Manga artiests and writers unite

[Chapel]

Hey all this is Chapel and I'm sure that sooner or later you get tired of my mindless rambalings however this is the cheesecake of Theards. (If you don't like cheesecakes well I think you're weird but that just me come anyway.) Ok on all these different threads we all are talking to each other about differing mangas and writings that we do. However, it is so spread out that we as a whole don't always benifit from the advise being distrubuted. Now I propose that on this thread we bring together the Manga artists and some writers who can comment as well. I ask other readers to only respond if they have constructive information, that will aide us as a whole. If you have questions for the individual artists find the thread they use for that like MAVE and myself or PM us. Here and now let us colaberate to form a brain trust of information that can serve as our own construction zone. As another side note to those reading this if you do have an aspiration in becoming a manga artist or writer, and have a question for the whole post and we will answer, follow criteria below. So let us come together---- here is the intrance information. Let us know the following What you are working on (manga wise, or art...), Let us know your strengths (clothing, drama writing, faces, ...), your weaknesses (same as last ()... ), and after all that submit a short bit of your work (for writers a short scripted strip, for artists a pic, for writer artists a strip or panal). Alright let us begin. Lets see if we can all work together so that the information we posess will help us better our own media and so that those reading who aspire to become better at their choosen media can also learn. Sorry for the length.

-chapel

[Chapel]

Ok I'll go first being that I brought this whole thing up

Ok I am adding to this because Mave seriously out did me, then wiggens did too, I feel i have given a lack of information so here is more.

Name
- I have gone by Chapel, Evangelion, Mark, and my AIM name is smuria2priest

Material
I had used fancy pens and the like, however I found I can get better shading with a plain ordinary Bic pen (the down side to this is it leaves your paper warper from the pressure applied to get said shading. I also water color, I don't use the fancy paint water colors, if i had the money i might but I go with Prang I think it is, I do use professional brushes for that. And as of late I have started incorperating a bit of the computer, smudging and making my own stamps for leaves and grass. I try and keep it as real as possible though. I also use a ME made smudging glove to keep me from smuding, see how to make one on one of Mave's thread where I posted the details.

Background
When I was in fourth grade I started drawing Garfield and other Cartoon characters, I also ran into superbook which lead to galaxy express and on to more and more. So in jr. High I drew a scorpion that one of my friends said looked manga like. So I gave averything I drew sharper angles and started looking into other anime and acttually colecting manga by College it was an all out passion and hobbie. That all turned into a lifestyle I now am a Manga artist and am constently drawing.

Current Projects
The only actual comic I have that is out it TBC...
THen I have the side projects of
Corruption/Salvation
Kingdom Came (no relation to kingdom come)
13 hours
R.I.P.
A Laughing Jesus (just shorts about Jesus cracking Jokes and his sense of humor)
And Then... (the continuation of TBC...)
...The End (the very last large version of TBC... the conclusion)
Not PC (these are political cartoons I do for the paper)

for each of those titles I have character designs done and stories started. for some I need a writer all I have is the idea.

Strengths

I have really good story idea's, I draw faces well. I think I'm pretty good at shading, and contrasting darks with lights. I am getting better and better with water colors. Also composition. I also never use a pencil unless absolutely nessary. So everything I draw is drawn in pen first and then gone back over in pen, so I don't believe in messing up. I have made up my mind that you either get it or you don't, I forces you to learn how to correct your pictures with enviroment and or clothing changes. It's a curse and a blessing.

Weaknesses
Clothing and the way it hangs or falls over the body, the way people are positioned (if I'm not looking at it, it is hard for me to always visualize it in my head.) I have recently been working on the legs knees down and the backs of people. I'm getting better, but it is hard. I'm pretty much useless with computers, but I'm working on getting better with that as well. As with Mave I'm not great at mecha or backgrounds. I would like to work on some backgrounds so I just get better at it, but one step at a time.

Influence
Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal) (shading)
Masami Tsuda (Karo Kana) (clothing)
Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina) (femal bodies)
Yashiro Nightow (Trigun) (background and overview)
Kenchi Sonoda (gunsmithcats and cannon God) (items in panel and character design)
Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, Your under Arrest) (plants, and special affects.)

and here are some samples of my work I'll submit a piece of art and a strip being that I am a writer and an artist I will however only submit a strip that I wrote.

