Rei and Flour

I’ll tell you an Oh No! Manga secret: Flour is actually Rei’s beloved daughter. >: And they got separated in Heaven because Rei’s was placed in the guiding humans department and Flour in the letter sorting department, so…

…kidding, I’m kidding! xD;;; They’re from 2 different series, so this is a crossover thingie. >u<;;;

I really love Flour. She’s so adorable and tiny… although Rei’s complaining why Flour’s bigger than her *cough* xDDD;;;

I'm not really sure what's going on with this piece. I just felt like drawing Rei patting Flour on the head. :3a It seemed appropriate somehow~ And as for the subtitle, I’ll let you guys figure out who’s saying that. ♥

Ok, time to get some real work done. xD

Chibi Khyle

Earlier this month, I decided to commission Enjelia to draw me a chibi Khyle. I’ve always adored her style, and I thought Khyle would be a perfect character for her to draw~ ♥

Isn’t he just the most adorable thing you’ve ever laid eyes on? TAT;;; I’ve printed this out and asked her to sign it for me. x3;;; Now all I need is a frame for my Hall of Fame!

Yes, I’m stalling for time on my Komikon report, ahaha… I should get to that and stop being so lazy. =_=;;;

By the way, is it considered to be a “fanart” of your work when you commission the artist to draw for you? :|a

Developing an “Art Style”

I haven’t gone around to writing about Komikon yet because I can’t seem to get into the mood of taking photos of my haul. But I can’t sleep, so I decided to write about another topic.

When Misaki-chan and Suoh-san kidnapped me and I went for coffee, they began a little interview since it was the first we three meet IRL. ^^;;; I’ll admit, it was nerve-wracking, but one question got stuck to my head:

“How did you develop your ‘art style’?”

I was only able to answer with, “well, I don’t think you ‘make’ an art style… it’s just comes to you. My style probably came about because of college…” etc. etc.

I don’t think it was a bad answer, but I do think it was an incomplete answer. So I’d like to further expound on this topic here in my blog.

I’m no expert, and I don’t think my style is all that unique, but it is something I’ve become comfortable with. I believe an art style can only be developed if you’ve tried out as many different styles that you can think of. You may not like the plate-sized eyes older anime’s have used, but I said the same thing about drawing small eyes when I still enjoyed drawing in the same style as Sailor Moon.

Case and point: 2006 and 2012 versions of Rei Hino

All styles have their own strengths and weaknesses. Once you’ve tried them all, you begin to see what you really like and what you don’t. Draw what scares you; draw what you think is impossible for you to master. You’d be surprised with how hard simple things are (like drawing chibi), and how easy difficult things can be (like backgrounds… wait, they’re still hard! orz;;;).

Then you add all the elements you like into one. After attending college and being forced to draw in different styles, I realized several things that I liked when I draw manga:

• Smaller eyes looked more realistic, and therefore, expressions seem more realistic and easier to relate to.
• I like artworks with detailed hair.
• I have a pet-peeve with drawing hands. They really need to look good or at the very least, decent.
• Anatomy is a continued really process, and despite the exaggerated anatomy that you can get away with in anime, I prefer “somewhat” realistic proportions.

I’m not saying these are rules for you to follow. I’m not saying these observations are correct either. These are my rules. You need to make you own. There are no real rules on art, there are guidelines. But even so, both rules and guidelines are meant to be broken. They change continually as you develop.

One last thing… if you really want to make your own style, then practice, practice, practice! Draw what you enjoy drawing and not what you think others will. When someone gives you “expert critiques”, listen to them with a grain of salt. If it makes sense to change something they pointed out, then do it. If it doesn’t, (and this is the most difficult thing to do) then don’t pay them any attention. Usually, those “experts” don’t even know how to draw anyway. xD

Because really, at the end of the day? If your happy with your work, then that’s all that really matters.

Keep drawing everyone. :) Stay happy! ♥

EDIT 2012.06.01: A word from Miss Joanah Calingo:

For major influence, I fused the look from these --> http://fav.me/d2xdayn

Now that's out of the way, for me, a style is a combination of all the visual elements that you like + your skill. Basically, it’s the flavor of your art. I guess there are many ways for you to land on the “final” look that you like. While you're in the process of developing your style, you pick up the aesthetic choices (or the look) of the artists you admire. There are certain elements in their art that you like. Those visual elements, combined with the artist's skill, tends to influence the way you do your art, trying to "emulate" them in the process.

The only advice I can give is to expose yourself to as many artists as you can, and then learn tips to make your art look better (what makes their art/look tick), but never aim to look exactly like the influence. Just aim to be as good in skill, and eventually you'll grow out of the idol's shadow come out with something uniquely yours.

