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Tallowick — What are YOU smiling about
#anthro #armor #armour #fantasy #fox #gouache #japanese #katana #kitsune #nodachi #fantasyarmor #fantasyarmour
Published: 2018-12-02 23:01:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 1135; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 0
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Description
Kazegami devoted his life to restoring peace to these landsAnd now war is consuming us once more
I did not start this war, but by the Tenkitsune I will end it...
Even if I have to grind everything he has built to dust.
What are YOU smiling about?
At long last I have finished this! It took me much, much longer than I am used to, partly because of things happening and gouache taking me a tad longer than watercolours.
I had so many doubts concerning the colour scheme, and despite my best efforts it feel very inharmonious to me. Oh well
So basically, what we have here is Akarai showing a side of him that is not often seen. He is by nature a very cheerful and happy-go-lucky character, but when he gets serious, he goes full warlord. Also decided that his weapon of choice is a Nodachi. To the untrained eye a nodachi just seems like a longer katana, while it is in fact... An almost impractically long katana XD While the sword is by all means too big for him, Akarai swings it about with a disconcerting lack of effort (but there's a reason for that)
Also he had his armour and weapons inlaid with amber, because it helps him build up electrical charges.
Critique is always welcome! If you don't give your honest opinion Akarai will find out where you live and make you watch him drink tea while he glares at you >:]
Done it gouache and colour pencils.
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Comments: 37
"Well, whad'ya think?"
"The beaver tail is an interesting addition..."
Sorry, couldn't help it!
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The colors, expression, outfit and posing are all wonderfully well done!
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Thank you so much! ^-^ Have some grattitude, I insist!
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No problem, and thank you so much for adding me to your watch!
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The toned paper here was a perfect choice to emulate classical Japanese paintings. I browsed your gallery and I’m impressed by how quickly you’re improving! The line work here is very clean and smooth, and the colors on Akarai’s armor match well. The shading is well done. I see a lot of fine shadows in his tail. Side note, I really like how tight the straps are on his tail-brace. It’s a nice indicator of how bushy his fox tail is. Anyway, his armor is very detailed and has a nice shine to it. His helmet design is great, by the way. It looks terrifying – as a samurai helmet should be. Other people have already commented on Akarai’s elbows, so I would recommend you also keep practicing hands. They are tough, believe me. But you’re on the right track! An awesome painting all around. I’m quickly growing a liking for this character. 
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Thank you so much for the feedback!
The choice of toned paper also resulted in my trying a different medium than I generally work with, but it did turn out to be a very successful experiment
I'm glad to hear you think the colours match well, since I put a great deal of thought into colour schemes for my characters I want every aspect of their design to say something about them.
Haha, yep, people tend to forget that a fox's tail is actually only about as thick as the vertebrae in it and would look like a rat tail without the fur
I shall admit, trying to design functional head protection for anthro characters is no easy task (as 0laffson has also shown upon a few occasions) and it did go through a few iterations (and will probably go through a few more)
Aye, hands are totally my bane at the moment 
Again, thank you so much. It really makes me happy that people find my characters interesting ^^
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No problem! Hands are the bane of any artist. XD
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I have a serious soft spot for armor and uniforms-- but I've gotta' say, this is SO COOL. The medium serves the subject matter incredibly well, and it's so clear! *Color* me well impressed!
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Thank ye! Gouache does have a remarkable definition to it, but without all the frustrations of acrylics, so methinks I've taken a liking to it
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Then I'm eager to see more! What is gouache?
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Gouache can be considered the opaque cousin of watercolours or the intermediary between watercolours and acrylics. Like acrylics it is opaque and you can cover up mistakes or go from dark to light (with watercolours you can't put a lighter colour on top of a darker colour, because it shines through) and the paint has a slightly thicker consistency, but like watercolours paint that has dried can be reactivated with water, making it a little risky to work with a large number of layers, but this means you can alter the hue of something you've already put down by reactivating it and adding different pigment.