[uc pseudonym]

This is a good idea. I'm not sure how many artists we have without ideas, however. I'll at least keep watch on this thread.

[Chapel]

This doesn't have to exclude artists with out ideas, We want to see what you got. So maybe we can match you up with a writer and bam a comic. It's a way to create and also to get better. By the by if you are and artist or a writer uc pseudonym I'd like very much to see your work as well.

-chapel-

[true_noir_chloe]

I think it's obvious UC is a writer. *hehe* I guess you haven't been here long. I write mangas too, so I'll peek at this thread every so often. I, however, wouldn't post anything here. It's nothing against you Chapel, I'm just really closed about anything I work on for submission. I'll be like the last person on the dance floor, waiting to see if anyone else jumps in and starts dancing. ^_^

[uc pseudonym]

This doesn't have to exclude artists with out ideas, We want to see what you got. So maybe we can match you up with a writer and bam a comic. It's a way to create and also to get better.

I just meant that most artists are already working on plenty of their own projects (Psycho Ann, Inkhana, Mave...).

By the by if you are and artist or a writer uc pseudonym I'd like very much to see your work as well.

I think it's obvious UC is a writer.

I feel the same way.

Go to "my site" if you'd like some out of date stories, and to see my major project. Due to my lack of ftping ability, I can't exactly update easily.

Actually, I have ideas for both Christian and non-Christian manga galore. Just no artistic ability and no artists without ideas.

[Mave]

Hi everyone ^^


Name
Mave or MichiruT (ex-username)

Background
Been drawing as a kid, started manga-style at 14. No art degree (sniff, maybe one day)

Material
Mechanical pencil, Sakura pen, SignPentel and random gel ink pens, A4 photocopy paper, Umax scanner and Photoshop CS and 7.0

Current Projects
1) KingdomCome, my first manga project about a young boy who chose God over fame and riches (in progress)
2) 2 major manga projects collaborations (in progress)
3) Bishie Wallpaper Project (starting up?)
4) Comic strip containing bible study material (still dreaming about it)
4) Miscellaneous manga one-shots, mostly shonen (still dreaming about it)

hahaha...too much to do, but so little time. But I always say, it's fine to dream big.

Strengths
Character design
I've been told that I can do bishies or pretty people. I face few problems with poses, angles, facial expressions, body proportions, clothing design, and new character design.

Weakness
1) Ugly people! bwahaha no, seriously, I rarely do non-bishie ppl
2) Panelling (I tend to clutter everything up)
3) Inking (I've been using pencil so much that I've gotten too comfortable with it. Need to practice more with pens)
4) Mecha/machines/weapons shonen stuff...so bad at it...
5) Backgrounds, scenery, landscapes....(sniff....need practice)


Influence
Watsuki Nobuhiro (Rurouni Kenshin)
Kentaro Yabuki (Black Cat)
Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal)
Kubotite (Zombie Powder, Bleach)
Ryo Fujisaki (Houshin Engi)
Aihara Miki (Hot Gimmick)

Attachments
Hehe I took pics from my old MichiruT thread.. A pencil sketch, screentone, and PS-colored sample


Cheers,
Mave

[wiggins]

Hi guys!

Name
Wiggins

Background
Started drawing with western occidental style comic book characters like spiderman, x-men, and iron man. Got interested in manga and anime at around 14 or 15. Started trying to draw manga, liked it and is still drawing

Material
Any pencil I can get my hands on at any given moment, erasers (normal and kneadable), Printer paper or notebook paper depending on where I am, scanner, and photoshop 5.0 (which I don't really use yet; must improve drawing style)

Current Projects
Xians (on hold)

Strengths
Gosh, I don't know. I would say I have none that I can think of. I just...draw...Ineed stick figures as proportion guides...I really don't knwo what my strengths are...

Weakness
Muhahahaha! This I can answer:
drawing everything (from people to animals to weird creatures and things to weapons and mecha, and vehicles and buildings and backgrounds
inking
smudging
photoshop skills
Layout
Writing (it comes out in my head, but I can't translate it into a story type text. It's more like a play script, but not as coherent in the actions part)
I am clueless on how to decide the way the panels show and what order they come in. In fact, though I think about it, I have not really tried this
Inking because I've never done it before, and pens are really smooth which makes it easy to go oops and draw a line right through your creation that can't be erased
angles
background people
a whole lot more that I can't think of right now...

