This evolved out of my control! It was just meant to be the 3 of them riding home from school in their uniforms, but then I got the idea of adding Seiryu flying along with them and then I needed a background to incorporate him into.
I think I've figured out Seiryu's design though? I really need to do a rewatch and take screenshots every time the Holy Spirits are on screen, I can never find references for them when I need them!
Also the reference I used for the background listed this as Tokyo, I got it from Unsplash like most of my references.
Hiromi gets an instant camera for her birthday and takes lots of photographs whenever they're all hanging out. This one was gifted to someone by her and its a bit tattered from being in their wallet, I never fully decided who though I'm leaning towards it being Kai. I've not really got a full grasp on Kai in my art yet, but my head-canons always have the base of 'he loves these idiots, but would never say it aloud'. Also Takao claims he's Kai's favourite, Kai says that its Rei, Rei calls him a liar because its actually Max.
Max and Rei initially try keep it a secret that they're seeing each other, partially because if it goes badly it won't be an issue with anyone but them, but also because they're unsure how their friends will take it. Takao finds out immediately. Like, within the first month. They never figure out how he figured them out, he just laughs and refuses to tell them. They were waiting for him outside the dojo because he's overslept and he caught them kissing. Whoops. On the plus side, he's absolutely delighted. (Takao likes his found family to be happy and together. If his two friends fall in love with each other, they're not likely to disappear to their hometowns, right?)
Smiles are hard to draw! But I think this turned out pretty well.
Renaissance -> French for Rebirth -> Born again -> Phoenix -> Suzaku
Kai is the second in my Sacred Spirits set! This went really well, but oh my god the feathers took so long. I'm so tired! The plan is definitely to do each of the main 4 so I'm over halfway there, Max's portrait from Day 1 just needs Genbu painting in.
"Well, its just that getting down is scarier than climbing up..."
"Staying here, then?"
The missing scene after the end of Ep 12! Rei teases but he's not going to leave his new BFFs to struggle, he'll coach them down. The White Tiger arc of Season 1 is still my favourite, followed by the Europe arc where they're traveling around making nuisances of themselves.
Now that I made it to the end of May I feel like I should actually introduce myself and respond to everyone's lovely comments!
My name is Danie! I'm not new to Tumblr (I've been here since 2015! Which is a crazy thought.) but I'm not that practiced in posting my art and being social, I tend to be a little shy and just lurk. They keep changing how to talk to people here so I'm trying to figure out how to do it.
Offline I'm actually a professional artist that usually works with traditional medium but last year I had to go on hiatus due to medical issues that zapped me of all my creative energy. After recovery I was encouraged to get back into making art by doing what made me start art in the first place, so I've been revisting the shows I loved as a child and drawing for them! This time digitally rather than in the edges of my homework.
Thank you to the MayBlade blog for running this, participating has been a lot of fun. This is the last one within the month of May but I'm going to keep working on the prompts because I'm enjoying myself! I managed 17 pieces of art which I feel pretty good about.
Something a little sillier for today! Takao and Hiromi realising they have the same crush, on their resident grumpy punk boy.
I was imagining this happening at the most inconvenient time possible, like walking home with the rest of the group, they're wondering where Kai has disappeared to and it just gets blurted out by accident. Not pictured: Kyouju facepalming off-screen while Max and Rei try and hide their laughter. Kai is elsewhere, with no idea how much trouble he's causing.
I used a reference for Kai's thirst trap, but I can't remember for the life of me where its from? I think it was an actor in a magazine, Seongji Yuk?
I was still thinking of the previous day so I went with underwater! I think I would add some fish to this scene if I worked on it again, but otherwise came out very pretty!
I was thinking of the scene in Atlantis the Lost Empire, where Milo and Kida go swimming, the whole time I was painting this so I guess that's the vibe I was going for.
I went with a local Celtic fairytale- Max is a selkie! I read a lot of Celtic mythology and fairytales; so the stories of selkies, witches and sidhe were always my favourites. I'm about to start the Mabinogion which is the compilation of Welsh legendary tales!
Little ficlet under the cut!
"He'd thought he would drown. He'd clearly bitten off more than he could chew, faced a storm that was too strong for him, out in the bay alone. Maybe the storms at sea were of a different kind than the ones the Great Tiger commanded, controlled by a different spirit that couldn't hear his call.
Rei was sure he would drown.
