-book of creations-

The 2nd Blog of AokiNatsuko Sketches, Designs, and Concept Art

[lee-sook-hye]

This literally describes my relationship with my best friend lol So I’ve known my best friend for LITERAL YEARS. Like, we go all the way back to elementary school level of childhood friends. We both went to the same junior high, high school and (somehow) university. He’s been through some of the toughest moments of my life: from the break up with my ex to the death of my grandmother. The current job I got was because of him (although it took a long time for him to convince me it was a good idea). Before 2019 arrives, he’ll be moving in with his girlfriend halfway across the country. It’s hard to my best friend leave, but I’m also really happy for him moving out of town. Many wishes of happy years together with his girlfriend and prosperity in their respective careers! (Hopefully I’ll catch up soon!) Anyways, when I think of my friend, I see Pokémon! His favorite Pokémon is Mudkip and mine is Slowpoke. I wanted to give him a gift that when he looks at it, he’ll be reminded of all the stupid times we had growing up!

[itsaokinatsuko]

Update: MM Illustration Series

Hello everyone!

I know there are some of you expecting sketches and the new illustration for the Mystic Messenger birthday illustration series, namely V/Kim Jihyun, in a few days. With all the priorities and upcoming events happening in my life, I have to postpone V’s illustration to a later date. Hopefully, my schedule will clear up enough in the weeks to come!

So thank you for understanding and all the support for this series!

xoxo, AokiNatsuko / Sookhye

[lee-sook-hye]

Update from my main blog

[lee-sook-hye]

“I feel in love with you. I don’t know how, I don’t know why. I just did.”

Daffodils have many meanings, according to the language of flowers: “Respect” and “esteem” to name a few. It can also mean, as in this case, “unrequited love”. Surrounding the daffodils are yew branches which means “sorrow”.  So in essence, this who piece itself means “sadness due to unrequited love”.

When I made this specific Tumblr, I wanted to present a more real portrayal of me. As I pursue my real life hopes and dreams, art has been my only outlet to escape reality. But when I feel sad, art is the only way I know to express that...and there is a beauty to that. So although I stated my intentions by explaining the language of flowers, I hope that the art spoke for itself in the end.

[itsaokinatsuko]

Perks of being an artist: making your own birthday cards for my Mum :D

I’ve dived headfirst into the watercolor scene and I’m liking where it’s taking me. My typical style is usually detail-oriented and complex, but I’ve decided to go minimalist the past few days for my adventures in bullet journaling. (Yep, I’ve finally jumped on that trend train - maybe I’ll take photos one day…)

This piece was particularly inspired by my theme for June, and my Mum liked it’s clean and simple design. Since it’s my Mum’s birthday today, I painted this for her! Happy birthday, Mum! <3

[lee-sook-hye]

Reblogging from my main blog :)

I get the feeling this is one of many watercolor paintings to come (though I'll focus it primarily on this side).

[lee-sook-hye]

Super sketchy and disorganized compared to the last two, but I can’t be damned. Of all the sketches I did, this was my proudest one yet!

Like Zen, the inking process is done and I started with the coloring. BUT (yes, there’s a but) I’m also planning to do a few more things for our favorite mischievious hacker’s birthday..... Perhaps more sketch updates along the way!

Final Version

[lee-sook-hye]

“Draw This Again” Challenge: 2009 vs. 2018

All I have to say is: WOW, look at the difference!

Ever since I decided to rebrand my artist image (starting with this Tumblr), I’ve been slowly reorganizing and retrospectively looking at old stuff on my DeviantArt. Along the way, I encountered a drawing I did in high school for an original character I created in junior high school. I really like her design and jumped (super late) on the “Draw This Again” hype train! (ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ) Actually...I actually drew her once in 2011, but I lost the sketchbook so no photo evidence for now! (진짜요?!)

But I’m doing this to make a point that improvement doesn’t come overnight. What’s great about keeping old pieces is comparing them later in the future. It might not be obvious now, but you’ll be quaintly surprised how much change can happen without you realizing! I mean, it took me 9 years to reach this point, right?

Regardless of creating new work or looking at old work, what matters is that you’re happy with your own art! Hope you found this as inspiring as I did! :D

[lee-sook-hye]

“You are the cause of my euphoria”

I’ve been itching to draw a spring-inspired illustration for a long time. But it’s hard to find inspiration where I live because the season can’t decide if it wants to be winter or spring :/

Thankfully, it’s been very sunny (albeit cold) these last couple of days…AND BTS dropped “Euphoria: Theme of Love Yourself Wonder” at the most perfect moment! (Please tell me I’m not the only one spamming the replay button! Jungkook’s vocals are almost too beautiful to be real ♥ )

The character is not one in particular, but this is what I interpreted Euphoria’s mood to be (even though the story itself is emotional). Honestly, I had zero expectations for this drawing other than a flower crown, a shy almost playful side glance, and a buttload of flowers. (Did I mention flowers?) I just wanted to have fun! The anatomy is a little off and character turned out super androgynous, so I’m curious what you see them as...

But hey, I like how they turned out in the end so I’m happy :)

[lee-sook-hye]

I can draw other things aside from Mystic Messenger, too!

The last time I drew anything Sailor Moon-related was, like, 2 years ago when it reached its 20th anniversary! At the time, I tried to mimic Takeuchi’s style as a nod to her creator. To be honest, I never thought of drawing her in my style, ever. That was until I had this strange urge to draw Princess Serenity holding the Millenium Crystal. [Besides, Princess Serenity is just pretty!]

But hey: it gave me a good excuse to practice some anatomy at 1AM! So I’ve got that going for me. [Yeah, I’m not sure what I was thinking either.]

Character © Takeuchi Naoko

[lee-sook-hye]

I think we can all guess who I’m sketching this time haha

I’ve already started the inking process a little for his illustration, but I don’t think it’s gonna change drastically like Yoosung’s sketch (just some anatomy fixes here and some cleaning there). This is the happiest I’ve been with a sketch since high school.

But I think I made him just a bit too beautiful than last year’s sketch...guess it’s because the character design works well with my style ^-^;

Final Version

[lee-sook-hye]

Erased all the pencil sketch below, cleaned up some areas, and voilà! It’s coming along nicely as we count down to the 12th…

Pencil Sketch Final Version

[lee-sook-hye]

New pencil sketch for the 12th… (I think we all know what that day is)

Inked and Cleaned Final Version