Summer Komikon 2012

I'll be attending Summer Komikon tomorrow, along with my other fellow Oh No! Manga artists for book signing and possibly some on-the-spot sketch commissions as well. :)

I’m pretty excited, considering this will be my second time to attend Komikon as a seller. Only this time, I don’t have to carry my own books to the venue, since the Oh No! Staff will be doing that for me~ ♥ Ahaha, I feel so spoiled. ;u;

I’ll probably roam around the con in the morning and start sketching by lunch. :D I’ll have to leave early though, because I promised Misaki-chan I’ll be spending some time with her that day. :3a We have a lot of girl-talking to do, much to Suoh’s possible annoyance, ahaha~ xD

Did I mention I’m super excited to pick up my sketch from the one and only Elmer Damaso thanks to his contest? *u*;;; I don’t think I can sleep at all tonight, which is what happened last time too. So… YEY COFFEE~ ♥ I need to make sure I’m well caffeinated if I want to do those on-the-spot commissions. >.<;;; Ah… need to get ready!

See you all tomorrow! Be careful on the way there! Traffic and all~ :D

Looking for a Better Boyfriend- Wait, WHAT?!

I've been meaning to this for a while… it’s turned into some kind of meme among the Oh No! Manga artists to place their characters in another author’s series.

So what would happen if Rei were to drink that chocolate milk?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, “Looking for a Better Boyfriend” is the story of Jun, the daughter of a genius scientist who accidentally(?) turned her into a boy.

Who knew chocolate milk could be so life changing? xD;;; Rei still looks like a girl though… I guess she’s bishounen material? Ahaha… >u<;;;

Oh, and I stole the chair she’s he’s sitting on from hive. :3a I’m a lazy artist after all.

Rei Kuassary: Wings

Ok, ok, so I reused the theme from Feline Sisters with the swirls, roses, and stripes to create this piece, but I think this came out well with its own charm~! >.<;;;

It’s sad that you can’t really see the details of the hair and the feathers on this web version, but you’ll get to see the real thing in future anime events where Oh No! Manga is participating in. :)

Yep~ This will be a 33 inch x 84 inch piece that will be displayed in the Oh No! Manga booth. >u<;;; I heard that all the other titles will have their versions as well. I want to see! ;u; ♥

That is… if I made it in time. >.<;;;

I can’t wait to see this in Komikon next week. :D If everything goes as planned though, you’ll get to see this in Vocafusion this coming Sunday! Much earlier than me, because I can’t make it to Vocafusion, even if I wanted to. ;_;

How terrible… my artwork will get to see Jesuke and but not me. ;_; Why does Mall of Asia have to be so far away? Oh well… maybe she will buy my book and visit me here in my website, haha! ♥

If you see this in an anime event, please take photos with it and share it on my Facebook Page. :D I’d love to see my fans, if that’s ok with you guys. >.<;;;

EDIT: And after several days, I’ve just realized I made a fatal error on this piece. I might just keep this mistake and use it if future illustrations. =A=;;;

This is what I get for working without getting enough sleep! TAT;;;

WIP: Angel and Phoenix

And with this, I will probably take a long break from drawing anything for a while. So many ground breaking first for this piece:

• First high-resolution image drawn straight into the computer.
• First SAI piece (outline and hair detailing)
• First successful attempt in using Pen Tool on Photoshop
• First official Karma and A.illusions cross over! ♥

Now then, my brain is nearly, completely melted. I think it’s about time I head to bed. z_z ♥

WIP: Twin Angels

Just a little bit more and I can start coloring, ahaha… Although my hand feels quite heavy already, I hope I can finish this before the deadly deadline! >.<;;;

I really like the clean lines Sai is giving me… But now is really not the time to be fussing about lines. I’m dreading having to color those feathers, but as they say, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Now where is that coffee pot? >.>;;;

W.I.P.: “More coffee, please…”

Despite how happy Rei looks, I absolutely hate inking in photoshop when it’s a high resolution piece! Dx I don’t know if it’s because I’m using a small wacom, or if photoshop is just the wrong program to do massive line art on, but argh! My lines do not look clean enough! But now is not the time to be learning a new program when I only have a few days to finish this. x.x;;;

Posting these W.I.P.s is helping me a lot though. I now realize that hand on her shoulder is a tad small. I should adjust it as soon as I’m done posting this.

Rei sure has changed a lot since I first drew her though… Ah, the good ol’ days… Should have enjoyed them more when they were there. ♥

EDIT: “Dear PaintTool SAI,

“Where have you been all my life? Please stay with me from now until forever~ ♥”

The line art is at least 3 times better than photoshop’s version! Of course, this means I have to re-ink what I’ve already finished for the past 1 and a half nights, but I think I was able to do the same amount of work in under 4 hours. o_o;;;

Ernest, thank you! I have been enlightened~! ♥

Chibi Hiiragi Gurumi

I’ve been meaning to make a Hiiragi Keiichi gurumi ever since I bought my gray crochet thread months ago. x3;;; And I was finally able to find the time (and patience) to make him last week!