But then he was being pulled upwards, towards air, by something insistent; a strong grip on the back of his tunic. His saviour moved through the water with impossible ease, propelling them towards land while keeping them safe from the rocks and waves.
When Rei turned, still coughing and gasping for air, and partly blinded by the seawater, the creature he saw was a seal. Big dark eyes and long whiskers, it nudged him up onto a rock to relative safety. He scrambled upwards, hands slipping on the rocks and seaweed as he climbed, and the seal followed, shielding him from the worst of the spray. Odd behaviour for a seal, but he wasn't about to complain.
Then, suddenly, the seal's face shifted, tilting back to reveal a human face from underneath; with golden hair and freckles to match the dappling on his seal fur. The creature flipped his wet hair away from sky blue eyes and grinned with a mouth full of sharp teeth as Rei gaped at him wide eyed.
"You're safe now, don't worry. I've got you."
Some half formed ideas while drawing this-
Max is a half selkie, half sidhe. Taro is his selkie parent, Judy is a Queen of the Sidhe. He can take the form of either, but not permanently, so he bounces between their courts. He sees Rei using his magic in the forest one day and true to both his natures decides that this one is his.
Rei is a witch/magic user who left the coven that raised him to be independent. He has good ability in most types of magic so is depended upon for favours and assistance in the local village. He only recently settled here so hadn't run into the group yet.
Takao is a wind spirit (?)that brought the storm, almost drowning Rei unintentionally. Rei had warded off one of his storms previously so Takao was trying harder this time (tying into the first time Rei and Takao meet where Takao defeats him). He's friends with everyone in the area so he tends not to cause too much trouble, but sometimes his excitement gets away from him.
Kyouju is a type of oracle? Can see the future somewhat so is very knowledgeable and can figure out what will happen but it also makes him a fairly nervous person. I don't have any concrete ideas for Hiromi or Kai?
'Gonna steal your thunder,
Coming up from under,
I got your number, I'M THE UNDERDOG!
Gonna stand your ground,
Turn your head around,
I'm gonna shake you down coz I'M THE UNDERDOG!'
-UNDERDOG by MUDD (Beyblade Soundtrack)
I listened to the dub soundtrack so many times while making this, Swing Low is still my favourite song! Headcanons under the cut! Also zoom in for details!
Takao- Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals- After learning to play the guitar from his Grandfather on an old acoustic, Takao wins his first electric guitar in a competition sponsored by the local music shop. There he befriends the shop owner's son Max and beats a local music legend Kai, catching the attention of Producer Daitenji who is putting together a new band 'The Bladebreakers'. The best in the band at connecting with the crowd since he's a natural entertainer, very loud and sincere.
Rei- Bass Guitar, Lead/Back-up Vocals- The only one that had been in a band previously, he has lots of experience managing tempers between bandmates. He was in a folk band originally with his childhood friends, when they were picked up by a small record label. Due to his popularity with fans, management pressures him into being the lead of the band instead of Rai, as well as pushing for a 'relationship' with Mao as a PR stunt. Rei meets Producer Daitenji backstage at a gig and agrees to join The Bladebreakers to get out of resigning his restrictive contract. He doesn't expect how attached to his new bandmates he will get, or how angry his old bandmates will be. Has a great singing voice, but tends to step back from being the lead because talking to the crowd makes him flustered.
Max- Drums, Piano, Vocals?- Growing up taking piano lessons, Max is classically trained and very talented. He changes course abruptly in his teens when he starts listening to rock music and practicing with the drums to his music teacher mother's dismay. His father owns the local music shop, so he's very involved with the music scene and experiments with lots of different instruments. A steady influence in the band, he's a good negotiator between Takao and Kai in their daily arguments. He doesn't sing live because that's hard to do with drummers, but has sung on recordings and while songwriting. (and maybe once while playing piano for a certain bassist.)
Kai- Rhythmic guitar/Lead guitar- Refused to sign with his Grandfather's production company, after experiencing abuse from the management there, so they try to blacklist him. Daitenji convinces him to join the band after he loses a local competition to Takao. Trained to be a soloist, Kai takes a while to adjust to working with the rest of the group. He and Takao disagree on who is the lead guitarist basically every song until they learn to compromise. Has a great singing voice, but refuses to sing for the longest time until he's built up some trust.
This took me. SO. LONG. I had to take a break to do grown-up stuff for a few days anyway, but I think this took 4 days to finish? Most of that was Max's drumkit honestly. Also this took so many references!!