So, in essence, I couldn't have done this on brown paper with watercolours, since the brown of the paper would shine through, but I have an intense aversion to acrylics. Then I heard of gouache and I decided to give it a go!
(Interesting fact, most hand drawn animation uses to be done with gouache! In the case of Lilo & Stitch the characters were done with gouache and the backgrounds with watercolours.)
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Remarkable! I'll definitely look into this. Perhaps I ought to try a new medium, for fun if nothing else!
So it's the lovechild of acrylics and watercolors, and the better part of each at that! Is this was you're intending to use from now on, by chance?
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I'll definitely be using it a lot in the future, but I still intend to mainly use watercolours since it's faster to work. Like what I did with Fernando I'll likely combine the mediums upon occasion as well!
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It takes skill to paint as clearly as you do, and even more to blend different types of paint! *Color* me well impressed! It's funny we should be talking about paint, too, because I've happened to wake up to Bob Ross playing on PBS this morning!
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It's actually just a lot easier to paint clearly with gouache. And I see different mediums as different tools in a digital art program, you just have to figure out how each one works individually to realise how they can work together.
Ha, 'tis a sign! XD Bob Ross is a legend!
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That is an excellent way to look at it! I really think I *otter* give it a shot!
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amazing work dude >u<
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Thank ye kindly 
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LOOKS AMAZING MAN!
Balim has said everything I was going to say so XP
I will also add that the colors you chose for this piece are PERFECT! The blues oranges, whites, and reds add SO much to the feel of the piece, they also do a perfect job at controlling eye attraction, along with the details, to make it perfect!
I would also like to add that the color combination is very comfortable for, there is a surprising amount of contrast in colors, yet the colors are not harsh!
I would also like to add that for some strange reason I find the tail guard to be perfect and I will be stealing that design idea now >:3
Now one thing I am being confused by from the piece is where his eyes are looking, is it at the helmet or is he staring off into space? Though in this case, this is literally irrelevant as the scenario that you told me about here really means both would work, but I feel maybe others may get a bit confused.
Also reading the description, kind of got me started in my head ranting about Somber's armor and weapon of choice and the mountains of unnecessarily carefully calculated reason for him to use them XP
May I also ask about the time period that this takes place in?
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Yay! I'm happy the colours are well received, because I agonized over them SO much
Haha, yes! Please do spread the idea; the beaver-tail-guard must be made known
Ah, yes... While colouring the eye, part of his pupils got covered and it made him look like he's gazing past the helmet and for some inexplicable reason I decided to leave it that way. I think it makes him seem like he's more focused on his thoughts and more conflicted, I dunno.
_ _
\ シ/
Somber does strike me as one of those people who would be able to deduce exactly how an entire game of chess will go based solely on the opponents first move or even their handshake XD
Ah, an interesting question! The basic idea of my setting is that just about everything we attribute to myth and legend was once true (just in a slightly more scientific way) but these "mythical" beings have steadily disappeared over the millennia. One such example is the kitsune of Japanese folklore, which is what Akarai and his people represent. The idea is that they used to almost co-exist with humans and the two influenced each other's cultures, but after some time the kitsune retreated and faded into myth, and their culture kinda got stuck in the Edo period. So, this takes place in the modern day, but culturally it might as well be the 16th century.
(There is going to be a largely comedic chapter where Akarai temporarily becomes human to research the modern world 
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I agree, he looks like he is deep in thought as the expression and the lack of focus in the eyes really do add to it!
He can read people good, but when it comes to chess, he can barely play it XP
I can only imagine how Akarai would feel barring witness to anime XD
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Woah this one is REALLY good
You took everything great about your last gouache piece and amped it up! It looks so clean and neat that it seems like an image projected onto a piece of paper. Also the lighting on all the armour and helmet is perfect, you make gouache look like the most exciting paint ever.
