Behind You!
I wanted to push myself with a bigger piece, so I made this fanart of a vtuber called 'Boon' (the guy in the middle). The background was challenging but came out pretty good I think.
The finished piece with some post-process effects, e.g. chromatic aberration.
Scan of the first sketch with some adjustments of the placement of the characters.
I was not completely satisfied with how one of the seals looked, so I designed a new one.
A new draft after some cleanup and with the new seal design.
Inspired by classic Disney cartoons and anime, I attempted to paint the background with gouache. I had never used gouache, so it was a challenge! The paper was too thin and I didn't know how to make a smooth gradient for the sky.
I needed to collect references for a lot of different things. I needed to study photos of orcas closely just to understand where their eyes are!
What does an ice berg look like? What does it look like under the water? What does the Antarctic horizon look like? All of these questions I wanted to figure out the answers to.
How is snow and water depicted in Disney cartoons and anime? This was the style I was aiming for, so I studied stills from cartoons like Duck Tales and Pokemon.
More style inspiration, and some references of the main character.
A snapshot of one of the early "ugly" stages.