In this new drawing, you can see a young boy with a cute shining animal that maybe resembles something… Well, yes! I attempted to create my version of a Pokémon trainer!
I must admit that my main goal here was to draw a kid and include some of the gorgeous leaves of the Japanese maple tree in the background, which grows right outside my window. It has been cheering me up since it started to sprout (we moved here in autumn, and it was already leafless). Its colors are stunning, it has the perfect gradient between reds and greens, and I love how the sun brights through all the foliage.
Since it was an Asian tree, I decided to make everything from there in the drawing. I also decided to add a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. These are ridiculously cute animals and small enough to be on the shoulder of the boy. I started to work with the line and experimented more with some manga-style brushes. At that moment, I thought that the drawing could be something else. The palette I had in mind, the boy, the adorable animal… Wait a moment! I remembered having read somewhere that these flying squirrels look like Pokémon! That was what was missing! It was my version of the game.
Once I had all the details clear, and the line satisfied me, I started to work on the colors. I had to balance everything with the reds in the background, and it had to be on the outside, so I put one intense light on the top with a nice bluish shadow. I took inspiration from the original Pokémon anime main character, Ash Ketchum, for the rest of the color palette. Almost everything was easy to colorize, though I had a terrible laborious and tedious time with the leaves. That was because they were more complex than they seemed. But when I finished them, everything looked much better. I added the marker from the smartphone, and the drawing felt ended.
I had to adjust the colors and lights multiple times, but I liked the result. It is a little bit dramatic but also bright and vibrant. And I think it is funny as a redesign or tribute to the original series!
I hope you enjoy it!
Beaconpancakes 