Influence
Rurouni Kenshin
Trigun
Angelic Layer
I want to add Naruto to this list, but its hard to incroporate it in
I also get inspiration from individual artists like the ones on CAA. I try to find things I like, and use them the next time I draw. However some are so good, that I am a long way off from mastering what I like about their styles...some I can't even identify specifically what I like about their art styles: They're just...good!

Attachments
Maybe later
Edit: here's one. please remember i am still learning so lots of constrructive criticism would be cool.

[Chapel]

Mave thanks for giving us a decent what to include list.
Wiggens don't be afraid to post an attachment unless you don't have one that you felt you wanted to. In that case wait until you do then edit your artist bio.
uc pseudonym thank you for your insight as well, your writing skills are awsome, I might look into fleshing out your ideas, if you don't mind. I can't promise anything If we end up working on this. However one of your well written scripts I think would look amazing drawn out. If you would like for me to do art for you it might be a longer process but I want to see it, and I wouldn't mind trying to do a twenty page try out for your work. Wiggens also seems to be lacking in a writer. If you wanted to ask him as well.
Other than that I urge others to voice there talents here. Lets just see what happens when we all compile our creative resources.

-chapel

My quote of the day from myself (Until I started doing comic strips I thought I was a good artist, I was such a fool.)

[Chapel]

We shoudl do something so that others will find it interesting and join any suggestions other four people who acctually posted (sighs under his breath wondering why his genious plan has gone ascew.) so lets all sing shine by the newsboys
shine
let em wonder what you got
let them wish that they were not
on the outside looking in

ok anyway so my idea was that here we have a foruum where some may join together and also get opinions. So questions, I myself at this point would like to have both my comic and art critiqued.

-chapel

[RoyalWing]

well... it's just that... I don't consider myself good enough/old enough/experienced to be considered and "artist". i like to draw, i like to write stories, but I just think I would humiliate myself by posting here next to all the geniuses!! So, that's why I'm not wanting to post...

[Chapel]

We are not looking to destroy your hopes and dreams we want to help anyone to be better at what they want to do. So lets see your art and maybe a short excert from a story and see what we can piece together. I'm sure we could help you out. What I'm going fo is an orriginal church commenity , cept on the web. So this would be a place to look out for each other and also help strengthen one another. God Bless. Amen

-chapel

[Psycho Ann]

Guess I'll join in anyway ^^ Chapel, if you're really desperate for a critique, I can help you but only once in a while since it takes me some time since I REALLY pick something apart. Also ask me for help only if you're up to reading a few pages worth of blunt critiques XD


Name
- Psycho Ann


Material
- Pens: Sakura Micron; dip; brush; marker (inks: india ink, gouache and acrylic)
- Pencils: Mechanical
- Digital: Photoshop 7.0; openCanvas
- Paper: letter-sized fotocopy paper (cheap!) ^^;;; But it really depends...



Background
- Drew every since I could remember before I started on the manga way more than 10 years ago in elementary school. Style started out with the obligatory Sailor Moon style before moving on to Ayuko Omi (a mystery/horror shoujo mangaka) then CLAMP. I'm now developing my own style and aiming for my BFA in Graphic Illustration.


Current Projects
This is going to make me feel guilty...
- Psychoteers
- Paladins
- Remembering You
- TJ3
- Thy Name 2
- The Room
- Psychoteers: AFO series
- Cosmic Butterfly comic
- Random freelance stuff
- Reflection (side comic)


Strengths

Probably coloring/shading. Faces, then, um, shonen stuff, plots.... I'm not to happy with the current level I am at other stuff yet ^^;


Weaknesses
- Anything mechanical (machines, buildings, objects)
- Complicated perspective
- Creature/monster design
- Complicated clothes
- Hands & Feet


Influence
This is pretty hard to cover... I mixed them so up it's hard to remember what I got from whom...
- Toshihiro Togashi (HxH, YYH): action/fight scenes + inking
- Tsutomu Nihei (BLAME!): action/fight scenes + inking
- Eiichiro Oda (One Piece): extreme surprised faces (you know what I'm talking about...) + exagerrated perspective/fore-shortening
- Akira Toriyama (Dragonball): action/fight scenes + inking + puns
- Shou Tajima (MPD Psycho): a bit of style
- CLAMP (need I provide an example?): Style, but I'm quickly moving away from it

Attached is example of manual inking (bad scan), quick pencil, and one I colored in openCanvas ^^

[Nalani]

Name
Nalani

Materials
whaever paper I have laying around, a 0.7 mechanical pencil, a regular pen, crayola color pencils, Photoshop 7.0, and a mouse.

