Crayonnaut

The lamest aspiring artist you'll ever meet, probably. Posting for improvement (and fun) ✏️

[crayonnaut]

Agni Kai

It might've taken me waaayyy longer than I'd planned to get this post out, but I had so much fun making this one! I'm happy with the results of pushing myself to do more, and I learned some exciting new tricks in my software while making this that'll improve and streamline my art in the future!

Linework done with Pencil on Paper, coloring, lettering and other effects completed with Wacom Intuos in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. 🔥

[ofteethandclaws]

Speed paint (traditional)

Sokka

[ghiblifilm]

Spirited Away (2001) dir. Hayao Miyazaki

[deeryaku]

persona 6 still not confirmed at the time of posting this.

[ca-3]

i saw an image that was very Yusuke Kitagawa

[crayonnaut]

Trainer Red

Decided to clean up and color and old pencil sketch I did some time ago for Pencil Day today!

I had a lot of fun redesigning Red with elements from his Adventures / manga iteration as well as his mainline game appearances. I loved Red's appearance in Sun and Moon where he looked a bit older, so I wanted to depict Red as if he aged to about 30. Fingers crossed he shows up somehow in Winds and Waves!

Linework done with Pencil on Paper. Coloring completed with Wacom Intuos Pro in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro.

[crayonnaut]

The Real & The Ideal

Wanted to commemorate Persona's 30th anniversary coming this year!

Linework done with Pencil on Paper, coloring and other effects completed with Wacom Intuos Pro in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. 🦋

[crayonnaut]

Me Hoy Minoy

Meme made in GIMP.

[minloafie]

Drew Light Yagami for a friend!

[canteatea]

Please don’t blame yourself

[avenoirn]

memento mori

[crayonnaut]

Uzuhiko

Linework done with pencil, coloring completed digitally. 🌀

[sullenhighstar]

ain't no way boruto didn't come from Sasuke

[crayonnaut]

PFP Self Portrait

New year, new profile pic.

I was gonna try using only the two background colors together for a two-toned portrait, but ya boi is still working on color theory, so that'll be a project for advanced me.

Linework done with Pencil on Paper, coloring and other effects completed digitally.

[seilidare]

JJK meme

[crayonnaut]

Final Fantasy Title Screen

Sharing an edit I made to to FF title screen for my desktop background. Added logo in top left corner and adjusted the foreground color to pure black.

[crayonnaut]

Artist Analysis #1: Tite Kubo

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Hello readers! I'm excited to begin a series of analyses focusing on some of my favorite and most iconic artistic inspirations. For quite some time I've wanted to speak about the techniques and styles of the various art legends that have shaped me as an aspiring artist, their ideas, the worlds they've created and the impact they've made. I'll also be putting the spotlight on the individuals themselves and exploring their life and other fun facts! Much like every artist's constant growth and improvement, I'll leave the possibility open to doing further analyses of the same artist if I feel there are new things for me to speak about.

While I'm not going in any particular order of who is my most favorite artist, the first artist I'll be starting with is certainly one of my most consistent inspirations from adolescence to adulthood, in both artistic technique, story writing and world building. It is the legendary manga-ka and illustrator, Tite Kubo! The creator of manga such as Zombie Powder, Burn the Witch, and likely what we all know him for: Bleach! As someone raised on anime in the mid-2000's, Kubo became known to me through Bleach, perhaps my favorite action anime to this day, especially with the Thousand Year Blood War anime bringing the series to the best animated version ever.

So let's start with the man himself!

Biography & Notable Works

Real name, Noriaki Kubo, was born in the Hiroshima prefecture in Japan. He was born on June 26, 1977 - making him a cancer sign! What little I could find out about his parents, only his father is mentioned to have been a town council member in Fuchu - Aki District, and Kubo graduated from the Hiroshima Prefecture Aki Fuchu High School. Kubo has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, and he has been married since 2012. Some sources say Kubo does have children, however I can't find any definitive answer confirming that.

