Mix Dostoevsky, 2/3 Cup Street Fighter, and 4 Parts Confucius - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4


Your drawings are beautiful, and very much finished pieces in their own right. Do you ever think that coloring a piece is unnecessary?

Yes. I love line drawings that don't depend on color. One of my main goals is to finish a quality piece done only by lines, and many of the pictures on my website are practice for this. I'm not sure you would describe this as "coloring is unnecessary," but if it means that I feel a picture can sometimes be just as beautiful with only lines, then I would definitely agree. Come to think of it, I should practice coloring more. I'm worried about it because I tend to focus on drawings.

Do you have a favorite one?

Untitled by BlankasSince I don't have that many I am completely satisfied with, I can choose pretty easily (I'm not sure if this is a good thing). I like expressing people's emotions with fast and strong lines. There's a picture of an old man I'm especially proud of. It was a study drawing wherein I learned about the expressions of the old, and it shows an old man listening to music and staring blankly at the performer. I can't remember, but I think a picture in a magazine inspired me. From that point on, the lines in my drawings flew too fast and ended up ruining the structure of the pieces. So I reverted back to simple, still drawings that show the shapes of the human structure. Lately I’ve started to feel like I can draw fast, flowing drawings without breaking the structure.

Do you prefer drawing people over nonhuman characters then?

If I had to pick between the two, I'd pick drawing people. The structure of people is fun, but it's when I express the emotions of individuals that I feel happiness that I can't quite describe. I'm currently drawing monsters instead of people. If chance permits, I'd like to do more drawing that emphasizes expression. I also enjoy drawing backgrounds and animals, trees, and rocks as well. A person full of emotion in a natural background, I suppose you could say I like this kind of drawing the most.

Your website's inclusion of everything from sketchbook roughs to full-color illustrations suggests that "process" is important to you. Could you tell us more Untitled by Blankasabout your thoughts on process and why you display your work in various stages of refinement?

I give a lot of meaning to pure "process." I think a person's actions are always composed of "thought" and "expression," and only when both of these are complete can a person truly do the right thing. I believe this is especially true for illustration, so "process" is just as important as the "result." I believe that thoughts are the foundation of the perfect illustration.

The reason I display illustrations at various stages is mostly to listen to the opinions and advice of viewers. I think that for your skills to improve, drawing earnestly is important, but impartial evalutation and critique are just as important. Drawing and the evaluation process should harmonize. It's hard to improve otherwise. So I try to display illustrations that show all my previous intentions; the ones that aren't "perfected." This allows viewers to analyze my drawings easily and write their opinions and advice. I display drawings at different stages for the same reason. I like to show my faults in the various stages. I try to give my opinion and advice to other artists as well. I hope this exchange of giving and receiving advice becomes more popular online. Then we can all learn more effectively and everyone can improve.

I agree. So how would you describe your style?

I strongly think that my skills need endless improvements and corrections, so I'm very cautious about talking about my style.

Untitled by BlankasI will say that I place a high priority on realism and the interplay of 2D and 3D elements. I try to convey people’s existence in three dimensions by showing the movement of their bodies and catching their detailed expressions. I also pay careful attention to two-dimensional effects and how the eye follows lines and objects of different sizes. It’s important that viewers feel that a character in the drawing actually exists in the real world.

Line and color are equally significant. I use varying strengths and lengths of lines to evoke different feelings. I try to show what's inside the body and accentuate its outline. This reveals small changes in volume and space and emphasizes the flow of lines. Overall, my goal is to communicate a character's emotions and existence while retaining a bit of an anime feel. I have only been coloring for about one or two years, so I don't have much of a defined style in that area. But I want to color in a way that respects the structure and flow of lines. Hopefully I will have a clear coloring style soon.

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