My Inner Mangaka - Part 3 :)

Hello everyone! Here's the third drawing I decided to post about! So, I started off with these few materials - it's quite simple really. Have a look at them. 

There's a couple of pencils for sketching and drawing, a charcoal pencil for the darker shades, and a monolith pencil for smoother shading. For inking I just use a normal black marker, with both thin and thick tips. I use a brush for smudging and blending the charcoal. It works pretty well! 

SO, no need to spend tons of money on those expensive manga pen kits when you have a few of these handy pencils.

Today, I decided to draw someone I don't like. Honestly, what's up with me and the characters I don't like? I guess I'm just afraid to draw people I really love because I'm afraid I'll never do justice to them. Anyways.

Here's Kamiya Kaoru from Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin - before inking, of course. 

Pale, incomplete - in short, this is the stage of the drawing when I start to reconsider many things. Like for instance, why is the nose so small? Or did I do the curvature of her face correctly? Well, apparently not. Nobody can aspire to be as great as Watsuki. But I'm in awe of his art work. So I cannot stop dreaming, even if it's for a bit. 

Here's Kaoru, complete. 

A bit of inking can really do wonders. There isn't much shading in this drawing. The detail is in the eye and the hair. They've kept this form of Kaoru really simple, in fact it is so simple it actually manages to capture her beauty, a quality that lies hidden beneath her mad temperament and her colorful kimonos. 

I chose to draw Kaoru, and Kaoru alone, because unlike most of the female characters in the story, she is unusually ordinary. She lies in contrast to Yukishiro Tomoe and Takani Megumi, both of whom are mature and possess the genteel characteristics that are expected of a woman. Kaoru however, is hot-headed, reckless and always getting stuck in some or the other problem. I find her irritating sometimes, and I only really appreciate her in the first episode because she utters some important words - words that are integral to the development of the plot. 

The only thing I actually admire about her is her likeness to modern women. She is independent in her opinion, unafraid to act and decidedly emotional. That's what sets her apart from the others. Her past isn't highlighted much unlike the other characters, maybe because Kaoru reflects the life of an ordinary girl, faced with ordinary challenges. In all her naivety, she seems to be the perfect balance for someone like Kenshin. So despite all my dislike for her, I must admit, drawing her made me appreciate the essence of a woman. Not a woman who is perfect, but a woman who is flawed and weak, but at 

the same time, a woman who is dignified because of her strong faith, courage and belief.

So......that's all for today. Until the next time! :)