The name Tite (pronounced "Thai-Tay") is Kubo's pen name he has been using since the very first works he would create with hopes of being published. Kubo apparently knew from elementary school age that he wanted to become a manga artist. He had expressed interest in architecture and design, but mainly wanted to focus on his artistic endeavors. Kubo has mentioned other influential work from his youth, such as Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki, of which he noted is the manga that first drew him to manga as a whole and he would often spend his school days drawing the characters. Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada and Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama were other highly influential works to Kubo in his youth. I'll definitely be going into more detail about how these seminal works molded Kubo's decisions as an artist in the style analysis section.

Kubo has several notable works that would precede his creation of Bleach, some of which I wasn't even aware of until the making of this analysis, and the earliest of his career; a manga one-shot published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Special during the summer of 1996: Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine. This makes Kubo just 19 years old as he was first making his name known through his artistic aspirations! He would also submit two more one-shot manga; Rune Master Urara in 1996, and Bad Shield United in 1997.

Around the same time in Kubo's life, he was refining the concept of his other notable starting work as a manga-ka: Zombiepowder. Kubo apparently submitted his first drafts of Zombiepowder to Weekly Shonen Jump at 18, and after several rejections and several years of refinement later, Zombiepowder was accepted into WSJ in 1999. The story of Zombiepowder was left incomplete as the manga ran for 27 chapters and 4 volumes before being cancelled. Kubo has stated his unfamiliarity with the workload of a weekly manga publication when he was just starting out, combined with his tendency to listen to his editor more than following his own ideas led him to reflect on the time of his life when he was creating Zombiepowder as stressful. Zombiepowder may have been left incomplete, however Kubo's story was nowhere near over, heck - not even approaching the climax! For his next creation brings us to Bleach!

Bleach began its weekly Shonen Jump debut in August 2001, and rose to success and acclaim that would rival the magazines two other most popular publications; by Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda respectively. And during the late 2000s, at the height of Bleach's popularity, the waves it would make outside of Japan, bringing Anime as a whole to a wider audience cemented Kubo's work as one of the "Big Three" alongside Bleach's contemporaries in Naruto and One Piece.

Kubo didn't believe that the series would continue publication past five years. In fact the initial pitch for Bleach was rejected by Shonen Jump, but Kubo's very own inspiration in the manga-ka space, the legendary Akira Toriyama wrote Kubo a letter of encouragement after hearing about the struggles he was having. Kubo's spirit rebounded and as we know, the rest is history... Bleach would go on being serialized for fifteen years from 2001 to 2016, with over 700 chapters and over 70 volumes! After the manga released in 2001, the anime would follow in 2004, being the medium most fans were introduced to Bleach's world. Bleach's success has since expanded into multiple video games, numerous film-length releases, novels co-authored by Kubo himself, and other supplemental material and expanded media.

The final notable work of Kubo would follow in the year 2018 as a one-shot set in the same universe as Bleach; Burn The Witch, and has since been picked up for a seasonal release schedule with an animated project debuting in October of 2020.

Art Style Analysis

Now onto the analysis of Kubo's art style, which most most my familiarity is with Bleach, so a majority of the examples I'll provide will be coming from that body of work.

First thing to be noted is a majority of Kubo's work is done with traditional inking, but he has many digital sketches and splash art pieces that are more recent in his career. Like most manga-ka of his epoch, Kubo would use a G-Pen, which are types of various fountain and pump pens used by traditional manga artists.

Kubo stated his art style wasn't nailed down until Bleach's anime began airing, which would have been around the climax / conclusion to the Soul Society Arc. Kubo went on to refine his style, and I believe he truly hit a stride when the Lost Agent Arc came around - giving us some truly gorgeous character art, environmental shots, and fights set to a slow burning, suspenseful arc. The Thousand Year Blood War arc also had some stunning art and moments, but this final arc was intersecting a rather turbulent time for Kubo - which we'll touch on later - so there were some inconsistencies that give me reason to consider the Lost Agent Arc when Kubo was firing on all cylinders.

