Sketch 16: Kaneki

Phew. That had surely been a long break. To be honest, I can't for the love of all beautiful sketches remember when was the last time I picked up a pencil and drew. Ever since the second semester of school started this year, I had been busy most of the time. Assignments, tests, preparation for exams, you name it. But I'm glad that I am able to once again resume this hobby of mine. Enough of my whining, on to the sketch!

Now, most of you might know what I have in store for you just from the title itself. But for those of you who don't, allow me to save that couple of minutes for you of Googling. I have been binge watching this anime for the past couple of days, and boy do I like it.

Tokyo Ghoul.

To sum it up, it's basically an anime about the interactions between humans and ghouls, and how they prey against each other. I find the artwork to be nice: not too complicated (D Grey Man, I'm looking at you), but contain enough depth to capture attention. So, as usual, I've transferred what I like on screen onto paper, albeit it's only a very simple sketch.

Equipment: Pilot Wingel 0.38mm, Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Pentel Sharplet-2 0.5mm, M&G Vision 0.7mm, Eraser

So I started off sketching the basic outline using the mechanical pencil:

Ah, I drew the collar wrongly when I took this photo. I didn't noticed it until much later. No worries, it has been rectified :) Then with the Wingel, I inked the outline:

Aaaaaaand for the final touch:

My apologies if there wasn't enough details in this. Had gone rusty since the break. Will try to draw more :P Thanks for your time!

DFTBA!

Sketch 15: Ifrit

Helloooo there. Ah yes, yet another post. And yet another Final Fantasy summon. But not JUST any summon, but a very familiar face to most of you, I'm sure. Final Fantasy VIII being my first ever FF game, this particular character was, and still is deeply embedded in my memory. I just don't know what it is. It could be the distinct cave in which you explore to obtain this fella, or it could be his signature animation when you summon him. So much badassery; so much HELL FIRE.

And so I thought it would be fun sketching this guy, but it proved to be a challenge when you plan to actually draw fire using only black ink (unless it's Amaterasu, hah). But nonetheless, I did it and I had a great time doing so. 

Let's get to it then! 

Equipment: Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Pilot Wingel 0.38mm, Zig Millennium 0.05mm, Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Eraser 

Yup, the exact same arsenal of pens as the last post, except for one. I added in the Zig Millennium. I'll explain why later. So as usual I started out with a rough pencil sketch of Ifrit. This took me about 30-40 minutes. 

I just drew the outline of it's figure and I didn't really focus much on the details because I usually work on those when I start inking. So after that I started to ink the outlines and this is what I got:

As you can see I added in a bit of details. This took me about the same time as the initial sketch. 

Now, here was why I decided to use the Zig. 

Notice the 2 distinct lines? The thinner one was done with the Zig and the thicker one the Pilot. You might think that it does not make much of a difference, but trust me it does. After what seemed to be an hour or so, this was the final product :)

Hope you've enjoyed this sketch and I'll see you in the next one I make :)

DFTBA! 

Sketch 14: Natsu and Igneel

Sooooooo glad to be back after such a long time. Had been busy with exams. Well, that's just how life works right? You wake up, stretch your sore muscles, brush your teeth, open the window to inhale the cool, fresh air--BAM! Exams slap you in face. It takes a whole lot out of you. I came not to realisation, but confirmation that exams are devised in such a way to suck the very essence out of you. It's very similar to the games in Saw(the movie, not the tool). Think about it. It provides you with challenges that you need to solve (at times even puzzles), you are given a limited time to complete everything, and a little of what's inside of you die each time you pass an exam. The only (noticeable) difference is that instead of blood and gore, you get mucus and moist tissues due to the decline in health of the students resulting from sleepless nights.

But all that is over for the year, which I'm super glad about. And finally I get to focus on another sketch. I search through my pencil case for my trusty Pentel Sharplet 5 mechanical pencil, stared down at my sketch book, and froze.

The amount of time spent on memorising facts and figures has led to the deteriorating of the creative side of my mind. I struggled so hard to think of what to draw, and decided to ask my friend *Daryl for suggestions. Almost nonchalantly he sent me a fanart of Natsu and Igneel. Now as you know, I am NOT an avid reader of Fairy Tail (as how I stated in my previous Natsu post) and I didn't even know what was the dragon's name. But I thought: what the heck. Let's get going. 

So, here goes!

Equipment: Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Pilot Wingel 0.38mm, Eraser

So I started to roughly sketch Natsu and Igneel. Natsu took less time compared to Igneel as I was more familiar with Natsu's appearance and (utterly amazing) body (I'm looking at you, fangirls). So after about 30-45 minutes, I came up with this: 

And yes, that expression on Natsu's face was exactly what was pasted on mine when I first received my exam questions. Dat I-HATE-THE-WORLD feeling.