(tho everyone I know seems split on whether gouache painting is hell or a godsend)
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Thank you so much man
Well, considering this is my second time using gouache, I'd hope it'd be a little better than the first
I really do like the sharp definition one is able to get with it, but it does requires a bit more mashing with the brush (which is what I HATE about acrylics, but gouache is like the intermediary between watercolours and acrylics, so I forgive it)
Funny you should mention the lighting, since I feel I didn't really play with highlights enough XD
Well, considering that just about every animated movie and cartoon of the previous century was made with gouache paintings on transparent cells with a prepainted background, I must imagine it had it's uses 
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holy grumpy kitsune! That looks absolutely amazing mate, I really love it.
You really have a talent when it comes to watercolor drawing, keep it going!
Well the color scheme looks great on Akarai, the black and dark blue in combination with the light ember stones and red (fur) make up for a interesting combination, and works better than if you made it all red for example.
well I'm not great in feedback but the arm where he holds his Nodachi looks really small at his elbow
the tail may have been bit different portrait I don't really have the feeling it goes to the back more that it goes to a side, i dont know how to explain this, the tail and feet don't really fit with one another
furthermore it's a great drawing.
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Aw, thank you so much
Haha, it would be nice if I did, but it's mostly just practice
Thanks! There are certain thematic elements about him that I try to incorporate into his attire; red highlights and ornaments are part of his heritage (and the first part of his name means "red" ) and blue is just a colour I associate with him, but by making it darker it reflects his state of mind.
Shoot, you're right! His arm does seem worryingly thin at the elbow XD I made the shadows a bit deep there, yes.
And yeah, I messed up the tail guard a little; it should be pointing more to the back.
The disconnection between the tail and the legs might also be because I altered the direction his hips are facing from the sketch, but didn't alter the legs.
Thank you so much for the feedback! Every bit really does help, and I shall use this advice to improve future drawings
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Most welcoming mate!
aah why just practicing it, I mean look at the insane beautiful results you get out of it
Oh I had no idea that Akarai had such a name with (deep) meaning, Really nice now i finally know it. After hearing it all out it's even better!
You're welcome, i'm really glad I could at least give a bit of decent feedback to you.
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Well, I'm of the opinion that "talent" is largely how quickly you pick something up, but practice is still key. After all, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" But I am incredibly flattered that you consider me talented
Indeed! Actually I am just terrible at coming up with original names, so I start by finding something that describes the character and work from there. Akarai's name was derived from the Japanese words for "red" and "lightning", so his name means "red lightning"
Similarly Shiroki's name is a combination of the words for "white" and "tree". However, because of the way the Japanese language is structured any single word or even syllable can mean hundreds of different things depending on the kanji symbol used, so the roots of the name isn't so obvious, meaning it's easier to get away with such obviously basic words as names ;D
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I can't disagree with you on that one,
you're most welcoming.
ooh that's your way of coming up with names, well have to say that it is quite a clever way to do it. I like the way you named your character, mayhaps I can apply this trick to characters of mine aswell, at least if you don't mind it. ^_^
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You are most welcome to! I mean, I hardly pioneered the idea XD
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Wait... I didn't quite pay attention/notice it when it was a sketch, but why is he not focusing on the helmet? (Well, there's always reason, don't you worry, just that I completely wasn't expecting that direction of gaze)
I gotta say, the coloring is solid. If you're saying your just recently trying the gouache, you sure have mastered it very well, so good job with that
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'Tis no phantasm, his gaze was indeed directed more at the helmet in the sketch, but when I got to the eyes part of the pupils got covered and it made him look more past the helmet, and for some reason I liked the effect it has; it makes it seem like he's staring into the distance, contemplating what he's just said and it almost makes it look like he's avoiding the helmet's gaze.
Haha, I hardly think two drawings equates to me having mastered it, but thank you ever so much
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Oh I'm just high of your tea again
S- sor-* scratches ear*ahh sorry what were ya sayin lad?
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I SAID... WHERE is my supersuit?!
Whoops, wrong dialogue, I mean, uh...
I SAID we must conquer new lands in search of new tea ingredients!
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Awsome
I'm in let me get my armor
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