soranamae

Requiem

Added 2021-04-29 16:07:16 +0000 UTC

When you dont know what to name pics anymore so you just start using random words, lol (still tried to make it contextual though).

Ok, I spent way too much time on this one, but at the same time I feel like it was worth it because its been a few days since I finished it, and there still isnt anything I dont like about it or Id want to change. That said it might not be that noticeable right away because most of the time was spent on small details you might only be able to see when you zoom in, although of course the priority was to have it look good when seen in full.

So as usual this started out as something completely differently which makes me wish I had saved some pics along the way but sadly I didnt. It was actually very colorful at first, bright outdoors area, yellow/orange yukata and very warm look in general, but I felt like Ive been doing that too much lately and I wanted to try something darker instead, more like my older stuff.

Something thats always been strange is that while in game Ive always dressed her up in black ("goth" clothing being my favorite real life aesthetic), for some reason in art Ive always dressed her in white, lol. It probably has to do with the way I color things and my art style in general, and she looks great in both, but its a bit frustrating that Ive been wanting to draw her in something like this for a while and every time I always ended up going with white instead.

That said, the thing that really surprised me here was how well the yukata fit into the whole look. I did add a lot of things over time though (benefit of working on something for a longer period rather than trying to finish it quickly), like the stockings, necklace, earrings (this was like the last thing I added... I actually did a quick google to see if I found any earrings I liked but I didnt, so I just did my own design), and those strings below her shoulders.

The bra underneath the yukata also plays into it of course, although that was there from the start. Usually Im all about braless clothing for obvious reasons, but this is one of the few exceptions where it think this looks better than it would without. Its like the sensuality of yukata and lingerie all combined into one.

Then you have the folding fan which always gives you those "ara ara" vibes and me being a fan of mature types, obviously Im totally into it. So yeah, Im really happy with this look and its probably something I will do again in full body, although if I draw her standing Ill probably use a longer dress instead.

Anyway moving on, I also took a while to settle on the background and I knew I wanted something gloomy but not sure what exactly... At first she was in a cemetery, lol but I thought it was a bit over the top with her having that outfit, so I figured going with a forest would be best. Still gloomy, with withered trees and all that, but not as "dark", and it had just the right amount of detail without stealing the focus from her.

Then I just spent a stupid amount of time tweaking contrast, colors, etc until I eventually settled on a look. Im always worried about making things too dark nowadays, especially when using a lot of black because... You never want black to be black, you want everything to be visible, so the black has to be bright enough that it still allows for even darker areas under shadow and so on. Anyway like I said Im really happy with the final look and soft/subdued colors have always been my strength so, I wanna try doing more stuff like this, with more focus on contrast/detail and less on vibrant colors.

Lastly I love how much her lips and nails stand out here, always been a big fan of the red on black aesthetic.

Ok this turned into another wall of text and I think Ive said most of what I wanted to say so Ill stop here, lol.