He's about 2 inches tall and has taken up residence in my bedroom along with two other chibi gurumis I need to finish. ♥ I think he has the best looking hair so far, which is absolutely wonderful considering how fussy Hiiragi is about his hair. x3;;;

The only thing I’m sad about is his eyes… Hiiragi’s eyes are gray, but if I used the same thread as his hair, he wouldn’t look like he had eyes at all! His bangs cover his eyes partially, so it would be hard to distinguish, given that he’s so teeny. :3a

I would have taken a photo of him with a violin, but I only have a piano at home. =A=;;; Maybe I should buy a little violin charm for him? >u<;;;

Some people have been asking me for the pattern of this gurumi… I made this on my own, so I’m thinking about posting the pattern online, but my problem is I don’t read alpha patterns (those sc, loop, etc.)! I can only read drawn patterns, so I might have to take a crash course to give you guys a proper pattern! >.<;;;

…and my chibi gurumi doesn’t have arms, which might scare some people away. xD The hair’s free-style too. >.<;;; Do you see my dilemma of posting a pattern now?

Oh well~ I think I’ll make a Jun one next… :D

Pocky Game

And now the final version of this commission. :)

Rurik: If you really want some, you can play the pocky game with me.
Katrina: *looks away* Ah, n-no, that’s… ok…
Demyan: Quit it, you cheater!

*>u<*;;; Kyaa-kyaa~ Ahaha~~ xDDD;;; This is probably the cutest thing I’ve drawn so far this year! ♥

I confess, I bought a box of Japanese Pocky (because the one from Thailand doesn’t really taste good) to get into the mood of drawing this piece~ The lettering on the box could be a little more accurate, but I liked how it turned out overall. :3

If anyone would like to commission me, I still have a few slots open. Feel free to message me on Deviant Art or send me an email for inquiries~ ♥ Thank you very much!

WIP: Curious Play?!

Almost done! I made a sakura (cherry blossom) brush just for this piece and it turned out really well! As I expected, the pink petals look good against the brown uniforms…

However, it would appear a certain someone’s compliment has affected me subconsciously (in a good way, I hope!)~ xD;;; Because after I put the finishing touches of this piece, I realized: This really does look like Fushigi Yuugi! m(o_o)m;;; I mean, I have to admit, Demyan and Rurik look like Suboshi and Amiboshi while Katrina could easily be Yui or Miaka! If that red ribbon was blue it could be mistaken for Fushigi Yuugi's seifuku…

Oh my gulay, what have I done?! Originality, where are you? Ahaha~ orz;;;

Well, too late to turn back now. I just hope Kittara likes it! ♥

WIP: “Pocky?”

I've nearly forgotten how obsessive-compulsive I am when it comes to drawing commissions. =A=;;; I feel like I’m spending too much time on one piece again…

In any case, I have progress! o(^o^)o

I gave Katrina some strawberry highlights to make her cuter (because in my mind, pink is a cute color~ ♥). As for Rurik’s vest, I actually have one with a similar color-scheme. The designs not the same though… not sure what I was thinking drawing all those triangles, but I think it worked out well, even if it is green and red~! :D

Although things didn’t go so smoothly as all that. Rurik’s initial sketch was bothering me so much I changed his expression all-together. @_@;;; The first time I drew him, he looked like he didn’t really care if Katrina wanted a bite or not. I like how this turned out much better, because he’s half-teasing and half-genuine with that small smirk~ ♥

Maybe I should give Rurik a light blush too? :|a

And I don’t know why this is, but Demyan’s giving me a lot of trouble with this piece too, just like the last one. The thing is, Rurik and Demyan are twins! How could one twin give me more trouble than the other when they look the same?! Dx

Oh well… Guess this only means I need to work even harder. You know, “Moonlight” by Mamoru Miyano goes well with this piece. Then again, this isn’t even a night setting at all, so it’s probably my Uta☆Pri fangirl talking. =A=;;;

One last thing: Blog’s fixed! o(^o^)o!!! Woohoo~

Oh・No! Manga: Now in Comic Odyssey!

I keep forgetting to post about this here when I’ve already announced it on my Facebook Page. =A=;;; The artist is already getting old and forgetful…

Oh No! Manga Books are now available at Comic Odyssey in Robinsons Galleria and Robinsons Manila! ♥ And if you live too far from those two places, don’t fret! We’ll be having an online ordering service available soon! And you’ll be able to save when you order multiple books! x3;;;

I’ll let you guys know as soon as we have more details! For now, please show your support and grab a copy if you can! ♥ We’ll continue to work very hard to give you quality manga with affordable prices! o(^o^)o!!! Thank you very much! ♥