Welcome back, friends!
Today I'll be going over a Yuri On Ice fanart I did of Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek! Yes, the newest ship everyone is raving about. Why is there a cat? Well, I was creating a fan comic with a friend of mine and it involved these two adorable boys who were tasked with cat-sitting, and there would be "ooh-la-la~" moments inside for the daring. (The comic never ended up being finished so I can't link it unfortunately!)
Time taken: 3-4 hours
Materials 🖌️
- Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet, Medium
- Paint Tool SAI
The Process 🖼️
The Sketch Stage
I know in the anime (YOI), Yuri and Otabek have a special kind of friendship - which is why they're perfect for each other. However, Yuri is known to be somewhat aloof and apprehensive to friendly gestures. Otabek is definitely on the kinder side, so he wouldn't be as hesitant to show a little more skinship.
That's why I wanted to show a budding friendship with a "hand over the shoulder" by Otabek and Yuri being OK with it, albeit a little pout in the corner of his mouth.
The Inking Stage (Lineart)
I said it many times and I'll say it again - linearting is my favorite step of any artwork. It's so calming and meditative to see smooth, orderly lines being drawn on the canvas. It is also nice to see concepts and ideas forming real shapes on the screen. No more disorderly "guesses" of what an arm should look like, etc.
This is also the part where the cat is no longer a blob. And I took out Yuri's design on his shirt because I got lazy. Hah!
Adding Base Colors
Now onto the part where we choose the basic foundation of colors! I tend to gravitate more on the saturated side when it comes to this part. I don't choose a pure black nor a pure white. Otabek's jacket is naturally black and Yuri's jacket is naturally white/barely light blue, but I chose not to see just basic black and white.
Our world is so full of beautiful imagery, why should we limit ourselves to just the polar ends of the "shades"? I love adding vibrancy and illuminating tones! Even Otabek's hair isn't exactly black. It is a very washed-out dark blue.
Adding Gradients
One of the easiest ways to add a lot of depth and bring out a picture's color is adding a lot of gradients. I find using complementary colors that are bright and almost neon helps with adding that extra dimension. Sometimes in really dark colors, I add a light blue or light yellow, regardless of what the base color is (somehow blue and yellow always look good!). And dark/saturated purple looks good as a dark gradient shade for almost anything.
The Shading Stage
Here, I begin to shade the folds on the clothing with using just darker colors of the base colors (I don't do anything fancy by choosing complementary colors or anything)... except for Otabek's neck! I really enjoy adding a dash of purple on skin to give it a slightly more realistic shade and just adds a nice touch.
If you notice in some areas of the clothes, some shades are faded out to blend with the base colors. I use Paint Tool SAI's brush & blend tool to blend in some colors that match closely with the base color. It gives you the effect of extra, integrated colors with minimum work because you merely blur the colors. I also use the mode "Fringe" for this shading layer to give a hard edge color on the shading.
If anyone is interested in knowing how I achieve these effects in the Shading Stage, please let me know!
Finishing Touches
For the last part, I add some final touches to give it a polished look. For this picture, all I did was add some highlights that you can see on Otabek's scarf, the boys' hair, and a bit on Yuri's jacket. They're small additions that add a lot of "pop" to your picture.
Feel free to leave comments & questions. Let me know what you think!
Anime Art #1 : Mystic Messenger Yoosung (Original)
Anime Art #2 : "V" Fanart, Old Manga Style
Anime Art #3: Two Beautiful Boys to Die For
Anime Art #4: Playtime isn't over for Ahri~
Anime Art #5: 2 Boys 1 Cat (Yuri On Ice)
Anime Art #6: My Own Anime Mascot (Pinqo)
Anime Art #7: 최세영 Saeyoung Choi 707 Fan Art
Oh my goodness this is so amazing!!! I love it so much, and the step by step was very nice :) oh and they looks so adorable! Once again i really admire the lineart and the shading. And i never thought about using gradients like this for shading, very clever!
Aaaaaah and YOI was sooo gooooood!
YESSSSSS! IT ISSSS! Who's your favorite ship? :3
Awwwwww, thank you so much @justaboutart !! <3 You're much, much too kind. ^^ And hahaha, yes~ gradients is sort of my "cheating" to make coloring look a little more alive than just plain flat shading. :D
I love the blob cat! Hahaha!
Also it's great to see how you go through your steps! Gradient/soft shading, then cel shading... I need to practice this!
It really looks awesome Pinqo, amazing work as always! ~
Thanks linebacker! :) I'm glad you enjoyed seeing that process of going from gradients to cel shading. ^^ I find it the quickest and easiest way to really add a lot of jazz into a picture! :)
THANK YOU. ^^
Omg! Yurio and Otabek!!! They are so cute together! I can't do degital at all so I have so much respect for it. It's amazing!!!
Aww, thank you so much @djynn!! I'm flattered. :D AND YES, THEY ARE THE CUTEST COUPLE?? Well, maybe next to YurixViktor hehe.
You're welcome :)
You make it look so easy, wish i was able to pull something off like this.
I'm sure you draw just as well, if not better! :) I know digital art is definitely daunting, but with a bit of practice I believe everyone can be very talented. ^^
Ugh, this is perfect! I'm also a huge YOI fan!
YASSSSSSS. Join me on the YOI bandwagon ufufufu~ ;)
I shall join you!! If my room wasn't filled with cat plushies then I'd have YOI merch everywhere!
This is great!
Thank you!! I appreciate the kind words. ^^
YOI is the best anime ever! Otabek with cat, it is quite unexpected! BTW, could you draw Victor and Yuri?
HAHAHA unexpected indeed! And I do have an unfinished Victor x Yuri (inked) fan art I was working on... maybe I can whip it out and finish it. ^^
Wow! Very good!
Thank you so much!! :D
Great drawing! And thanks for sharing the progress shots. I love seeing other people's creative process.
Thank you so much!! I'm glad you found it helpful. ^^
Btw, super cool art. :) +followed
Thanks! Looking forward to seeing more from you as well. :)
Kyaaaaaa~!!!! I'm one of those super "OtaYuri" fans! hahahah~ I love them... more than VictUri... (I'm sorry)... I love the main pair but I just couldn't neglect these adorable bear-cat ship!!!! T_T
Nice fanart, BTW! As always... I love it! ^_^
HAHA YAYY! Oh no, I totally know what you mean! Both ships are equally adorableeee. Can't choose one over the other (for me)~ > w <
Thank you so much ; v ;
You're always welcome... :) I guess I haven't done any fanart for YOI... I should try making one when I have the time... ^^
BTW, I just saw your post and comment where you mentioned me and other artists here.. ^^ Submitted my info!!! :) Thanks a bunch!!!
Artists unite!!!! <3
OMG YASSS. I will nosebleed for more YOI fanart <3 Can't wait to see it (if you do) ^^
OH YESSS, thank you! I'm glad you did. I really want to connect with all the artists on Steemit. :)
Let's nosebleed together! lol
And thanks for uniting all the artists with the same and different genre~!!!! It would be really great to know more of them and share our works with everyone! <3
Hehehe, nosebleeding artist friends... Should make a new guild. XD
Aww, yea! I think that would be wonderful. ^^