Business Cards

Alright! This here is one of my four business cards. As you can see, I used my "The Accomplishment" image and two different shades of my signature color - purple. For this one, I asked another artist if I could use their drawing of Akamaru (from Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka's Ninja Dog) promising them that when I posted it, I would give them credit for helping me out. I have done that so on Deviantart.com (my name is Rayvin-Inuzuka). The font color is based off the colors of the dog, brownish colors.

The background for this was something a friend and I did a while back. She had her laptop on and was doodling on photoshop, when I suddenly had an image pop into my head. I described it and she put it on photoshop. We had to compromise with one or two things, but otherwise, this is how the picture in my head had looked like. I then found the best font color that could be readable, and I was done my third business card.

The background photo was another piece of art I had asked another artist if I could use it, once again promising to credit them when I was finished and posted it (deviantart again). This is, by far, the one card that I am most proud of; it's my favorite. The only other color besides whites and blacks, was the pale blue on one of the bracelets, so I decided to use it in the fonts. It turned out better than I had expected. I love it!

The Fourth Goddess

This here picture is something I did in November. Again, three separate images come into one, the wings, the girl, and the Cealtic symbol for Triple Goddess.

While darkening all the lines, I discovered how to make the wings appear to be glowing. By taking a Q-tip and running it along the darkened lines, smearing the lead from the pencil.

I learn drawing techniques with every few modified pictures I do. I'm rather proud of this one, it came out better than I thought it would.

Gaia Awaits

This lovely image was the result of a friend and myself deciding to take two separate pictures and modifying them to resemble our avatars from a free sign-up site called Gaiaonline.com. It is a site where members are given avatars that they can dress-up to resemble themselves or whatever they wish.

Using one's avatar, anyone can play games, read the storyline, meet new people, show of creative work (writing, drawing, etc), or go to the forums to roleplay or just chat about any topic. Joining any number of guilds is an option; there, one can roleplay with fellow members, earn prizes, sell items, ask/give advice, and/or show off their artwork. And much, much more. It's an online world that welcomes any and everyone.

My friend and I did this shortly after I joined Gaia, so my avatar no longer looks like it does here (the one wearing the blindfold), nor does my friend's avi (avatar). I traced the original image very lightly and made adjustments according to the appearance of our avatars. (The ears are part or the original image, just to let everyone know).

I recommend joining Gaiaonline; it's a fun and creative world. I've been a proud member for a little over 3 years and I'm still having fun!

Book Cover?

This next image is one of my modified works. It was for an assignment in one of my past English classes, we had to come up with a title page for the given topic. In this case: "Choices."

Three individual images into one. The ambulance and girl were found on the internet, while the calligraphy was done by myself.

I find that this would make an interesting cover for a book about teenage choices (consequences of their decisions, so to speak).

Once Upon A Time Human

This picture here is a tracing of the original. The only difference being his eyes; they weren't originally just white like they are here, instead there were actual eyes with pupils that are slit, like a vampire's.

There being no eyes was actually an accident. I thought I was finished, but I wasn't. I then noticed how it really looked better than it did with eyes, so I left it as is. And that mark on his face and neck, not a tattoo.

This person comes from the manga/anime Rosario Vampire. He is a human attending a high school for monsters. This manga/anime is for more mature youths and adults, I recommend this story, but only for ages 16 and up. Better catch up, it's already in it's second season.

The Accomplishment

I have been tracing, and tracing and modifying, for about 3 years and have enjoyed doing so; because, I was horrible at freehand drawing. Time and time again I would attempt to draw something of my own creation, but because of my slight obsession with perfection, I would give up rather quickly.

But behold! My very first successful freehand drawing! Yes, it is simple and from the angle, anyone could do it. But I did it myself with no help or advice from anyone.

I started with the hair, picked the most likely place the shoulder would be, and drew the arm and sleeve. The skirt came last after pin-pointing the position of the waist. Then came the mist (or grass), then the shading.

This is the back view of a character I would regularly use in my written stories (that never get finished). She wields twin katana's with great speed and grace. The spirits of water adore her just as the shadows obey her every will. She knows magic, but prefers to battle hands-on and endure any wound she receives. She is recognized by the way she fights and travels barefoot, and by the dark cloth covering her unseeing eyes.

Tribute to My Friends

Working with colors has never been my strong point in art, I'll admit; in fact, I try to refrain from using color whenever I can, and only use it when absolutely necessary. Like in art class assignments or with something like this next picture.

This has 3 (or 4 if you count the wording) separate images incorporated into one. The first image used is the outline of the girl and falling petals (to see original go to: http://www.kagayastudio.com/celes/bless/bless.html ). The second is the butterfly, taken of a small Telus booklet. And the third is the designs on the wings of the butterfly, a small piece of a larger image. The word Tamashii is Japanese for spirit, a suitable title for the overall picture.

The colors weren't hard to choose, I decided to use the signature colors of me and 2 of my close friends. Pencil crayon was used first and then I went over with colored felts.

The Orange-Haired Death God

This next image is what I usually do, I find an picture that I like and trace it, darken the lines, add shading, and then darken the lines again. I always use Q-tips when I shade and I always get great results when I do.

This picture is of Ichigo Kurosaki, the main character in the anime 'Bleach.' He is a 15-year-old high school student and works part-time as a Shinigami ('Death God') or as they say in the English version, 'Soul Reaper.' It's also amazing how anime can make a 15-year-old as buff as this guy.

This is another anime/manga that I would recommend to anyone interested. The anime consists of many 'filler episodes' (episodes not involved with the main storyline); thus the manga is further along than the anime, but it's one's own choice if they choose to read or watch. Personally, I'm doing both. It's not very hard, especially when I have 2 or 3 more anime/manga to keep up with as well.

Black and White

Sometimes I will find black and white images like this one and - obviously - trace the outline, then by hand, I would color in the areas that require coloring. It's a lot of work and takes awhile to finish depending on the size of the image.

This picture is of Nana Osaki, she is the second main character in the manga/anime 'NANA', a series based on a real Japanese person. Nana is the lead vocalist in a punk band trying to make it big in Tokyo.

I highly recommend giving 'NANA' a read, or if you prefer, you can watch it instead, but it'll be in Japanese with English subtitles. Let me know what you think of it should you decide to watch/read it.

Anime 4-1-1

To those who do not know what anime (A-ne-may) is, it is a term for 'Japanese Animation.' They are what most people would call cartoons, and they basically are, but most have a more serious mood and are for older, more mature youths. Ever watch Sailor Moon many years back? Yes? No? Well, it's just an example.

Most anime start out as manga (Japanese graphic novels read from right to left) and - with the author's permission of course - it can become an anime made the same way regular kids cartoons are, like Bugs Bunny! Sometimes a manga will be made from an anime, but it's not done too often.

Anime images are what I usually work with, I trace the image of choice and add in the shading myself. I will sometimes 'modify' an image, change it around a bit, just like I did the image on the left.

It was a regular line art done by another artist (see original: http://endomorph-usagi.deviantart.com/art/Lineart-Of-Elf-62211197) It was my first time shading an image when the original wasn't already shaded and serving as my guide. The results turned out better than I had imagined. This is, by far, the one entry in my art binder that I am most proud of. Hope you like it as much as I do!