My Sketch Dump

[TeaHive]

Day 32: Late night snack.

Iroshizuku Syo-ro

TWSBI Mini with a Pilot EF nib

The youkai (demons) in my story eat a LOT. And often, provided they're not destitute. Hajime got tired of Hyousuke trying to sneak off to the tea house kitchens in the wee hours of morning, as they work deep undercover and are supposed to remain hidden in the back half of the house. So he started having the maid, Akiko, bring an extra tray of snacks for Hyousuke along with their usual dinner. Here, Hyou is about to eat a pork bun.

Mmmm... pork buns.

[TeaHive]

Day 33: Another late night snack.

Diamine Wild Strawberry

Noodler's Konrad Himalayan Ruby with Zebra G nib

Some youkai eat a little more than pork buns.

Hannya--yakuza boss, loan shark, purveyor of flesh and opiates--in his demonic form. And he still manages to look like a sexy lady. You go, girl! Er.. man..

It looks like he's going to make a tasty snack out of someone. Probably someone who didn't do their job right.

[TeaHive]

Day 34: Hajime and Hyousuke

Iroshizuku Kiri-Same

TWSBI Vac Mini EF

"I saw you at the sight of land

I dig my feet into the sand

....

You feel like you found a home

You've been searching for so long

You searched every single road

And you wind up here all alone

I know it's cold

Let's find our home

A different place

A sweet unknown

We drift away to shores unknown

Escape the streets we used to know"

- from "French Class" by Blajk

I'm not sure those lyrics are entirely right, but the one site that has them doesn't have them written correctly either. -.o That aside, I think they suit Hajime and Hyousuke, who seem to be connected by a red thread wound around their little fingers.

Hajime is 16 years older than Hyou, and a human. He is very aware of his mortality. While Hyou isn't immortal, he will live for centuries if given the chance to live out his natural life. The time they have together is very precious to Hajime. The eventuality of his death, if their work doesn't kill them both first, weighs heavily on their minds at times.

[TeaHive]

Day 35: Kaze, Hannya's companion. Ran out of ink, so the shading is incomplete.

Diamine Eclipse

Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue, soft fine nib

Kaze is a member of an avian race that hails from the tropical islands south of Empire. Their species is unique in that they have four biological sexes--true male, true female, intersexed and sterile male. It was once in vogue for nobles to give each other the eggs of this race as gifts, like pets to raise and breed.

Kaze is not a bad person, yet he remains at Hannya's side because he owes the man his life. The yakuza boss found him on his way to visit an aristocratic business partner, and Kaze's owner. Kaze was tossed out on the street, beaten to the point of death, his crow-like wings broken beyond repair. All for being sterile. Hannya killed the aristocrat and saw to Kaze's healing. His wings, unfortunately, had to be removed.

[TeaHive]

Day 36: Hajime does not ask, he demands.

Drawing: Diamine Grey in a TWSBI 580Al Silver with Pilot EF nib

Wording: Pilot Black in a Pilot Metropolitan Orange Flowers, F

It looks like Hyousuke got himself into trouble, and Hajime is not happy about it. Hannya is about to get wrecked. Also, this is my favorite so far--I finally pegged down Hajime's facial features! Happy dance!

Thought I would share a bit of how the drawing came to be!

Step 1: Pencil. I sketch lightly with a mechanical pencil (vintage Parker Striped Duofold, in this case) with HB lead.

Step 2: Outline & Clean. I go over the pencil with thin lines in pen, then use a kneaded eraser to clean up after it's dry.

Step 3: Thicken some outlines. I bold the lines that show different "parts." The outside of the face, eyes, mouth.. but not the details inside. Same for the outline of the clothing. Outer lines have been thickened to separate it from the body, but the wrinkle details have been untouched.

Step 4: Shade hair. I did a little bit back in step two, oops. Impatient. I would also shade clothing at this point, but I liked this drawing too much to attempt it. Sometimes, minimal is good!

Step 5: A first for me, I added a speech bubble. Whoo!

[TeaHive]

Day 37: "He's gone, Hyousuke."

Pilot Prera with EF nib

DeAtramentis Pine

"You'll walk unscathed through musket fire,

No ploughman's blade will cut thee down,

No cutless wound will mark thy face

And you will be my ain true love.."

In the mad escape from the burning Fujiwara palace four years prior to the current events, Hajime shoved Hyousuke out of the way of a collapsing beam, but trapped himself behind a wall of fire. Hazel and her husband, Declan (foreign warriors who joined Fuyuki's cause) had to drag Hyousuke away, fighting and screaming, before the rest of them suffered the same fate.

The last image he had of Fujimoto Hajime before the palace burned to the ground, was of a man resigned to death and smirking in the face of it. It was a death he could never avenge, and one that scarred him deeply.

Until one seemingly normal day...

[fountainpagan]

To all your work.

Keep on, please

[TeaHive]

To all your work.

Keep on, please

 

Hehe, thanks! I plan to do a sketch a day for a year (or maybe even beyond a year)! So there's definitely more comin'!

[TeaHive]

Day 38: "This won't just be an undercover operation to Hyousuke. It will be more."

