Hi friends ;)
I'm back with some stages of the Sailor Moon series of Naoko Takeuchi. ;)
For a better match with my other sailor fanarts i descided to think out a suitable color scheme that has a glow effect to emphasize the "magical girl" theme. So i took red, purple and pink for the colors of rei and a warm breeze of yellow and orange in the flames to give a good contrast and some additional brightnes. For bright and strong colors i only could recommend the Dr. PH. Martins concetrated Watercolors. They definetly rock ^_^'!
Like you can see in my first steps for the lines i used Rohrer & Klingner Ink - scarlet, purple violet and umber - to avoid getting too much contrast with the lines. The intention is to let the coloration create the depth later on, so i break up the lines in places where the light is more intense!
The first stages of the coloration with the Martins Colors are applied very smoothly. You can't see very much color at the beginning but in the end it will pay off for sure. The more layers of color you add the more you concentrate on the shadow and the darker areas. Often you can use the same color mixed with some water up to the pure umixed color to create the main part of the shading.
After finishing all the parts of the painting with the base colors i choose a second color for some parts to get a more glowy effect. therefore i mixed some blue with the purple of the hair and some pink in the reds of her skirt.
The last step was the background . Like in the Amy Fanart i also use Farber Castell colored Pencils and crayons here to build some smooth flames. i didn't want to overact here because the main purpose of setting of the character requires to hold back with the details in the background.
The last finishing touches are the ones i like most. Here i can quit holding back and let my mind drift. i'm working on all areas alternately to keep the overall impression of the whole painting. Some students of my courses have asked me if i can give them a helpful advise to avoid making mistakes while painting. I alwasy laugh when i here this cause i also do mistakes all the time when i'm painting. I always say the same words to them. Put the fear away and have some fun. The feeling and the love you put in your work are the things that count in the end ;)
Regards
Nashi
hi friends,
If you want to view the Final Version in Full size you can see it 
