[Visual] Arwym's Sketchbook

[Lord Dante]

Thank you!  I started colouring it, but now I feel like it's looking pretty bad, heheh.  I am not too good at colouring. 

And yes!  One of my many dreams is to draw shoujo manga and publish it.  XD  I was invited to a group of young female comic artists some months ago.  They said that I can contact them whenever I feel ready, and they'll help me publish my first pages in their comic anthologies, and teach me how to prepare my works for printing, so that if later I want to publish alone, I can.  I've seen their anthologies and met them at a convention.  There are many talented girls in the group. 
But I don't feel ready, not yet.

practice coloring. Im only good at it with Open Canvas.
Also, off topic of art, but i suggest contacting them just to make sure they still know who you are.

[Arwym]

Heheh, they know who I am.  ^^  I spent almost $20 on their comics that day at the convention.  Then they have me on MySpace and Comicspace, and have answered to all my messages so far. 

And I don't use Open Canvas, but have coloured with other programs.  SAI and PS CS have been enough.  I practice.  I just don't like the results.

Thanks, everyone! *Hugs!*

[Tezuka]

I can't wait for more of your works Arwyn, also, openCanvas is great to use, I am not that good at drawing, it but I think it is recommended for tablet users. I can re-upload a copy of it if you want.

P.S Wacom Intuos :3

[Arwym]

Oh, well.  I have tried open Canvas.  It's nice, but I also love SAI.  <3  SAI is a Japanese software very, very similar to Open Canvas, but free.  Also very new; still in beta, if I am right.  Someone was kind enough to translate it.  I have a copy.  It has its issues, like only saving in BMP, PSD and SAI.  So I have to move it over to other software if I want to save it as JPEG, GIF, PNG or any other.  Not so many tools, either.
However, I love the lines I get.  The latest sketches are all done with it.
It would be nice to try OC again.  I never considered it because it's not free, and I can't afford it at this time.

Thank you very much for your words!  ;_;  <3

[Arwym]

Well...  I've been drawing a lot this week.  And I must say, every time my style is more defined, though I can see some changes in it since the last time I was drawing a lot.  The characters look more detailed and varied.  In other times, all of my characers would have similar faces, similar expressions.  Now they are more unique.    And also more detailed.

My works definitely belong to the shojo type of manga.  O_O

In case you're wondering what shojo manga exactly means...

Manga (mahn-ga) means "random pictures" or "whimsical pictures" in Japanese. Manga combine pictures and words to convey a story—in short, they're comics. But unlike American comics, Japanese comics are often first serialized in telephone book-size magazines and then later compiled into complete graphic novels. They are also usually printed in monochrome tones rather than in color.

Shojo (show-joe) means "girl" in Japanese. Shojo manga are often characterized by a moody, abstract art style, with close-ups of characters' faces intermingling with dreamy backdrops. In contrast to action-oriented shonen (boys') manga, shojo manga ruminate on themes of emotion, love, identity, and responsibility that often play out internally. That said, shojo manga are by no means just for girls. Shojo stories are about aspects of life that concern everyone—boys and girls, old and young. Note: The word shojo normally appears with a circumflex or macron over the first o, as in shôjo; we removed it for the sake of simplicity and readability in the magazine.

(Taken from the Shojo Beat FAQ section.)

Anyway(s), my work is far from looking professional, but I hope to be that good someday.  I really want to create professional-looking manga one of these days, even if just as a hobby.

Um... I should scan some sketches soon.

By the way, hi~!  I am not very active lately, but I'm still alive. 

[Reives]

You seem to be doing well on your way there. Developing your own style in practice is great as well, so good to hear that you're succeeding gaining grounds in that area. Oh, I especially like the hair on the last sketch on the first page.

[emidy]

I know SAI, it's good for beginners but not good enough if you want to draw manga, the tools are too limited.
I suggest you to use Manga Studio EX instead. You can start drawing manga from Sketch to finish and ready for publish. It has many useful tools such as Maru pen tool which is very rare outside Japan, tons of screen tones (You can even do shading) and so on. I believe it's in English so you'll have no problem.

http://graphics.smithmicro.com/go/mangastudio

For beginners, you can try the debut version but actually the Professional version is much better because it's far more complete. If you decided to download the trial, I'll PM you for more information on how to get the free application. =)

[Arwym]

I know SAI, it's good for beginners but not good enough if you want to draw manga, the tools are too limited.
I suggest you to use Manga Studio EX instead. You can start drawing manga from Sketch to finish and ready for publish. It has many useful tools such as Maru pen tool which is very rare outside Japan, tons of screen tones (You can even do shading) and so on. I believe it's in English so you'll have no problem.

http://graphics.smithmicro.com/go/mangastudio

For beginners, you can try the debut version but actually the Professional version is much better because it's far more complete. If you decided to download the trial, I'll PM you for more information on how to get the free application. =)

Hehe, thanks Emidy.  But I wasn't using SAI to create pages.  I know it's just for drawing and painting.  I have other software.  Photoshop CS, Gimp, and precisely now, I am in the process of 'torrenting' Manga Studio EX.    You read my mind, didn't you?!  XD  I am going to try it because of the inking, screentones and paneling features.  It would be a good complement.  I was actually going for traditional inking, but I just realized my scanner is doesn't work anymore.  So I'll have to get used to my tablet, after all.

Thanks for the support and advice!

[Arwym]

This one was a little quick, done with SAI last night.  The anatomy is a bit inaccurate, the lines are not very clean, and the coloring is meh, but LOL, I still like it. 

Well, I'll post more later.  Byes.

[emidy]

Her shoulders are too small Arwym, and her face is too big. =)
Well.. good that you noticed that too. But I like her eyes and the colors, somehow soft and relaxing, need shading but well.. sweet. =)

[Arwym]

Yeah...  It's not good.  I am still not good enough at controlling the tablet.  I swear I can draw much better and faster on paper, with a pencil.  By the way, her face is shaded.  It's just hard to notice because of the color I chose.  >.<  It's not too different from the other color. 

Here's another try at a portrait with my tablet.  Note that I can't draw furries or animals well yet, and that there are anatomy issues, etc.  And that the coloring sucks.  But then again, I've always sucked at coloring/painting.



Sketchy stuff of my main Furcadia character, Michah.  You can see I got lazy at the end.  And I noted some errors after saving, but I don't want to work with this one anymore.  So, next time.
And I keep trying...

[Arwym]

Another sketch!  This one I love, even with its flaws!  She's so cute!  She woke up with a smile, and is saying "... Morning! :3"

http://www.sheezyart.com/view/1721903/

Linking to my SheezyArt. 

[garygill]

Cool!  That last one shows quite a bit of improvement.  Keep at it!

[Arwym]

Thanks. 

http://www.sheezyart.com/view/1721954/

That one is not too good, though.  Weird pose, long neck, too vague...  I am still not very good at drawing males.    Hopefully I'll improve.

All these are character concepts, by the way.  I am trying to get familiar with drawing each of them.  By drawing my characters over and over, I get to know them better.

[Dwarra?]

Hey Arwym, nice drawings ~_-

[SorceressKyrsty]

Wow, these are awesome!
Wish I had a tablet now... scanning gives such a bad effect on my art.
Your manga looks awesome. I attempted one once, it went for three pages in greylead pencil >_<.
Keep up the good work, Arwym!

[Arwym]

Thanks a lot, SorceressKyrsty!

Now that I am designing the caracters for an RM project I started, I should be posting more drawings soon.