When I think of Kubo being inspired by Masami Kurumada and Shigeru Mizuki, it's easy to see how their manga became seminal works to Kubo just by looking at Bleach. Kubo stated the characters having interesting armor and weapons in Saint Seiya intrigued and engaged him in the art and story. Bleach of course gives just about every character a different personal weapon. Although the Shinigami carry katanas, their swords usually transform into a specialized weapons, and the other factions introduced throughout Bleach all have very different and interesting power-sets and abilities. Not only that, but the Shinigami have weapons housing spirits that are birthed from and deeply linked to that person's soul, presenting Kubo interesting ways to explore that person's growth and development as we see with Ichigo throughout the entire series narrative. It's personally raised the Shinigami to my favorite spot for fictional powers and abilities, I think most people who've watched Bleach has imagined themselves or an OC with a Zanpakutou of our own creation - it just invites the imagination. Beyond that, a lot of character's transformations see them visually change clothes - such as Renji donning new shoulder armor, Ichigo's iconic bankai transformation, Rukia's bankai...and so many more examples. And with GeGeGe no Kitaro- it may be a rather narrow interpretation, but I believe the yo-kai creatures went on to inspire the Hollows. Really, all of the supernatural underpinnings of that story's tone and atmosphere could be applied to Bleach as a whole, but I find the Hollows carry heavy inspiration from GeGeGe no Kitaro. Lastly, Kubo has always been heavily inspired by Dragon Ball, citing Akira Toriyama's creation as the work that taught him the need to have cool, threatening villains. And what else needs to be said? With Aizen and Yhwach, Kubo crafted two of the most iconic villains to ever terrorize a Shonen protagonist; Aizen has definitely transcended his series to become an iconic antagonist, period.

One of the qualities that always stood out to me about Kubo's art, is his incredible control and placement of lines! His linework itself is so bold yet sleek, and has this quality of looking so free and natural, yet so calculated and masterfully placed. His lines carry this texture to it that I've always felt lends to that feeling of being uninhibited and natural, like the passion in the movements of his wrist is channeling his vision, and it truly comes through on the page. The types of lines artists learn to utilize when 'searching' for form fall under C-Lines (basic curved line), S-Line (a wavy line in the general shape of an S), I-Line (straight line), and combination lines - which are as they sound. These are meant to be drawn in a swift and freeing way when sketching, as an exercise to help an artist convey the form they are studying in a natural and appealing looking way. The human eye is geared to be more comfortable with these lines because of how much more simple they are to understand at a glance. While it isn't a sketch but a completed manga panel, take for example the art below: The underside, or lower part of Ichigo's cape is drawn on the left side with a nearly uninterrupted S-Line, and the right having a little variation and more angles, but then sweeps out to become another S-Line. Compared to the outer edges of the cape which are drawn at the top; the folds being lifted by Ichigo's energy form angles in the silhouette of the form, creating this effect that draws our eyes upward and outward in such a kinetic way.

Kubo is the manga artist who more than anyone I've read, his work reminds of something like Sumi-e, which are those very ancient looking Japanese style ink-washed pieces of art. They are usually done entirely in monochrome, with deep and heavy black sometimes faint and wispy, and othertimes accompanied by liberal use of another color. The main faction of characters in Bleach, being the Shinigami, are garbed in Shihakusho which are entirely black, and in the manga panels of Bleach, Kubo really lets his masterful use of contrast shine. Not only do most his characters pop from the page being donned in that deep black, but the contrast has such versatility in its use too. How in the first manga panel above, Ichigo's reiatsu blankets the scene in this harsh looking pressure, making the viewer feel that gravity, that force. How in the next panel, Kubo drapes Ginjo's face in these haunting shadows that truly gives 'horror movie villain,' and so appropriate for that moment's twist too. And similarly in the next panel of Aizen; how Kubo uses the heavy feeling of a page drawn mostly in black to punctuate perhaps the most iconic comeback of a Shonen antagonist ever. Then finally; how Kubo casts a pall of black over an environment to evince an ominous, bleak mood as seen with Ulquiorra revealing his second form.

And more than Sumi-e, Kubo's art also reminds me of Shodo, which is the traditional Japanese art of calligraphy; those pieces made with a character placed onto the middle of the parchment with brush and ink. When I look at details like the brush texture Kubo uses for the highlights on Ichigo's shihakusho above - or in the panel from before - the shadows he places around Ginjo's neck, it lends to that traditional Japanese artist quality I see in Kubo's style I admire so much.