Background
I drew a bit when I was little. You know the stick figures and stuff. But I dunno why but watching Sailor Moon kinda pushed me to draw a lot more and forced me to not draw the stick figured and stuff. Because I'd try to draw myself as Sailor Moon. ^^;; sadly ... I was weird back then. And then I met my best friend in 7th Grade who liked Sailor Moon and drawing too, so we started to get into making comics. When I look back at them I HAVE to laugh. THEY ARE SO STUPID and UGLY!!! So I've been drawing for ... a long time now. No art classes though. Maybe thats why I still kinda suck. T_T

Current Projects
Working on a story ... called .... urm ... well I've thought of a name ... okay several. Its hard to decide.
Also working on Vital Ink, a studio website, with my best friend (yep, from middle school) where we can post our own art and comics.

Strengths
Erm ... I think ... ideas. I get lots of good ideas. I think ... I dunno.


Weaknesses
CGing, Anatomy, Clothing and folds, Backgrounds, and Perceptive mostly.

Influences
... I have no clue. ^^;; I don't intentional try to draw like one person or another. But maybe if anything. I like Clamp, and the person who did Lain, and ... um ... erm ... I'll come back to this.

The pics below are stuff I did ... and yeah.

[wiggins]

I was wondering , how many of you use stick figures as a base and then build up from there?

[Mave]

I used to. ^^ Once in a while, I turn to the sphere model to tackle difficult angles and poses. Do I make sense? 0.o Gah, I need to show what I mean. I'll be back with a scan later in this post.

Cool, I'm happy to see other manga artists put down their profile. Don't be shy, we want to get to know you. More more more! Someone really ought to post here...cough*Inky*cough

[Nalani]

I was wondering , how many of you use stick figures as a base and then build up from there?

*raises a hand* oh I do! It helps a lot.

[uc pseudonym]

When I do art, it's with stick figures. Period. By which I mean I've done some stick figure animation (not that can be viewed on the internet, however). And now I'm going to stop typing and cease disrupting this topic.

[Psycho Ann]

Lol, I have a full book of stick figure comics I did when I was small. I still do them from time to time ^^

Mave, yep, I resort to mannequin figures too when the poses are complicated, it helps in getting the proportions, etc right ^^

[Chapel]

All you guys and gals have made me so happy. Ok heres the rundown sense i haven't posted in quite a while. I just finished paying off my web designed he will finish up the gallaries. Anyway first off to Psycho Ann I would love for you to look over and give me a detailed or page or so as i think you refered to it of comentary on my art. If we don't get responces we won't get better. As I'm on the topic, I think your art is good the first piece submited bears aspects of Doug Tennapel who did the art work for Five Iron Frenzy, the secound one I thought looked very hailbane experiments. and the last was really pretty. Anyway the secound one i think would look really good fleshed out, and with more details in the city behind them. If I had the patience I actually do a real review right now, because I have a test to study for.

Addressing the issue of stick figures, I'm in the same boat as Mave I ussually only use them if the figure is in a weird position. Of course do to the size of my stip it's not a real challange to make ellaborate setups although I do try. With the size I'm given It is mostly, faces. Every now and then I go artsy.

-chapel

[Psycho Ann]

Thanks for the comments! Do feel free to comment more later, although those are pretty old pics except the third one which is around 3-4 months old.