Diamine Grey

TWSBI 580AL Silver, Pilot EF nib

Toki Osamu was a resident onmyouji (a type of sorcerer) at the Fujiwara palace before the revolution. His duties included divination, exorcisms of evil spirits, the banishment of wild youkai, attending to the nature spirits in the gardens and near the palace, and sending off the souls of the departed. Quite studious and wise, he was also charged with tutoring some of the younger members of the court, Hyousuke included, though Osamu is only five years his senior.

When the war was in full swing, Lord Fujiwara sent many palace residents away for their safety. Osamu and a shrine maiden, Mika, were sent to the capital city. The two took over an abandoned nature spirit shrine there. and currently work as priest and acolyte.

Hajime first approached Osamu about the undercover operation against Hannya, as the onmyouji was the only one of their former allies he could easily find. Osamu refused, having his own duties to attend to, and because he detests the man for many reasons. Not least of all his jealousy toward him, knowing Hyousuke, whom he loved for many years in silence, had affection for the man, even in "death." Sacrificing his own chance at happiness, because he knows it will make the one he loves happy, he tells Hajime where to find Hyousuke within the vast city.

And so begins the story.

As a bonus tidbit, the writing in the background is the page in my manuscript where Osamu tells Hajime where to find Hyou.

[TeaHive]

Day 39: Mika, a shrine maiden.

Diamine Salamander

Platinum 3776 Century Black, soft fine nib

Another former member of the Fujiwara palace, Mika was sent away to the capital along with Toki Osamu during the war. Once a romantic, happy girl, the war, and especially Lord Fujiwara's execution, changed her into someone morose and near mute. Her hair even began to turn white from the trauma, though she is only 20 years old.

She now works alongside Osamu at the nature spirit shrine in the capital, serving as his assistant and also performing her own duties of purification, healing, and divination. She is also quite skilled with a bow, and may have some kind of latent powers...

Lyrics from "We Are Leaving" by The Naked and Famous

[GJMekenkamp]

This is amazing! I really like your drawings!

 

You, you are a true artist!

[TeaHive]

This is amazing! I really like your drawings!

 

You, you are a true artist!

 

I dunno if just doing character sketches counts as true artistry. xD But I'll gladly take the kind words. Thank you!

[TeaHive]

Day 40: He's tough, he's gruff, his face has fluff! It's Declan, the meat-pop! This is my first attempt at drawing a really manly man, and facial hair. Whew!

Diamine Chocolate

TWSBI 580AL Orange, Pilot F nib

This is Hazel's big ol' burly husband, Declan Sageron, a former knight of the kingdom of Feill Fionnan, a continent to the east of my main setting. He abandoned his post when the old king died, and his malevolent son took over and wreaked complete havoc on the lands in the form of senseless war. In his wanderings, he came across Hazel, a forest walker and hedgewitch--who held him at bow-point on the other side of the river he was trying to cross.

They have their own story to be written. But in the end, they cross the sea and enter the Western Empire, as they call it. (Abhirati to such natives as Hyousuke, Mika, and Osamu.) They join Lord Fujiwara's cause.

After the revolution, he and Hazel build a dojo, where he teaches both native and his own style of swordsmanship to rich merchant brats who will never see battle. When Hyousuke takes on the undercover mission against Hannya and his men, he finds he needs to retrain himself and asks Declan to be his sensei. A mountain of a man, he often plants Hyousuke in the dirt.

[Tas]

TeaHive . . . loving the regular avatar hair changes too

[TeaHive]

TeaHive . . . loving the regular avatar hair changes too

 

Hah! Thanks! I got tired of dry winter scalp, so I shaved my head so I could exfoliate and moisturize properly, because my real hair was way too thick for anything to actually reach my skin. Now I'm having fun with wigs!

[TeaHive]

Day 41:

Vintage Parker Striped Duofold, F

Diamine Sepia

A truly rough sketch done pretty quickly. Hyousuke is indulging in Hajime's bad habit. He took it up after believing the man dead, a somewhat twisted and self-punishing tribute.

The four slashes on his forearm are a status tattoo, for a high-ranking swordsman.

[TeaHive]

Day 42: Hajime as he might have looked in 1877.

TWSBI Eco White with Pilot EF nib

Diamine Bilberry

I lost it a couple times drawing this one--he just looks too hilarious. xD I got an idea in my head to research 1870s mens hairstyles today, as Hajime would have been sporting one before he slipped into a portal into the Floating World. It was a time of Westernization in Japan, and as both a government agent and a soldier, he would have had short, neat hair rather than the long ponytail he has in his new home.

I think it's safe to say, he wasn't sporting Number 3 at any point in his life.. ever.

[TeaHive]

Day 43: Well, since I was having fun with hairstyles for Hajime, I thought I'd try some modern ones on Hyousuke.

TWSBI 580AL Purple, Pilot EF nib
Iroshizuku Yama-budo

1 actually makes Hyou look his age (22)! The second option is kind of surfer-dude-ish. Hajime had a bad one.. so Hyou gets to be tortured as well. ^^;

 

[Luma]

Option #3 for both please!

[TeaHive]

Option #3 for both please!

 

Bwuaha! xD

 

Hajime 1 and Hyousuke Yes are my preferences. >_> Though it was certainly fun to draw all of them!