Another trait of Kubo's art I've long appreciated is his leaning into a more figurative, semi-realistic art style. The way Kubo portions the details of the face I think is typical of an 'anime' style only when it comes to the eyes. The eyes are larger, being less than one eyes width apart for just about every character. The nose will be drawn as a line on one side of the bridge, usually the side farthest from perspective. For women and children, Kubo will omit the line for the nose bridge and instead draw the tip. If the subject is being drawn from a low angle, their nose tip is drawn with the septum and nostrils more visible. The mouth is usually defined with lower and upper lips, for men and women. And the placement of the mouth is usually below the point where the jaw tapers down into the chin, giving Kubo's faces a more long appearance, which leads perfectly into my observations regarding the bodies of his characters.

The torso and extremities on Kubo's characters are similarly on the longer side as well. Funnily enough, I recall first watching Bleach and thinking how bizarrely tall the characters were. Keep in mind at that time Bleach was the second or third anime ever I watched, after shows like Inuyasha and Naruto, so the difference was certainly noticeable. And with the longer bodies, when Kubo would draw musculature on the men, with long looking muscles it made every guy in high school look like some super shredded Amazonian with 0% body fat. Jokes aside, I do think it's a great stylistic choice that made Bleach stand out next to its contemporaries of the time, and details are balanced out to make the style really work. Kubo's method of drawing more visible muscles and anatomy is something I can appreciate now as I try to emulate that semi-realistic art-style. Characters will stand at head heights larger than usual too. Aizen stands at about 8 head heights, characters who are meant to be shorter or younger like Toshiro and Hiyori will be drawn at 6 head heights, and towering figures like Kenpachi stand at a stunning 9 depending of the frame he's in! The typical head height most artists use is about 5 for average humans, maybe 6 head heights for a fully grown man. Kubo's style of drawing longer torsos, limbs, etc...works very well to highlight his fantastic control of lines. Like how we explored before with C,S,I and combination lines - so often will you find the visually appealing sweeps of his lines being used to build his characters. Take the panel below and how he drew Shinji; his arms are drawn as these smooth, unbroken lines with slight variation to show anatomy and muscles, and as mentioned before; the viewers mind can appreciate these kind of lines in art because of how naturally our mind interprets them. It reminds me of how fashion designers will sketch the base for their designs with very long bodies and limbs, allowing them to use the same appealing principle of laying down uninterrupted lines. And then that brings me... to the fashion...

*Alexa, play "You Wear It Well" by Ru Paul...*

No but seriously, I can't help but geek out over it! Kubo was the first artist in my early life who I saw sketching his characters in various outfits for splash and cover art. I think what I love about it so much - other than the incomprehensible amount of drip on display - is how it depicts the characters together, just chilling and not being swept up in the battles and intensity of the main plot. I love those kind of moments where the artist can explore a different concept that places characters together we would never usually see together, and it gives the fun little impression that the characters are like actors; acting out the dramatic premise when Kubo picks up his pencil, but they all chill together and go shopping when the cameras aren't rolling and the costumes are off.

Now I think I would be remiss to not speak about Kubo's backgrounds, or rather his stylistic choices surrounding them. He is undoubtedly fantastic at drawing his environments and bringing them to life with environmental detail and the emotions of the characters. He had however become rather notorious for being a manga-ka that would often omit the backgrounds in his manga panels altogether. Kubo has mentioned that it is his stylistic choice to omit backgrounds, particularly in panels or scenes where he wants the viewers eyes to be focused solely on the characters and the drama of the emotions being conveyed. This hasn't stopped manga readers from being critical of Kubo's choice as lazy. And I believe a great deal of this began at toward the end of Bleach's manga run. For those unaware, around 2015-2016 Kubo would have to accelerate his plans for the end of the series. Sadly, he was suffering from health complications; a partially torn shoulder tendon that remained untreated when it really needed surgery, and just the general workload of the manga industry meant Kubo was working himself to the bone and becoming sick with the cold / flu quite a lot. He appealed to Shueisha to bring the series to a close for the sake of his health and was granted his request. But back to the matter of Kubo's backgrounds; I think his backgrounds themselves are intricate and amazing, but his use of them is more liberal, and that I can agree with others on. There certainly are manga-ka like Oda who have incredibly intricate environments, same for Kishimoto who is equally as detailed in his environments and has done some amazing double-page spreads in his career. At the same time I do resonate with Kubo's artistic choice. There may be some panels - like the one of Tsukishima's introduction below where the omission of a background can be odd, but the following one of Ichigo and Rukia's poignant farewell I think is a testament to the success of Kubo's stylistic choice.

