Experimentation
Here is an experimentation I made around Shichimi and a small temple of Ah. I'm learning a lot and discover new way to approach Krita, light, shape, edges, values, painting and brushes. It is still too early to know if I'll be quick enough to use this technique for the next episode; I need to test more things before trying to do that on more than 30 panels because I probably gain a lot for the rendering/shading but I'm loosing a lot for the drawing on another side (that's why I took a theme where she turns her back to the camera; easier on a drawing POV). The big risk with a more realistic shading on cartoony design is the uncanny valley. I'll probably have to reinject a stylisation of the shape and proportion in the process.
8 comments
Beautiful! Shichimi is great!
This is really beautiful. Good idea to avoid faces at first.
Are you thinking of changing the style of the comics too, or is this just an experimentation for artworks/other projects?
Thanks David! I really love this process where you work with volumes and gradually fill in the details. Not sure if it is coincidence but I feel it jives perfectly with the kind of mystic and mellow scene, as if the fog disappears. Because I don't know the story behind this one (if any) so my imagination runs wild. We see Shichimi from the back showing her horns, we see a temple built upon the what appears like the ribcage of a mammoth (or another big Herevan animal). Is there a link, are these her ancestors? What happened, are they extinct? Victims of that great war, or greed, or climate change? There is still so much we don't know. Please keep creating your beautiful pieces of art!
Hi Vinay, thanks for the nice words.
The land of Ah has a lot of draconic remains; and temple are made with their bones. Shichimi horns is just a boomrang shaped bone she kept to maintain her hairs rolled around (she has a sort of epic mullet). I'm writing now a lot for the future of Pepper&Carrot and I'll have to introduce more about Ah, Shichimi and her master Wasabi (who appeared briefly during the coronation, with a white dress and green hairs.) Thanks again for the feedback!
Thanks!
Thanks!
About the comic; the style will probably shift a little, but maybe not as dramatic as on this experimentation. It's hard to get realistic shading and keep reasonable production time per panels. I also have test who fell directly in the uncanny valley; manga cartoony proportion with more realistic shading often result into big eyes (as for Alita Battle Angel CG). I'm testing it right now and visit often how big studios of modern RPG video games solved this mix of realism and stylisation to keep a visual appealing. All a research here too...
Thank you for your answer! This is very interesting. Although I'm a little sad you intend to change the style a bit, since, even though the style of this drawing is really beautiful, there is something very special about the current style, and it fits wonderfully with the feeling of the comic and with the characters of pepper and carrot. But, again, this is wonderful too, just in a different way :)
Beautiful!
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