For the second page, I tend to leave backgrounds as non-contrast as I can if the figures are in the foreground (and are the main focus). It gives a certain aspect for depth of field and/or atmospheric perspective (where the the air in the space between us and objects far away will makes the far objects lose contrast and get a slightly blue tinge)... but mainly it was because I'm lazy XD And I can't fix it because have no idea where the original is.... O_o;;

Anyway chose a pic or two you want me to give you feedback from ^^ I usually won't give much comment on old pics because I might be repeating what's not present anymore in your current skills. ^^

[inkhana]

Cool, I'm happy to see other manga artists put down their profile. Don't be shy, we want to get to know you. More more more! Someone really ought to post here...cough*Inky*cough

Aahhh...I hadn't really posted here yet because I thought the thread was intended to match artists to writers...^^;; I guess I'll just say I already have more work than I actually finish...>.> But here we go anyhow, since Mave and Ann already posted...

Excuse me...*copies and pastes existing form* hehe

Name
Inkhana

Material
Canson art books (typically 9x12, although I vastly prefer 8.5x11 when I can get my hands on them). ALWAYS acid free.

Pencil - 2H. I forget the brand. Actually I don't like the brand I use right now. The lead has these little...I dunno what you call them...bits in them that don't make a mark and you end up scribbling away a freshly sharpened tip trying to get rid of it...>.<

I don't like to use pens. I mess up too much...so I use digital inks. In the (rare) event that I do, it's a Sakura Micron. Scrapbooking pens are wonderful...

Wacom tablet - Graphire. I can't afford an Intuous, or ohmygosh, a Cintiq...O.O

Software - Photoshop 5.0 LE and 7.0. I also occasionally use certain other programs to achieve a certain effect, but not often enough to mention here.


Background
Artistic bkg
Nothing special - started drawing as soon as I could get my hand around a pencil. For years I drew in a realistic style. Although it doesn't really show now, I primarily trained myself in portraits, and later human form. This I believe has had a profound effect on my later work and is very important to me.

I unwittingly drew anime characters along the way, but, not having a fundamental understanding of anime style, the pics themselves were not anime style. I perhaps have the stupidest reason for having learned to draw anime - I wanted to draw *gasp* Zelda fanart. So to the internet I went, downloading the Julie Dillon and Polykarbon anime tutorials and studying them intensely, applying what I learned to the fanart I was drawing. It was around this time that I began to watch Outlaw Star and 8th MS Team on Toonami's Midnight Run and I took my sketchpad with me and began to duplicate what I saw. (I still have pics of Jim Hawking and Melfina in my sketchbook... ) This was the pivotal point.

Fast forward a little, to 2002. I began a project about Revelations (which had little or nothing in common with Left Behind, nor had any relevance to said series' existence). I got about 140 pages into that novel (sometime during early 2003 - I would guess it was about June...July..something like that) when suddenly I got waylaid by another project. It started out innocently enough as a sketch on a piece of icky yellow paper of a crown design. I sketched in some hair. I liked it. So I picked up my pad and drew out a character. Then I drew some friends and a sister for him. And then, suddenly, it wasn't just a sketch, it had a story too. This was the beginning of Steelblood.

And that brings us to the present day.

Writer's bkg
I remember writing several stories when I was little, but the most important of these was one I wrote while I was in the fourth grade. It was a story about a dog, called "Amber, Lost and Found." Somewhere in my stuff I think I still have it. I guess one might consider this around the time when I became serious about writing. Like the art, I started out with fanfic, and worked my way up from there. After I got a bit of an idea of what i was doing with fanfic, I progressed to my own stories, although admittedly most of them had a strong flavor (to say the least) from the RPG stories they were inspired by. I wrote loads of these stories. However, many of them were filled with needless violence and magic, and I have since abandoned that. However, I can't deny that most of my skill (such as it is) came from these stories and I think it would be pretty hard for me to shake the fantasy element out of my work now. I could never write stories such as Mave and Ann write. I've tried.

Current Projects
Steelblood
Revelations story (mentioned above. You shall not die, Ransom! Someday you will be a manga... )

Strengths
Strengths...? O.o Since I spend too much time doubting just what it is I -can- do, this is gonna be a short list...

