It’s so much fun browsing DA for people who’ve redrawn old art to highlight changes and developments in style and technique over time. It’s a controlled experiment, so to speak. Here’s my addition, begun quite some time ago (September 2011) but not completed until now, as part of my “Finish things” initiative.
And larger version of the new version:
Angel atop a cloud
I picked the original subject largely because it was a significant development back in 2006 – my first serious attempt at CG’ing an actual pose rather than a standard profile or head-on view. The line art was quite polished for the time, and the experimental wing style worked out quite well. Of course, many problems are immediately apparent: the lopsided nose placement, the corpse-like skin tone, the bizarre foot angles, and the pimple-like blush on the shoulder, for starters. Besides technical issues like that, I also tried to update aesthetic preferences, including softening/rounding off the facial features, selecting gentler colors for the hair, eyes, and pants, adding more detail to the lace on the top, completely replacing the nondescript shoes with color-matched flats, and giving the jeans more character.
Melike says:
I love the shoes! And “fei”! Right? It’s been a while since I studied Chinese. I LOVE the newer, subtler colors.
November 4, 2012, 5:25 pmjhlo says:
Thanks! Yes, it says “fly” – I’m not sure why it was there in the original (probably just to go with the floaty wings, nothing deep).
I’ve been paying a ton of attention to shoes recently, so hopefully I’ll learn how to create better designs :). The swirling lavender on the sides of the flats and the green-blue hair reminiscent of certain oceans were last-minute additions (the hair was going to be lime green in the remake) that responded to the other colors around. I had also seen these subtly gold-dusted Evisu jeans online when I first started this drawing and knew immediately I had to try drawing them.
November 4, 2012, 10:01 pm