Are they researching Sacred Spirits? Kai pretends to be inconvenienced but they all know better, he wants to know more about them more than anyone. Its also his job to make sure that Rei and Hiromi eventually leave the library, none of the team trust them to do that themselves after last time.
I finally figured out the design for Hiromi's hair! She looks so fluffy here, she needs a big messy fringe. I really enjoyed making this one, I got way too into drawing all the books!
"Where did you even find that? Why would the Dragoon even have one of those?"
"I didn't find it! Its mine, I brought it from Earth. Old family heirloom."
"'Old' sounds about right. Do you know how to use it? Doesn't the console do all the calculations for you nowadays?"
"Excuse you, Mr Pilot, does the Dragoon fly itself? No? Then watch and learn what it takes to be the Navigator."
More Star Trek AU! I had this idea in mind since I did the first one on Day 4, so if you want to know the backstory it will be on that post!
I make no claims to that being an accurate instrument for space travel, I just picked the prettiest. I like the headcanon of Rei being 'classically trained' for a Navigator; the Starfleet Academy taught him how to steer a spaceship and input all the math, but he can also do it the old-fashioned way if needed.
Max finds this fascinating. If you don't have a crush on your Navigator are you even really a Pilot?
I'm having fun practicing clothing and developing a style for each of the characters?
Hiromi -Peach, orange, yellow, dusky pink; pretty details like flowers and stripes. Occasionally wears BBA gear but is more likely to sew the logo onto a piece of her own clothing.
Takao- Jeans, tshirts and sports wear, likes to wear the team tshirts/jackets after tournaments. (Has a tendency to steal Kai's since he never wears them so its always 50/50 if the name on his back is Kinomiya or Hiwatari) Wears beaded bracelets made by the team, each with one of their names.
Rei- Long tunics like his Season 1/2, but I tend to put him in deeper colours like red and green, or the blue from his undershirt in Season 1. Wears a ring on his little finger with his family's sigil that Rai and Mao had made for him.
Max- Oscillates between his green/orange from Season 1/3 and blue with details of stars or water. His casual wear is more American- baseball style shirts and slogan tshirts, his formal wear is more Japanese. Wears his family's necklace from Season 1 that he repaired.
Kai- Punk Rock! Purple, black or navy blue. Piercings, nail polish, chains, leather coats, ripped jeans or baggy cargoes. (Never wears the team shirts unless he has to. Each of the others has a 'HIWATARI' shirt in their wardrobe as a result.)
"One year that Paris hosts the World Championships, Olivier decides to host a Blader's Ball. Anyone not dressed appropriately will not be let in was his warning, but that's certainly not a problem for the Baihuzu.
Olivier never said anything about beybattles in the ballroom though. "
This one took me so long, but I'm really pleased with it! Definitely getting a lot of good pose and clothing practice. I could maybe have added more detail, but by the time I was adding Galeon to Rai's back my eyes were crossing. I based their outfits on their season 1 colours since they're my favourites.
The references for all the hanfu were from the blog @ziseviolet since they have such a great variety of photograph sets.
Max's turn to pick the movie! If he picks a horror to cause some mischief who would know? (Rei. Rei will know.)
Combined the days since I'm not much of a horror person! I would be poor Kyouju in this scenario, in fact you wouldn't get me to stay in the room. Headcanons and cropped versions under the cut!
Notes on this drawing; did I draw all the stripes on Hiromi's pjs unnecessarily? Yes. Are Takao's pjs Spiderman themed? Also Yes.
Also extra headcanons; Max's necklace is the pendant that contained Genbu, he had it repaired into a medallion, and the scars on Rei's forehead and neck are from his battle with Boris. All the boys' nails are painted because Hiromi insists that's what you do when you have a sleepover, except for Rei because painted nails + baking don't mix. He barters his freedom by having brownies ready when she arrives.
"I could keep fighting because Zeo gave me courage. You're the real winner here Zeo, thank you."
Not the most unpopular character, but definitely under-utilized! Poor Zeo! I really liked his character, I thought he was sweet and it was fun that Team BBA take him under their wing. I feel like any of the V-Force characters could count as an 'unpopular' character, but considering how much he interacts with the main team its weird that Zeo just vanishes completely. If I remember right, the final shot of him doesn't even show his face!
turnnoffyourmind
annaxmalina
areudirty
romaincrisis
snowghoul
stormborns