Expressions (I think a lot of this came from my previous experience with realism)
Weapons design (yeah...it doesn't show much in SB, but I've designed what I felt were some pretty cool weapons)
Mecha (although I don't post much of it here)
Unusual clothing designs? (you can stop laughing now...)
Uh...maybe -some- types of action poses...? This list is starting to sound shonen in general...XD

Weaknesses
PERSPECTIVE! LOL
Screentones (bah)
Hands, sometimes (depends on how much perspective is going on)
Panel organization
the need to rewrite dialogue CONSTANTLY! (I often rewrite it just as I'm applying it to the image before an update. In fact, most of the dialogue you read in my manga is not the same as it was in the script)
And lots of other stuff, I'm sure, that I can't think of right now...O.o

Influence
Primarily, the artist who designed the Legend of Zelda: OoT characters (since I learned to draw anime with those characters)
Nobuhiro Watsuki (gotta love Kenshin)
Outlaw Star (dunno who did that)
Tenshi ni Narumon (I've never seen the show; don't have the slightest clue what it was about. But I did learn a lot from the art style when I picked up some cel scans off the internet)
Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, specifically; a minor influence)

[Chapel]

the need to rewrite dialogue CONSTANTLY! (I often rewrite it just as I'm applying it to the image before an update. In fact, most of the dialogue you read in my manga is not the same as it was in the script)
And lots of other stuff, I'm sure, that I can't think of right now...O.o

No doubt I here you there, I have random people i know who like to write, do my script and on occasion I myself do as well. Oddly enough I get the script be it mine or someone else's and from there all breaks lose. First I have to reajust what was said and either beaf it up or skim it down to fit in the panel. Then I might think of something funny to add to it, that gets added. thats just from script to paper drawn version. Then I scan them in and take out the written dialog to substitute a computer text dialog. In doing this I think of something more ussually. This is as a result to my writing taking up more space than the text. So then I may add more funny tidbits, or plot development. Then on top of all that I have my Editor/ Girl Friend (major in English) Look over it to make sure I have no grammar errors. As I'm correcting those I once again may think of something to add. So I definitly here you on text change.

I'm happy that you all are posting it makes my heart leap, God Bless you all.

Aahhh...I hadn't really posted here yet because I thought the thread was intended to match artists to writers...^^;; I guess I'll just say I already have more work than I actually finish...>.>

inkhana is right in the regards that this isn't a match up service, be it I might like to see some of that happen. THose of us who are swamped with ideas and drawing projects may not have the time to work on more. However please come and ask for counseling, advise, or maybe you will find someone to match your skillz with. Thank you for posting.

Lastly this goes out to Psycho Ann being that you said you had a cratique that couldn't be beat heres the newer samples I'd like to let you check out. The one with the four girls is kinda a parody of the Power puff girls. I call them the popular puff girls. THey are lead by Stacy the one in the purple jumper. She's the head cheerleader at Crimson Community College. Next up was i believe Carol having jumped into Mark's arms, with Jen and TS in the background. At this point in the plot Jen and Mark are going out. Lastly Carol in a scarf, what can I say I like scarfs. The first girls were drawn, clothes and positions out of Victoria secret (note to people this catalog is a great place to keep up to date on female clothing, as if you didn't know.) (I'm searching for a good male clothing catalog but none to be found that I know of could someone point me to a free mens wear catalog.) Anyway the Carol, Mark, Jen, and TS pic was out of my head I was tring to work on weird angles and perception. Lastly Carol in a scark was out of a national Geographic of a girl in London. i believe. I really liked the scark so I drew one of my characters into it. I don't know if that's cheating using figure models, but I do do it sometimes. Well here they are case your stones Ann.

-chapel

[Nalani]

yay! I updated my post thing and uploaded 3 pics. Just saying, incase anyone cared.
So ... we're supposed to comment on each other's stuff?!
ack ... um.
oh okay.
I thought Mave's stuff was simple and stuff but its cool. I love her style. Its realistic anime instead of the exagerated faces and stuff.
I try to go for that kind of style too.

I thought PsychoAnn's last pic is awesome. I love the coloring. I can never do that in OC. I espiecially like the smokeyness stuff. okay and everything. XD

Chapel!
Your pics are just so cute! The style reminds me of Yugioh sometimes. kinda .... er... a little bit.
Anyway, the first pic with the people in color looks GREAT! The really like the poses and you drew the bodies like perfect. The folds in the clothes are good too but some of them look kinda weird ... maybe its just me.
Erm ... I dunno what to say.
Yeah ... time for the proffesionals' comments. XD

[wiggins]

1st pic loaded... i'm still experimenting around...no set art style yet...still learning...attack me brutally with constructive criticism.