The varied way that Kubo will draw his women characters is another detail I love. It might sound rather weird to even point out, but another creator highlighted that trait, and since then I've noticed the same thing compared to some of my other favorite artists; Kubo draws his women with a wide range of body types and facial builds. You of course have the standout figures of Orihime, Yoruichi, and Rangiku everyone thinks of...but then you have dainty women such as Rukia, tomboyish women like Liltotto, and even women on the plumper, larger side like Hikifune. Not every woman Kubo draws will have elongated eyelashes, or rounder more defined lips, or even traditionally feminine body types - all choices I believe helps him make a cast of well represented body types.

Now moving on to Kubo's incorporation of digital art into his career. Kubo's personal Twitter account and his blog named Klub Outside - where he posts Bleach related news, art, and other interesting conversations about the Bleach universe - is where most of these artworks originate.

I adore the way he draws his characters in a loose, sketchy style with a more abstract use of color, helped by they way Kubo will shade the face and body but usually not the clothes, and if he does shade the clothing it's simple and readable. In the digital medium, where the tooth and grip from paper is usually less prevalent, you can see much more the smooth sweeping lines that exemplifies Kubo's style.

Fun Facts

Kubo has stated that he wants Bleach to be the kind of experience that only the medium of manga can bring, and has alluded to something like a Live-Action rendition being a bad fit for the series.

Kubo has a long-lived rivalry with One Piece's creator, Eiichiro Oda. It began all the way back during the time of Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine, Kubo's first released work back in 1996. Oda was debuting around this time too with a one-shot manga of his own; Romance Dawn. Oda's one-shot beat Kubo's in a reader popularity poll, and since then the rivalry has been ongoing (perhaps more in Kubo's mind). Both Kubo and Oda both shared an editor at one time much later when their careers were concretely launched. With Kubo being given feedback to make Bleach more like One Piece, it fueled his drive to beat Oda even further, and evoked a proclamation from Kubo that he hated Oda. Oda responded he didn't find Kubo's comment rude in any way, and even complimented his peer stating he recalled the drawing and writing abilities Kubo showcased back in his debut one-shot as being something he admired, and that his art itself demonstrated Kubo's confidence as an artist. Kubo's comment was blunt, but I do think it was more playful considering he said that after admitting One Piece's surpassing of Bleach in popularity. It definitely is a very heated Shonen rival thing to say; curt but from a good place. Oda has always been humble and gracious, complimenting Kubo during the conclusion of Bleach, the 20th Anniversary as well, and even mentioned hoping to get a drink sometime with Kubo.

Kubo's favorite characters in Bleach are Mayuri, followed by Aizen.

Bleach has been cited as inspirations for popular anime released more recently. Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge is one such example, with Gotouge alluding to Kubo's work as a source of inspiration. The Demon Slayer Corps, their use of katanas, their attire being mostly black and the hierarchical structure are all similarities fans of both manga have noted. Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami, while not having any particular elements cited as being inspired by Bleach, Akutami has mentioned being a fan of Kubo's work, and fans have drawn comparisons between bankai and domain expansion.

Tite Kubo said he wanted Bleach to be an experience that could only be portrayed via the medium of manga, and the way he not only brings a world to life, but the characters to life on the pages of his work is what I believe to be a testament to that ethos. Kubo's art has always stood out as being so special. It can be so intense while exuding majesty in every line. His art carries a storied and timeless essence like the Sumi-e and Shodo artists that, like Kubo, create a kind of art that can only be shared by baring one's soul on the page!