HOME | DD
yang — Bartholomew Kuma
Published: 2013-02-09 17:23:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 8241; Favourites: 122; Downloads: 85
Redirect to original
Description
It's Kuma's birthday, yay. I still can't decide whether he or Jinbe is the best-looking Shichibukai.Related content
Comments: 20
Greetings, Yang.
I've wanted to comment on this for some time. I can say first that your stylization here holds a strong appeal: for all of Bartholomew's calmness, the background speaks of stone and age, weathering and marks of history, of details not given to him in body.
His pose bears a solidity, but with stillness comes both strength, and a great weight: be it that of his body, set to the prerogatives of the Pacifista Program, or that of his past, writ as it is in unknown threads and circles of involvement and influence.
The overall cool tones are ones that I like. You use both a purple and blue cast to the shadows in your image, and they lend a subtlety to the otherwise stark, bare values of Kuma's attire.
His pose seems to lend to both a soldierly obedience or clarity of purpose, yet also at the same time also to a knightly essence of unrevealed virtues. The faint wings in the background embolden that further - lending one's regard instead to matters of spirit and the ephemeral power of a virtually religious vow, even penance, if not a sort of transcendence, given his sacrifices.
I am certain that there are other aspects I could speak of, but at this hour those escape me; that, or their nuances are not articulable with a rightful grace as to your work.
Thank you for taking the time to work on this, and moreso to share it. I hope that your creation of it, and reflection on it, has served you well in thought and in mind.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm glad you like it! Kuma is such a mysterious character, but even though we still know little about his past, I couldn't resist giving him a beatific appearance (and the cutesy wings) when I did this picture. I still feel that it's most likely that he is a man who has sacrificed himself for a greater cause.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I've had similar thoughts of various works which would incorporate a similar overtone of his genesis towards becoming a Pacifista, yet also works which reflect a certain religious/symbolic set of tones. Still other works of mine could easily be called from dreams I've had, many of which would make for a compelling challenge and (at least for myself) a daring advance into using actual color in my media.
As always, thank you for your contributions, Yang. Individually, you add a great thread of spirit to the tapestry of the One Piece fandom. I enjoy the expressiveness of your other work, and also the heavy seriousness of this.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I was thinking of a pieta or ecstasy theme, though I'm always a bit hesitant to add too much religious imagery to a picture; I'm not a strong Christian, but I do my best not to cheapen my faith or anyone else's by making excessively religious fanart.
I always try to bring my own ideas to a fandom, and it makes me happy to know that you find my drawings unique!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes, there is a difficult balance to find - not just in one's work, but rather in how others interpret one's designs and intent.
I find that most of what I hearken to tends to form a new column and layer within subconscious associations. It's both a fascinating and inspiring process (virtually a symbiosis) - but I understand entirely that internal symbolism and systematics may vary, while external symbols do not.
Especially with such stoic characters as Kuma, that very prism of subtlety can form a compelling obstacle. I am simply thankful to see others out there who can hold the thought of him to an appreciable depth of meaning and character.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I adore Kuma, I cannot draw him else wise I'd open an ask-blog for him too...I love the pose, it has a strangely honourable quality to it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I was thinking of a kind of pieta or religious pose. As for drawing Kuma, he has sort of a high heel-shaped head. It has a very mechanical shape to it, which is normal for anime characters, I guess. XD
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I can believe it! Yeah, he's an interesting one, but fascinating as a character.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Moria is the best, but he is a close second
Very statuesque pose.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Moria is my favorite, but as far as sexy-looking men go, it's Kuma or Jinbe for me. All the best-looking guys in One Piece seem to have that wavy hair.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Most of the girls tend to swoon for Mihawk.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Mihawk is pretty, but I prefer the kind of man you can dig your fingers into.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
My good firend is the biggest Kuma fan around
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm glad that there are some Kuma fans out there. He's quite underappreciated. I just hope we find out more about him!!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Check out her scraps. Tons of Kuma are in there.
Kuma and Moria are my top favorites among the Shichibukai.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah, I realized that I'd seen her artwork before when I checked her gallery. I wish I had the skill and time to fabricate leather gewgaws and costume pieces too, that stuff is really gorgeous.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I have tried drawing Moria but can never quite get him down proper. I did do this one picture of Kuma [link]
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Haha, that's awesome.
Moria is kind of a pain to draw, especially because his proportions are very inconsistent in the anime and manga, and there's nothing in the real world that resembles him. I have a nice figure of him on the shelf that I always find myself glancing at when I'm trying to figure out if I've got him the right shape, and it's taken me months to get the shape of his hair downpat.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0