[mechana2015]

Name
Mechana2015

Material
- Pens: Gel Ink; Pilot rolling ball, Stanford uniball, Pilot Varsity(disposable fountain pen). Sakura Pigma Micron 05 (just started with them for outlines), AP marker...for the black washes.
- Pencils: Mechanical 0.7
- Digital: Photoshop 7.0
- Paper: Pro art pad and now (chiefly) Strathmore acid free light or medium weight papers. Printer paper for quick sketches.

Background
- Drew every since I was 4 or 3 or so. Mom taught me to draw a little and I drew constantly, machines first, then cars then guns then swords then horses...etc. Come junior year of high school, I get into anime, and reaad a friends copy of Battle Angel Alita. Love at first sight. Drew anime style ever since.


Current Projects
Mechana 2015: Season of Past (story arc one) Current Status: Drawing
Mechana 2015 (story arc 2) Current status: Writing
Unnamed Christian Sci Fi Manga- Status: germinating
Strengths



Weaknesses
Action/Movement
Expressions

Influence
Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Battle Angel Alita;)

[HikariChan]

those are really neat chapel

[Psycho Ann]

Those are neat Chapel, I won't be finding much to pick on ^^ Besides, it's hard to critique stylized art since it's so varying, but here's a shot anyway:

FIRST DRAWING

Praise: Really nice, I love the expressions and poses. The gestures are well done especially Adult!Buttercut where the twist in the hips great. The colors are soft and go together well, good sense of unity. And I love neat line art as well ^^ The concept is the best I seen so well on the play of the PPGirls ^^

Critique:
- Composition: Nicely done though I would remind you to be careful of cropping. I do this frequently myself and it's a pain to actually get good cropping unless you know the 'rules'. Basically, avoid cropping at the major joints like the knees, ankles, elbows, right under the chin, pelvis, etc since it would create this sudden break that would make the composition seem awkward. Most noticeble is Stacy's cropping where it's chopped off just at her ankles. Adult!Blossom's cropping is the best where it's somewhat in the middle of her lower leg.

- Color : I personally would like to see more color variation from reflected light. Like the colors of the jumpers of the person next to them would show even if just a bit.
Also, it's almost taboo to mix 'soft digital' with 'rough manual'. It seems you blured the areas around the girl's highlights and eyes and that just jumped out at me. It really disruptes the unity since everything else is color-pencil textured. Editing manually done illustrations digitally really should be avoided unless the editing is done in a way that really matches the original or if it's editing the picture on whole like the contrast, hue, etc.
The thing with color pencils is that they get muddy easily as with Adult!Bubbles's hair. With color penciles as well as watercolor, I always go light to dark and keep the shadow and highlight areas as clean as I could to keep the colors from going muddy and gray.

- Contrast/Lightning: Light source is a bit hard to tell where it's from. Upper right I'd say but it seems there's also different sources for each girl O_o You could punch in the contrast of the shadows more and highlights. Also there's a lack of really dark darks and core shadows that would do wonders in getting the 3D effect. Some of the shadows are in the wrong direction and do try to get the overall shadow (the biggest shadow shapes that would show the light source more than the little detailed ones) which one of them would be the shadow casted by the head and hair onto the shoulders and chest.
Also be aware of 'perpetual perfect studio light' for the hair as I call it. Nearly everyone does this--I did too and still do from time to time when I'm too lazy to figure out the light source--which is having the hair shine perfectly no matter where the source of light is coming from. It flattens out the hair image but is hardly noticable unless, well, you notice this. It's a form of idealizing the picture and depends on personal style so don't think too much about this unless doing realistic portraits.

- Proportions: Overall nice but there are instances where: the torso is slightly too elongated (everyone except Bubbles), the thighs too short (Blossom and Stacy), hips too narrow (everyone except Bubbles--females have hips slightly wider than their shoulders and for the males it's the opposite), forearm too short (Bubbles's right raised arm), breasts placed too high (Buttercup, even with her arm raised, the breasts won't rest that high and close to the collar bone. The shape of the breasts will be pulled, but the general position of it won't change much), pelvis too short (Stacy) and a few foreshortening things that really don't matter since with practice it'll be better (I still suck at foreshortening).