So later on I started to draw the outlines with the Wingel. This took me about 30 minutes. And this was what I got:

Not much difference from the first pencil-made one, but that's all part of the process. The key is to not get too disappointed with the plain look because 60% of the finished work depends on the inking. So after an hour or so, I present to you this:

Thanks for your time and see you in the next one! :D

DFTBA

* yes, that's his real name :) 

Sketch 13: The 'Oops'

Sorry for the long hiatus. Been busy with...holidays. Hah. Oh well, the many pains of having a long period of nothing-to-do-ness. One more day and it is back to studying, Back to the papers; back to the cramming and exams and the passes and the failures; and back to life. Oops, did I just miss out the most important aspect of university life? Why, I believe I did. Friends! The joy of meeting friends.

And oops, did I just say 'Oops'?

Oh yes I think I did again. Well, that reminds me. I have a sketch I would like to share. This one is a little unique in the sense that it came to me in such suddenness I was starting to doubt my source of inspiration. Such a special piece calls for of course a special title, and I have taken the honour of naming it as such.

Well, this is for those of you who still reads my blog (for some reason, heh) and for those of you Naruto fans. The thing about anime or manga is that it teaches you countless valuable lessons in life, such as the importance of ramen in the completeness of the world; or the kawaii-ness of having whiskers on your cheeks; and even the fact that it is a bad idea of placing your lightning/thunder imbued hand right through the chest of someone you love (just in case, this is where the 'oops' comes in). Which reminds me, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

Well enough chit chat :D Let's-a-gooooooo.

Oh wait. Before that, we have a couple of new members that I would like to introduce into our Pen family, or I had taken the liberty to coin the term 'Penamily' :)

Meet Ziggy and Wingel. The two most frequently used pens in my arsenal:

Two super duper fine beauties :3

EQUIPMENT: Zig Millenium 0.05mm, Pilot Wingel 0.38mm, Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Eraser

So, as usual I was browsing through the net and that's when something hit me. Why not draw a page of a manga? This idea was not irrelevant because a few days back I did this: 

And yes, that is a Muji notebook. I was thinking of stamping my name on it using the Muji stamps they have in their shops (you should really check them out) but I wanted to make mine a little more unique. And so I thought of imprinting one of my favourite moments of the manga onto the cover. This was done separately and it took me about 2-3 hours. 

So, as you might not know, Kakashi is my favourite Naruto character. And for many reasons. The white hair and the mask says it all. Who WOULDN'T fall for that? ;)

So I looked for the page and found this: 

I know. There, there, my fellow Otaku's. Keep them tears. 

I started out with the pencil and came up with this: 

Notice how Kakashi's left leg is out of the picture? That, kids, is a classic example of poor positioning. And I blame this on no one else but moi. And I apologize for that. Oh well, no one's perfect, right? 

And so it was time for Wingel to prove it's majesty. And after an hour or so of inking, this is what I got: 

The trick of erasing the pencil markings is to be VERY patient. I learnt this through the hard way. It id NOT fun to see smudges all over your paper. No matter how dry you think it is, give it an extra 15 minutes to be sure. If best, leave it for half an hour. Go for a walk, play a game of DotA, watch an episode of South Park, or just start another drawing :) So I erased and I inked. 

And I inked, and I inked, and I inked....

...and I inked...

...and inked...

and done! FINALLY

*drumrolls* The final product....

TA-DAAAAAA ! 

The rain was tricky. I had to use a ruler to do it. But nevertheless, This consumed quite a large amount of ink. 

And for the record, I am utterly impressed by manga artists. UTTERLY. 

Well, that's it. Thanks for da time and hope you enjoyed. See you in the next one.

And I quote the Vlogbrothers: DFTBA! 

Sketch 12: Debris

Phew, after what seemed to be an eternity of hiatus, finally I get to sit at my table and sketch away. Forgive me for the break. Exams were ongoing and my days were as busy as a bee.

Well, anyhow, here I am. This piece took me almost 4 hours to complete and I took the liberty of naming it 'Debris'. Why you ask? Just look below and you'll understand.

To those who don't know, I have always been an adamant fan of the anime and manga Fullmetal Alchemist. There is just this feel that the storyline bestows upon its audience. The brotherhood and love it portrays just touches the heart of its ever so loyal viewers.

Alrighty then, without further ado, let's start! :D


EQUIPMENT: Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Eraser, Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Pilot G-2 pen 0.38mm, Pilot G-2 pen 0.5mm, Artline 0.05 

So as usual, I was browsing through the net trying to find an image to refer. And I came across this beauty:

First thought: WOAHHHH
Second thought: Where on earth do I start?
Third thought: Well, the face, perhaps.

