Evil + Evolution = EV(O/I)LUTION
After today’s #Twitch stream I’ll be meeting all the affiliate requirements!
So I figured I’d come up with an emote in the meantime!
My stream layout is based on an old #CatsTeaParty painting I did, so I figured I’d just go with the flow and use it for the emote as well!
I feel like taking a trip down memory lane so come and join me!
I love threatening aura #cats
Let's see, the original painting is super old but one of those drawings I'm still really proud of! It's a love letter to lolita fashion, Angelic Pretty, cats and definitely Kira Imai and her beautiful art.
Gee I don't even remember when I drew this... ok a quick Instagram archive search revealed I started and finished (wow, same month?! that's rare for me LOL) in November 2014! Bless myself for actually chronicling the process on Instagram! Join me on a trip down memory lane ~
Progress:
The low quality paper is really upsetting me now that it literally loses details... #art#painting#lolitafashion#angelicpretty
NOVEMBER 15, 2014 Oh yeah I remember that I used this shoddy small Michaels art block and it started disintegrating the lines whenever I used the eraser - which was extra awful considering the image is like 6 x 4 and I used a 0.03 Sepia Copic Multiliner to line this... which means it'd erase that off when I tried to erase the pencil sketch - I was spending time redrawing the same details over and over!
Copic Markers Multiliner 0.3 Sepia Pigment Based Ink I would give my life defending sepia Copic Multiliners, definitely my absolute favorite way to line. The precision is fantastic, I can put in endless amount of details since it's so fine and it's pretty smear resistant unless you instantly try to erase on it without giving it any time to dry at all. Also it's water resistant to the max, a must when I work with watercolors. They do wear down quite fast with extensive use and if you use too much pressure on the tip it can feather and split apart or slip up into the metal.
I admit I'm proud of mixing the sepia with the black liner. I only used black on the cat's eyes and utensils. It really makes the attitude in their judgemental glances stand out!
Lots of little details but I'm getting there! #art#painting#AngelicPretty#CatsTeaParty#lolitafashion
See how some areas of the lineart are much lighter (cat on the chair to the left for example) that's from erasing the sketch beneath the lines which deteriorated the line detail. Whenever I went over it again the lines are much darker and crispier than I'd want it - the only way to avoid it would be not using the pencil sketch as base - a light box and sketch on another paper would fix this but I had no idea of that back in 2014!
Progress from last nights #watercolor#painting#AngelicPretty#CatsTeaParty#art
Looking at this makes me angry all over again, the trashy art block paper I used decided to tear at the edges when I removed the sheet...
I don't think I'll keep her hair pink, its just for colored shading! #watercolor#art#painting#AngelicPretty#CatsTeaParty
NOVEMBER 18, 2014 The main issue with taking WIP pictures is that it always screws up the colors unless I sit down and spent a ton of time fiddling with the colors to get a semi accurate representation.
I guess the erasing that lightened the lace detail of the lineart does give it some dimension after all...
I loved drawing all those CATS, the really small one in the frame is one of my favs but it's SO small haha
Giving the chair and frames black lines on top of sepia #art#drawing#watercolor#painting#AngelicPretty
NOVEMBER 21, 2014 I thought I'd change her hair but the pink just fit so perfectly that I'm glad I didn't alter it after all! As I mentioned earlier the contrast between the sepia and black was something I really liked, so I figured by lining the chair in black it'd set the girl & the cats apart from the rest - even lend them a sense of softness
Then I had to figure out what I'd do for some type of background so she wouldn't just be floating in space! I grew up consuming tons of shojo manga and I always loved how Naoko Takeuchi & Arina Tanemura used lace in combination with airbrushing to create this beautiful dream like effect on their colored art.
SO DREAMY
It's a pretty simple and fast process to recreate with a variety of media - for mine I used a lace doily plastic tablecloth and pastels! I actually recorded myself doing it as well!
I also used white watercolor for details which stand out on the paper, but that's not even visible on the scan or any of the pictures haha... you see it's effect quite well in the recording though! Also dang the white on those nails is STRONG
Then it was time to scan it! And OH BOY... you'd think after you're done drawing you are SET but nope... Behold the first scan, yellowed, crooked, cat hair and ripped edge in all of its glory... The scan ate the lace effect ... it basically hated most of the soft blue details and just swallowed them up.
After spending over 9000 hours in photoshop adjusting colors
...
With the colors fixed I went in to clean it up. There are a variety of stupid white dots from previous scans (when I sprinkle white paint on paintings they love to leave spots on the scanner glass) there's dust and of course the occasional cat hair etc. There were also refinements I wanted to make like THE FACT THAT I MESSED UP WHEN I COLORED HER CHEEK AND SHE HAS A STAIN NEAR HER MOUTH WHERE IS THE CTRL+Z FUNCTION IN REAL LIFE?! Oh and a variety of lines needed to be adjusted or redrawn as well! A few hours later...
And voila! A clean version was born!
I was and still am over the moon happy and proud over this piece. It features all my favorite subjects: cats, lolita fashion, attitude, SPILLING TEA and princesses! It's a piece I keep finding myself returning to. I thought about redrawing it digitally in 2020 but it fear that it'd devalue my sentiment towards it. Oh! A few years ago when I started offering my coloring book pages I did turn it into digital lineart! I guess in celebration of this post let's make it available as a free download on my Gumroad!
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