[Art] Introducing KyokoPro Studios~!

[BL2W]

Hello, everyone~!

Although I've known about this forum for some time, I've finally made an account here, and I figure that I should introduce myself by showing off my studio's latest piece in our steady line of Touhou pictures for you all to see~! You will see a watermark on the picture below because we commonly go to Artists' Alleys around the U.S. to sell our works; it's just a safety precaution~

Feel free to share your opinions about this piece~! I would very much appreciate them~

~~

[AnonymousPondScum]

 

That is good stuff right there. Do you do this for a living?

Also, lolCirno.

[Aoshi-shi]

Holy crap.  TEACH ME YOUR WAYS

[Jq1790]

Holy crap.  TEACH ME YOUR WAYS

This.  (I don't currently do computer art, but seeing stuff like this, while intimidating, makes me wanna try as well.  I can definitely see WHY you go to Artist Alleys with stuff like THAT!

[BL2W]

Do you do this for a living?

Well, technically, I do, but I'm still slowly building my studio from the ground up. It's only been about two years since I've begun, and my studio has been making its way to more and more larger-scale conventions, such as Anime Boston and Otakon. My hope is that KyokoPro will be able to maintain itself within the next few years after gaining more exposure and greater sales~

Both Touhou fans and non-Touhou fans seem to love this particular line, so I believe that I've found a niche that my studio can work with--and it just so happens to be my favorite franchise, so that's certainly a bonus~

Holy crap.  TEACH ME YOUR WAYS

Well, I plan on producing a video featuring the entire painting process of this particular picture soon, so maybe that will help? 

[DX7.EP]

Nice stuff! Better see if I can visit your studio's booth at a con sometime!

[HakureiSM]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa

[BL2W]

Nice stuff! Better see if I can visit your studio's booth at a con sometime!

Well, thank you~! The next conventions I will definitely be at will be Youmacon and Anime USA, so if you--or anyone else viewing this thread, for that matter--happen to be in the area of either Detroit or D.C., my studio will certainly be there~

[Fetch()tirade]

hot damn that is gorgeous

> property of kazami yuuka

my sides

[BL2W]

hot damn that is gorgeous

> property of kazami yuuka

my sides

*applauds* Hooray~! You noticed the "Easter egg"~!

I always love to put little things like that in my studio's pictures, especially the Touhou ones; I feel that it gives people a reason to look more closely at pictures when, normally, they might not, among other reasons~

(And thank you for the compliment, too~!)

[CrowCakes]

...are you professional or amateur? I've rarely seen anyone in AAA produce anything of this quality.

[Vyrien]

Okay, here goes.

Firstly, your shading is very good, Alice's hair in particular blew me away. I can also say the same for the shades of colour used, lovely stuff, lovely skin tones. I love the technique used to shade the black in the picture too, it looks very natural. The composition is also great, the background draws focus to the characters very nicely and I'm thankful that it was not overcomplicated, as I'm sure you know, this can really prove detrimental to an otherwise fantastic image.

I do have a few gripes with the picture, however. The one that stands out to me the most is Marisa's face. It looks a little unnatural, I think mainly because the mouth is slightly too wide and her left eye just seems like it is placed a tiny bit too far towards the side of her face.
I also think the shading on her hand that is grasping the broom makes it look a bit flat compared to the rest of the picture, her hat bothers me as well, the sharp angles in what seems to be soft material makes me think it is draped over some sort of pole sticking out of her head.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is excellent (certainly better than I) and would love to see more, especially since this semi-realistic style is relatively scarce among Touhou fanart.

Keep it up! :3

[Hinacle]

Wow. That was amazing. I'd definitely like to see more of your art work.

[BL2W]

...are you professional or amateur? I've rarely seen anyone in AAA produce anything of this quality.

I'm currently an amateur, per say, but I find this to be okay, however, since I feel that my studio's artistic prowess is always still growing and getting better~

I do have a few gripes with the picture, however. The one that stands out to me the most is Marisa's face. It looks a little unnatural, I think mainly because the mouth is slightly too wide and her left eye just seems like it is placed a tiny bit too far towards the side of her face.
I also think the shading on her hand that is grasping the broom makes it look a bit flat compared to the rest of the picture, her hat bothers me as well, the sharp angles in what seems to be soft material makes me think it is draped over some sort of pole sticking out of her head.

Would it be odd of me to say that I actually agree with just about all of your critiques?

While I meant for Marisa to have a bit more cartoonish style of expression, given her character, I did always wonder once it was finished whether or not it seemed a bit off-putting. Admittedly, there's a charm about it that I still like--certainly enough to keep it; but, nonetheless, thank you for bringing it up~

As for the hat and hand, I feel that I cannot debate those at all. I sincerely thank you for pointing them out to me~

Thank you for the wonderful critique~!

[Menorah Jams, Pham]

What kind of turnaround time is it to make an image like that?

Do you take commissions?

Can you do mecha or landscapes as well?

[BL2W]

Given scheduling, most pictures take anywhere between three weeks to a month-and-a-half to finish, and my studio isn't into the idea of doing commissions often for that very reason unless there is something to be had from one that can benefit us as well, such as publicity or the ability to later sell it as a fully-fledged product (both of which have happened in the past). To give you an idea, this piece in particular took about a month to complete~

Depending on the landscape, it should be too much of a hassle. Mechs, on the other hand, are difficult, since my studio is more apt to drawing and painting organic things, such as people and animals; however, it's been a while since I've ever worked on anything mechanical and metallic, so I would have to refresh myself to be sure~

[BL2W]

By the way, everyone, if you would like to see more of our work, here's a link to see the rest of the Touhou pictures we already have in our arsenal on Imgur:

KyokoPro Studios' Gallery

And in the case that anyone might like follow the nitty-gritty of my studio's work or order a print of a picture for themselves outside of the convention circuit (which we are attempting to promote), here's our Facebook page:

KyokoPro Studios' Facebook page

[Ikari]

I'm no pro (at all) so I can't give contructive criticism.

