Up to this point, I'm working on an extensive art book project in a bid to make drawing fun again. I wrote a little bit here, and I made a YouTube series where I document my thoughts and process to creating these pages. In sum, though, I've been feeling bored with my work as of late and desperately wanted to give my work some purpose and the opportunity to try new things.
Out of the twenty-four illustrations I have planned, I've officially started work on fifteen and finished three. The video below should give more context as to what I'm doing.
While I adore (almost) everything I've made so far, there's a little nagging in my brain that I want something else. Thus far, I've drawn nothing but fan art—nothing wrong with that, of course—and I think I'm ready for something new...
In other words, I want to draw some original characters! Have some diversity in my portfolio. Now that the finish line for this art book project is in the distance, I figure why not give this new project some thought!
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K-pop.
Yes, what a wonderful way to start this. For as long as I can remember, I have loved listening to K-pop, and it's pretty much my only source of music.
Beyond the popular names like Blackpink and BTS, the industry boasts a wide catalogue of groups and soloists, each with their own signature brand and sound. NCT comes to mind here. They're well-known for their 'noise music' nonsense. Highly controversial, but you know something is 'neo' when you hear it.
I've been here since 2012, the rough rise of 3rd gen. This is the time when I wrote fan fiction, did fan art and had delusions about dating them. I logged off for a while in favour of a brief anime phase before coming back when 4th gen's starting to rise, when I heard Promise by ATEEZ for the first time.
I've been here a while, so here's a playlist of my favourite songs.
As you can see, they're (mostly) arranged by alphabet. Isn't it cool, one illustration dedicated to each letter of the alphabet, except X, because there just aren't many songs with that name...
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Furries.
Yes, what a wonderful way to start this section. Yes, I don't know how else to introduce this section.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I like furry art, especially the not-safe-for-work sort. I love how expressive and colourful everything is. Yes, the attention to anatomy is good, too!
Plus, I enjoy drawing animals just as much as plants, so the idea of drawing anthropomorphic creatures has had a certain allure for years. Besides, human faces are a pain to nail down sometimes. When I've decided that I want to draw some original characters, I pumped my fist in the air (in my head), thinking I can finally do this. It's funny how I don't give a lot of ideas a chance.
At any rate, I've decided that I shall draw anthropomorphic creatures in scenes inspired by the images conjured in my head whenever I listen to my favourite songs.
I choose them over conventional humans because I don't want to be limited by things like skin tone. If I want to draw a blue parrot for blue hour, I'll do just that. The freedom to play with colour and shape is very attractive. If possible, it'll also be fun to draw an Ant for the letter A or a Tiger for Trampoline. Indeed, I care this much about the little things.
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Some specs, if you will.
All of my illustrations for the art book project is done in A4, which is what I'm used to. However, I don't want to make another book. And then, I thought, why not bookmarks!
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| My bookmark of Whitebeard, everyone says looks like Poseidon. |
These bookmarks measure 35mm by 55mm, which feels smaller than I thought. Nonetheless, I have a soft spot for long illustrations, regardless of orientation. Details just sprawl from one end to the next, creating a pleasing flow that guides the eye from one end to another. I figure this is the perfect chance to play with this aspect ratio and create something magical I can hold and give people.
An art book, plus new bookmarks. That sounds like a fun lineup for the year. Thinking about it already excites me. Since K-pop is a topic close to my heart, perhaps I'll do a better job documenting everything that goes into the process of making this. Perhaps. At present, this blog post archives my excitement on starting this project.
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