Coloured Sketch: Lady A

Drawn By: WrittenDusk

A simple portrait composition piece. It's been a while since I did a portrait like drawing. 

I just wanted a little break from experimenting and learning new things, haha.

But even though I said this is a break, I still took this chances to put what I have learned these years to use. The style I choose to draw in, the colouring I still fumble with, and the lighting I just realized about. It's always cool to compare my current works to my earlier ones, and seeing the concrete evidence of my growth. 

Also in addition to putting my current skills to work, I also took this opportunity to experiment with some different techniques and stylistic choices professional artists use and make. The first thing I experimented with is the fullness of the face. You may have noticed that my drawing style lately has a purposefully flat edged face. I thought my style doesn't do well with a fuller face edge, but I guess not anymore, haha. I'm not completely confident with it yet though.

The second is the shading. There are two aspects. The extra tones and the more gradient shading. The gradient, or traditional, and cel-shading combo started since my Character Concept: Amidst the Battlefield Ver. 1, but was applied in a more stylized direction. It is not until my Final Fantasy XV fan art that I decided to take advantage of it in a more traditional way, giving the character another layer of depth beyond the cel-shaded areas. This drawing is an extension of that experimentation. The extra cel-shading tones is a stylistic technique I've been wanting to try after seeing artworks of the newest Atelier game; Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. Seeing how great it looks to have one value of shade for natural lighting and a darker one for cast shadows, l just had to try it out once.

It all turned out really nice, so I'm hoping to use this style on my next drawings.

This turned out way longer than I intended, haha. Hopefully those who read this far enjoyed reading my discovery and learning processes. For those who wonder why "Lady A"... tune into the next chapter of "Someone"! 

Oh, and I learned to do a new type of ambient(?) background.

Clothing Reference from YesStyle: 
http://www.yesstyle.ca/en/romantica-pleated-chiffon-long-sleeve-dress-purple-2xl/info.html/pid.1048664790 

Contest Entry: Final Fantasy 15 Uncoverd Event Fan Promotional Item Contest

Drawn By: WrittenDusk

This drawing was done back in February to enter the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered Event Fan Promotional Item Contest. I decided not to post it until the Uncovered Event is over. Though I did not win, (T-T), I am very happy with this piece and posting this now is a great way to celebrate the release date announcement of the game; September 30, 2016. The characters in the drawing are Luna and Gentiana.

I was initially planning for a more chibi styled artwork since they have a high affinity with merchandise. But my brother and friend suggested me not to. I personally feel that chibi or something more cartoon-like would be more suitable, but this drawing really turned out nice and I learned a lot more doing this comparatively.

The thing I am learning the most recently, and improves my drawings most, is lighting. This drawing really shows how different lighting can make a drawing look. For a long time I only learn how to shade, but shading is not the same as lighting. I always thought it was the same thing. With shading alone a drawing appears very flat like looking at a printed picture. But when you add lighting, which is usually based on the setting your drawing is set in, it feels a lot more like you're looking through a window. 

I had to start a twitter to enter the contest actually. Still thinking about how to take advantage of twitter properly, haha.

For those interested it is https://twitter.com/WrittenDusk and @WrittenDusk. I have yet to tweet again, haha, just a heads up.