But uuh...

HOLY CRAP THAT IS AMAZING. WOW.

[Kilgamayan]

Oh snap, it's Bl2w. Welcome! Were you guys at the most recent Otakon? I took a couple of spins aroun the Artist's Alley but I think I only saw one booth with Touhou stuff and there wasn't a lot of it. Sorry if I missed you.

[BL2W]

Hello again~! My studio was actually only present in the Art Show with five of our Touhou pictures in 24x36 size. We couldn't make it into the Artists' Alley for Otakon because of their recent prohibition on fan art, which is all we sell at this point in time. I didn't mind, though, since Otakon happens to be one of those conventions that I prefer to have fun at rather than work full-time; that's what all of the other conventions year-round are for, after all~

We managed to make a decent profit off of the pictures, though~! Flandre was definitely a surprise, since she managed to make it to the live auction and make over twice as much as she did through the silent bidding alone. She seems to have become quite popular, especially with that glasgow grin I gave her...

Currently, we're working on a Remilia piece to put side-by-side with Flan, which should be finished by Youmacon and Anime USA, so I'm pretty excited for that~

So, don't worry that you missed us at Otakon, since we still have plenty of conventions lined-up--both this year and next--that you're likely to be at~

[fondue]

Hello, everyone~!

Although I've known about this forum for some time, I've finally made an account here, and I figure that I should introduce myself by showing off my studio's latest piece in our steady line of Touhou pictures for you all to see~! You will see a watermark on the picture below because we commonly go to Artists' Alleys around the U.S. to sell our works; it's just a safety precaution~

Feel free to share your opinions about this piece~! I would very much appreciate them~

~~

This is SO frikkin amazing

[pasu]

You're using pageratta art as your profile picture

a-are you a pageratta fan?

Also I really like your artwork, the style is really charming!  :V

[BL2W]

Oh, thank you~!

Yes, I guess you could say that I'm a fan, especially considering that I found his "Touhou Battle Royale" series to be outright hysterical. Not to mention, the guy likes yukkuris and Marisa. What else can I say? :derp:

[Vento]

pageratta is my god

i was visiting your facebook page, and the way you and your dad work was pretty interesting!

[pasu]

Oh, thank you~!

Yes, I guess you could say that I'm a fan, especially considering that I found his "Touhou Battle Royale" series to be outright hysterical. Not to mention, the guy likes yukkuris and Marisa. What else can I say? :derp:

Oh my dear god

you like yukkuris too?  :derp:

[BL2W]

i was visiting your facebook page, and the way you and your dad work was pretty interesting!

Thank you~! It's sometimes difficult to convey that this is, by no means, a one-man operation; however, my father openly admits that he doesn't prefer being in the limelight, making the case that much of the heart, creativity, marketing, etc. comes from me. I accept this and absolutely do not take it for granted in the least, since, if it wasn't for him, my imagination would never be able to come to life as it does through our work~

Oh my dear god

you like yukkuris too?  :derp:

Indeed, I do. I believe them to be quite humorous. In fact, there are several instances in my studio's artwork that one can spot yukkuri heads lying around as "Easter eggs," so to speak~ :3

[Jam-Kiske]

Hello again~! My studio was actually only present in the Art Show with five of our Touhou pictures in 24x36 size. We couldn't make it into the Artists' Alley for Otakon because of their recent prohibition on fan art, which is all we sell at this point in time. I didn't mind, though, since Otakon happens to be one of those conventions that I prefer to have fun at rather than work full-time; that's what all of the other conventions year-round are for, after all~

I remember seeing those! I thought some of the pictures in your gallery looked familiar. I'm glad you guys managed to sell those for a decent amount since they're so pretty~

[fondue]

I like Yukkuris

[Hinacle]

I was looking through your imgur and wow. I really like the Youmu one but, Yuyuko's is just beautiful.

[Imosa]

You've definitely brought something new to the table here. It's very high in detail and quality but I think you're teetering on the edge of the uncanny valley if you haven't already stepped in.

lol, ok, so your stuff is really good and I really want to tell you that, but because I spent so long looking my inner critic started trying to identify specifically why some pictures looked weird to me (including and beyond the uncanny valley bit). So even though my skill in the visual arts is questionable I'll tell you what I found just in case it turns out I'm helping. Otherwise I may have just doomed myself to never stopping to look for oddities.

You're hair and clothes are awesome but sometimes I can't help but feel that it doesn't match other parts of the picture like the skin and background. One example is Yukari's dress vs. the gap she's sitting on.
The only picture that really stood out as strange to me was the Youmu. First of all I feel like the legs look big compared to the arm and torso. The other thing is that I'm not sure that her stance makes sense. Her right leg looks fully extended and she's really low to the ground, so it looks like she just finished a big strike that she put all her weight behind; however, she's only half way through her strike meaning that the rest of her strike is only powered by her ankle, forward momentum, and arms. My experience tells me that's bad form. Also, her right leg is out at an angle, meaning that after she started her strike she shifted her center of mass to the left, probably to correct and land her strike where she wanted it; however, you wouldn't want to do this because you put the most weight behind your strike by moving straight ahead.
Also, Cirno's legs also look too big.

P.S. lol I've now spent way too long thinking about Youmu's form.