And so I began sketching the outline of it, and this was what I got:

And I thought to myself: Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all. And so I dug through my pencil case and reached for my trusty .38mm pen. The inking was not that easy, since the degree of detail was quite high. Nonetheless, an hour later and a track of Boyce Avenue songs, finally I finished inking the outline:

Take note that the details were not complete at this point, since it is pointless putting it in before the coloring.

Well, after a series of Fullmetal Alchemist opening songs, I finally finished the piece. And because I started this quite late into the night, I had to pause my work, all because of the human evolutionary need to sleep. And as much as my hands wanted to go on, my eyes did not agree. (Oh, and then there was the Spain vs Australia match, heh)

And so, I continued this piece the first thing in the morning, or more like afternoon. (Well, as much as I think the idea of sleep is not all necessary, I still can't deny the tastiness of it)

So, here you go, the final piece!

Notice how most of the debris are added after the coloring and shading. 

Hope you enjoyed! And thanks for your time :3

Sketch 11: The Straw Hat Pirates

Okay. This is the second time of me drawing something I am not familiar with. (First was Natsu.)

Being a moderate manga reader (okay, perhaps less than moderate), the only manga I fervently read is Naruto. However, growing up in an environment where most people around me talk about One Piece really fuelled my curiosity. Why on earth is this manga/anime so popular?

I remember reading a One Piece manga back when I was staying in Shah Alam where the main language of communication was in Bahasa Malaysia. The title of the comic book was Budak Getah (i.e. Rubber Boy). I wasn't really used to the artwork as I was used to Kishimoto's more...lifelike drawings. And so I stopped after that one book.

And here I am, trying out a sketch on the Straw Hat Pirates.

So, here goes:

EQUIPMENT: Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Eraser, Pilot G-3 pen 1.0mm, Pilot G-2 pen 0.38mm, Artline 0.05, Artline 200 Fine 0.4:

I noticed one thing since I bought the Artline 0.05: It works really well when drawing manga-like sketches. 

This was the initial sketch which took me about half an hour:

I am so clueless about this series that I started to question my rationality while I was drawing Sanji's ridiculously extravagant eyebrow. Though I have to admit that Zoro looks quite cool XD

Here is a sneak peak to the finished piece:

Say hi to Luffy :D 

Oh, and one more thing I found quite interesting was their flag. Talk about simplicity being the most sophisticated. 

Oh, and if you're wondering what does the Japanese words below the skull, it says (according to OnePieceWikia) mugiwara no ichimi which means Straw Hat Pirates. 

So...the moment of truth. To be honest I was quite disappointed with the piece because I had to exclude Franky and Robin due to poor space management. I promise I will improve on that aspect (I'll try). So, here it is:

Oh, and here's the picture I used as a reference (ignore the keyword I used to find this picture) :

Ta daaaa :D Hope you liked it. See you in the next one I make! 

Sketch 10: Natsu Dragneel

Yay, a decade of blog posts!

I would like to congratulate myself for having the gung-ho-ness to post these sketches (not knowing if they are even being read or not).

But as they say, self praise is no praise, so I shall end my self-indulgence here.

The following sketch was inspired by an image sent to me by a friend of mine. Please take note that I have not read a single volume of Fairy Tale; and neither have I watched a single episode of its anime. If it does not resemble the so ever beloved six-packed main character that shoots out fire, please forgive me. (Yes, that was a disclaimer. Well, some sort of that)

This was the image sent by my friend:


My first thought: This is epic. Nothing beats a fire breathing muscle man, not especially when he has pink hair.

So let's head on to the process of it.

EQUIPMENT: Mechanical pencil 0.5mm, Eraser, Pilot G-2 pen 0.5mm, Pilot G-2 pen 0.38mm, Pilot G-2 pen 1.0mm, Artline 0.1:

I spent about 10 minutes sketching the outline of Natsu. This was a brief process as too much details shouldn't be added at this early stage:

 After sketching the rough outline of his body, I went on to add more details into it, including that sexy 6-pack of his:

When i was done with the sketching, I moved on to the pens. This time I utilised alot of my Artline 0.1mm because it was fine enough to highlight the details of the drawing. The fire took quite a huge amount of time and effort. Here's a sneak peek of the piece when I was halfway through it:

After about 2+ hours, it was finally completed. Here is what the final outcome looks like:

Although I have no idea what I was drawing, I still had great fun working on this. And here I thank my friend for suggesting this marvel of a picture to me, and thank you for bearing with me throughout the whole process of it. 

:D