Coco's OCs - Tojin Draco (plus some updates on art progress)

Hello! I'm now back from a weird productivity-hiatus, in which I basically didn't do anything I was supposed to do for a while (in terms of writing and art, at least). However, while on this break, I had plenty of time to draw inspiration from the books, comics, and cartoons that have been keeping me entertained during quarantine!

I wouldn't say my style changed all that much, or if I even have a definite style yet, since I tend to draw things differently based on what medium or the seriousness of project. What I can say is that I've gotten more comfortable with digital art. I'm not ashamed to admit that I sketch out what I'm drawing on paper, then uploading it to IbisPaintX (that's the software I use) before making it digital. I've found it to be more efficient and creates less time restarting and undoing things.

Whatever is easiest for you, and brings the best results in your opinion, is the best way!

Well, anyways, here is Tojin Draco, the main character from by biggest writing project, Akumu. I've been trying bits of different techniques from other artists that I like, and I can say that I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out! I used to just do shading on my pieces, until lately I realized that highlighting makes a HUGE difference...

Also, I tried doing non-black line art, instead matching the line art with whatever color the section is. Not sure if I like it that way just yet; I may experiment more. I do see a lot of illustrators do non-black line art, and it looks super cool and not too cartoon-y, which is why I tried it in the first place!

Perhaps part of my style is the solid black line art, so I've included the same piece with its original line art. I think it looks neat and still pretty cool, so I guess that much is still undecided.