4 Diamonds

Here's the final set of eyes from the 'eyeball sketchbook', it's the Diamonds from Steven Universe, of course. The Diamond Authority is still my favourite part of that cartoon, so I'm happy to finally have a canon character design for all four.

I will admit to being slightly disappointed that White Diamond wasn't a point cut, since it would have been neat if their cut of gem got more modern and refined, but also smaller, as you went down, but oh well.

The previous sets from this sketchbooks were horror deformations, some sci-fi characters, and some fantasy characters.

Adventures in Spot Colour

I was once told at a portfolio review that I'm 'afraid of colour', which I think was fair (at least at the time). I wonder if that's why I like spot colour so much? I find it really satisfying to do a mostly black and white drawing and then pick out just a couple of details in colour.

These are my two favourite pro heroes from My Hero Academia, Eraser Head and Present Mic. I'm really enjoying the recent surge of anime about western-style superheroes.

Bookmarks!

I promise these are the last ones! One of my favourite things about the design of the Diamonds is how huge they are, so I included their Pearls for scale (a Pearl is the size of a normal human). With these I think I got the desire to draw lovingly rendered portraits of alien autocrats out of my system, so if you're not a fan it's okay, it's over now!

Miniature Diamonds!

Here are some more of the Diamonds I warned you about! I'm usually a bit lukewarm on Steven Universe, but I find the Diamonds really interesting because of the single-minded fear and/or devotion they inspire in the other gems. The newest episodes gave them a lot of screen time so I started all these portraits in a fit of enthusiasm. (Including two of Blue Diamond because her character design changes so drastically depending on whether her hood is up or down.)

Thinking of single-minded devotion, I love Yellow Diamond's Pearl. There is just nothing she would rather do than serve Yellow Diamond, she's so proud to be her Pearl. I love her smug expression.

Mixed Media!

I don't often do any mixed media, so these were a fun experiment, prompted by a realisation that doing a space background in coloured pencil would take more time than I was willing to invest in Steven Universe fanart. They're not very mixed, since they're only watercolour paint and watercolour pencil, but I'm pleased with them in any case.

I have several more pictures of Blue and Yellow Diamond half-finished, just so you're forewarned.

New Years Resolution

Here's something silly I drew around the 5th of January this year! I was rather put off the UK small press a couple of years ago and hadn't really drawn a comic since, so when I suddenly felt like drawing one I dropped everything and bashed it out in a few hours. It's about one-sided competitiveness.

Some of those few hours were spent working out how to draw Markiplier, so I inked the best practice faces as well. I hope you will all continue to respect me as a serious adult now that I've revealed that I watch Let's Plays.

Pokémon Series: #039 - 040

 It's the balloon pokémon, Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff! These little puffballs are probably most famous for singing, but that's hard to convey in a single still image so I decided to focus in their ability to inflate their bodies and float on the breeze.

I'd never noticed before, but all the pokémon that evolve using a Moon Stone are right next to each other in the pokédex. It's only Vulpix and Ninetales stopping them from being completely consecutive.

Jigglypuff has already been reserved by a dedicated fan of these little puffballs, but Wigglytuff is still for sale in my online shop!

Pokémon Series: #037 - 038

Here's another two favourites, Vulpix and Ninetales! They gave me a lot of trouble at more or less every stage, but I'm pleased with the finished paintings. I dithered for a long time about whether the flames should be blue or red, red would be more accurate to both the games and the cartoon, but they're clearly based on the Kitsune legend and 'foxfire' of that sort is blue. In the end I couldn't resist the more mystical look of the blue flames.

These ghostly little foxes are available to buy in my online shop!

Pokémon Series: #035 - 036

Here's some rare pokémon, Clefairy and Clefable! They're both the first nocturnal pokémon and the first fairy types I've reached in this challenge. Not that they were 'fairy' types back in gen 1, since it was introduced in... gen 3 I believe. They're normal types in the older games.

I discovered while looking up their traits for the pictures that Clefable can walk on water!

These cute little weirdos are available to buy in my online shop!

Pokémon Series: #032 - 034

Here's the other side of those poisonous bunnies, the male Nidoran line. I remember being torn as a child between the two. On one hand, the female line has my natural loyalty as a girl and they are blue, which I liked a good deal more than pink. On the other hand, the male Nidoran has much bigger, cuter ears and learns Horn Attack. But then again, Nidoking is much uglier than Nidoqueen. Nidorino is fine because he reminds me of a prehistoric hoofed predator. It's a dilemma.

The original miniatures are up for sale in my shop!

Pokémon Series: #029 - 031

 How about some poison bunnies? I remember always being reluctant to evolve my Nidoran because I wanted it to stay cute and rabbit-like, but now I'm quite fond of Nidorina's design. Nidoqueen is a little confusing (I caught a rabbit and now it's a... dinosaur?) but she's pretty tough so I think we can get along.

These three miniatures are available to buy in my online shop!

Pokémon Series: #027 - 028

 Here's two of my favourites, and finally a blue version-exclusive, Sandshrew and Sandslash! Their move sets are a little boring in the game (I don't think they even learn any ground-type moves despite being ground-type pokémon, it's all Scratch and Slash and such) but I loved them anyway because they're like cute little armadillos with knives for hands. What's not to like?

These little ones are available to buy in my shop as usual!

Pokémon Series: #025 - 026

Oh gaw, Pikachu! It's only the mascot for the whole franchise and the no. 1 most recognisable pokémon, no pressure! I was quite relieved to have it out of the way! I always liked Raichu better as a child, but I hadn't realised how goofy its design is until I was looking up reference. It doesn't even have fingers, its arms are just little nubs, and its ears barely look like part of its body! I gave it a quick re-design to make it look more dignified.

These little ones are available in my online shop with the others!

Pokémon Series: #023 - 024

Ekans and Arbok are the first version-exclusive pokémon in this challenge! I liked them as a child because I liked snakes, but I never owned one because I had Pokémon Blue, and these two only appear in the wild in Pokémon Red. I suppose I could have traded with my friend who did have Red, but she lived all the way round the corner. Much too much like hard work.

The original miniatures are available to buy in my online shop, as usual!

Pokémon Series: #021 - 022

Ah, Spearow and Fearow. The scruffy and aggressive end of the gen 1 bird pokémon! Fearow was harder than I expected, but it was fun once I found the right bird to use for reference (I tried several but settled on a vulture). It's nice to do some 'rough terrain' pokémon as well.

The original miniatures are now up in my online shop as usual!

Pokémon Series: #019 - 020

Rat pokémon! I always liked Rattata and Raticate because I was very fond of rodents as a child. I especially loved Raticate because a rat the size of a dog was my ideal pet.

The original miniatures are up for sale in my online shop.