- Others: Folds are HARD and you handled them quite well here. Though in some places the shadow of the folds make the forms underneath deformed (Blossom and Stacy's thighs most noticeable and Buttercup's raised arms) but those are dealt with practice ^^ Just more practice and try not to over generalize the folds. In fact, the best folds are really really simply done. It's better to do a couple of correct folding lines then a dozen of wrong ones ^^


I'll post this first unless I accidently press back or something and lose everything...

[Psycho Ann]

SECOND PICTURE

Positive : Cute!! The expressions are really nice and nice neat lines and shading ^^

Critique:

Nothing much I can add that I didn't already say in the previous critique. Careful on proportions eventhough it seems they are slightly chibi-fied. Especially in making the legs too short compared to the body (notice that even super-deformed chibis are actually in correct proportions to themselves).
Careful not to make the cast shadows on the ground too dark, it seems like a puddle of oil or a hole rather than a shadow (try using light strokes next time, especially if the shadow is casted from something pretty far off the ground like Carol). Also it's better to make a shadow with less curves just so it doesn't take the attention away from the figures and doesn't give more obvious clues that it isn't casting the form correctly.

Perspective is a little bit off since all the figures seem to be on the same flat horizon line when the diagonal steps on the floor indicates that we're looking in at the right from above (which means it's most likely two-point perspective rather than one point that I read from the figures). Get rid of that diagonal and the picture would come off better in perspective ^^ However, the diagonal line is a nice way for the eyes to read the pic in pointing to the focal point--nice touch in composition.
Be a bit braver in throwing out the major shadows like those cast by Carol's arms on Mark. And just checking... there's only 4 fingers, right? ^^ Since it's rare that manga style uses the four-finger that western cartoons do.

THIRD PICTURE

Positive: Nice! Good cropping and yeah, the scarf is great ^^ Very cute!

Critique:
Can't quite figure out where the light is coming from. Upper arm says behind, face and forearm says front, and chest says upper back O_o The pants are staying silent. Sometimes, it's better for a drawing to have NO shading, especially stylized ones like yours ^^ For instance PPG and Samurai Jack and even The Justice League have these very stylized lines with minimal shading--it works because stylized lines are intended to flatten out the form. Mixing stylized lines and shading can be done and sometimes done well (can't think of any on the top of my head now) but mostly it's best to either just use simple shading (big chunks of shadow and not all the little ones) or non at all (think Samurai Jack).
Is she raising her shoulders? If yes then not much problem there other than the upper arm is slightly too short--only a bit though. A bit flat on the buttocks (I mess up drawing that part too) and remember that the but sits more behind (hehe, sorry for the corny pun--couldn't resist) on the body and that most of what we see from the side would be the thighs that would curve forward more to give that S shape of the female torso. Another way to make the female body seem more nice is remember BALANCE! The breasts in the front would be balanced out by the hips/buttocks in the back since the those two parts jut away from the main axis of balance.
I would say something about the hands but since it fits with the style I would just credit it to artistic license ^^

Whew! I hope something I said helps!

[Chapel]

Hey wiggens let ann do a cratique of your stuff, she's really detailed , and the insight I gained from her is a wealth of knowledge I will always cherish. To Ann

Wow, you have opened my eyes to alot of small details that I need to look at. You know I had a real delima once. something was wrong with all my picture and I couldn't figure out what it was. Untill one day my co cartoonist Kent told me after I drew him a picture of one of his fav character. That character was the grownup version of bubbles in early stages aka popular puff girls. So He looked at the picture and he said I don't want to rag on your style but the arms are really short. ussually arms go down mid thigh. I was like ooooohhhhh

Finally I found it out. It was only because I had a friend who was good enough to tell me straight up what the fault was. I wish all my friends did that. So Ann you are now considered a true friend I printed that sheet of and will be taking your assesment into careful consideration. Thank you so much for helping me be a better artist. I would like to know what you think of my comic at http://www.theflamingcat.com as well just he layout and styles and see what you think, you can pm me that, however I think it would help people out to see what you say here. The information you gave me helped out so much and I only assume that others will have gotten some help form it as well. To the rest of you who have posted, God bless you and I hope the trend continues.

-Chapel