16. Hakama Archer

For some reason I have always found archery very "epic", there is something adventurous and romantic, in the old sense of the word, about it.  

Watching this video also made me think about how the Japanese like to take things from life (like archery or making tea) and turn it into a ritual that centers them and brings spirituality into their life. I think it would be an interesting concept to apply to my own life and also possibly make a cool magic system in a story I might find time to write some day...

This sketch's outfit was inspired by the following image from Albert Racinet's The Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes which is a really great book if you are in to historical or world costumes.

Getting dressed as a samurai looks like a lot of work, but I liked the look of his initial layers, so I took those and played around with it a little. I made up this outfit for a doll, someday I try to post a picture!

And in closing, another cool video of Japanese archery. The second half has better shot angles I think.

12. Nausicaa Tribute

Thanks to having inked over it, this image took a few seconds to clean up, as opposed to the hours I spent on the last one :) This sketch again has a lot of Japanese and Miyazaki based influence. I really liked Nausicaa's glider I guess...

11. Spirited Away

As mentioned earlier I was heavily influenced by Miyazaki's films, and I loved Sen's outfit in Spirited Away so I drew this sketch to determine how it worked.

The inspiration. 

The complete sketch

This picture required a lot of editing, and I think I am finally discovering the best way to work with these sketches in Gimp. Little by little it is coming together. Below you can see the original scan. I had inked over the sketch on the other side of the page and it bled through, plus some discoloration from the scanning process. I think it cleaned up pretty well!

Pre-editing

The next sketch should be easier because I inked over it. This post gives you a bit of a sneak peak!