not quite, identical little pieces.

It's evil.

[Ren Gaulen]

Great work, Keaton! Great work indeed. Both the characters and the background are superb, and I can't wait to see it coloured. And Lianna's expression makes me want to give her a hug. Or a cookie. Probably both.

Next, you get a real puzzle.

The 1000 piece "Purple Horror".


For those who haven't heard of this monstrosity, it's painted precisely the same shade of purple across the entire jigsaw. On both sides. With 1000 almost, but not quite, identical little pieces.

It's evil.

You're evil. For suggesting something like that.

[Cogidubnus]

I still think that accurately drawing a puzzle the same way twice is... for lack of a better descriptor, insane. Doing something like that still seems to me like it would be extremely hard.

Lianna does look kinda out of it, but then, I suppose she would. Desdemona is also one of the more unique characters I've seen - the way her hood is done is pretty neat, I think. As psychiatrist, I suppose she really is a snake charmer.

And Mr. Hammer! (Hooray's for seeing more of this rarely seen character. ) Mr. Hammer is nicely detailed (wood whorls!), and looks very nice. Although it does look more like Lianna should be a carpenter than swinging him in battle. x3

Is very nice, Keats. I loves it to death. 

[James StarRunner]

You're really putting in a lot of effort into these 100 themes and this one was no exception!

[Sunblink]

Thank you all very much for the comments, everyone. Because people seemed to like this picture, I decided to make a little preview of one of the colored panels for it.

CLICK HERE

Yes, it's going to have colored lines because I think it'll make the background look more vibrant. Yes, I know I said I wouldn't. Yes, I am a horrible liar. Otherwise, working with them is going to be a paaaaaain. I do like how this turned out, though.

This is probably the last you guys're gonna see of Puzzle for a while until I've finished Horror and Hero. I've actually wanted to work on this somewhat, so that's slightly irritating, but I want to stick with my self-imposed schedule. XD

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Zedd]

Very nice colors and I am so curious if you havent forgoten

[Cogidubnus]

O:

I don't know how I missed this little snippet of an update. I'd just like to say that's probably the best coloring of yours I've seen yet.

[Sunblink]

And another update! I'm pumping these out really fast. FEEL that summer productivity, everyone! FEEL IT! I'm free from school for the next few months and AC's coming up! <3

100 Themes #68: Hero

Time Taken:
* Drawing: Approximately 3 Hours
Currently Listening To: "Ordinary Pain," from the Soul Calibur II Soundtrack

Oh look, I'm totally not copying and pasting this from my DeviantArt page, I swear. Oh, by the way, this picture was the kind-of-sort-of winner of that poll I ran on DeviantArt. I say "kind-of-sort-of" because I voted as well so I could see all the options, and there was another option tied with it. I just went with the one I actually had a solid idea for.

I swear to God there's a bigger purpose here than to include all of my friends in a bunch of pictures. Really. XD

Actually, this is a reference to an upcoming intermission chapter in Keaton's backstory. Intermission chapters are going to be little stories devoted to characters or events which do not occur within the general flow of the backstory, generally expanding upon events alluded to or divulging secrets. In other words, they're kind of like reprieves from the basic backstory to examine other characters. There will probably be four intermission chapters in all: I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but one of the intermission chapters will have Tikal and Gareeku in it. Gareeku's going to be collaborating with me on the chapter.

My biggest beef with this picture is the height between the characters. According to Gareeku's reference sheet, his character is six feet, spot on. Tikal is a shorty - he's 5'8". However, the two characters are supposed to be disembodied from each other, since their respective images fade away around their legs. I'll just assume that Tikal's image is floating higher up than Gareeku's.

Other than that, I really like how this picture turned out. I like how Gareeku turned out most especially. I'm usually not very good at male anatomy, but he looks alright here. Totally did him without reference, too - I might draw more of Gareeku, since it was easy for me to memorize his design. Tikal gave me a lot of trouble, but I think he started to look better after I finished his wings. Much kudos to my friends for putting up with my incessant bitching and complaining about how much I hated working on Tikal's absurdly complicated wings. GOD TIKAL, WHY CAN'T YOU HAVE PLAIN WINGS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.

Uh... ironically, although Tikal is my character, I needed reference for his markings and outfit. By the way, there's a major change to Tikal's design, but you all can't see it due to his clothes. I'll give you all a hint: it's not a marking or a tattoo. Come on, guess, guys. Plz? I'm so alone. 

Oh, and I changed his last name again. It's not Tikal St. Kennedy anymore, thank god. It's Tikal St. Zerachiel. It's much more appropriate, because Zerachiel is a lesser-known archangel who protects the children of people who have sinned. Zerachiel's symbol is the sun, which is the symbol of Tikal's religion. Don't believe me? Look it up on Wikipedia. Granted, the article is a pathetically small stub and doesn't cite any references or sources...

~Keaton the Black Jackal