Author of Darkness
Lofty Ideas
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba is a Japanese manga with dark themes and lots of religious imagery that has inspired me to create a lot of art with heavy symbolism over the years. It’s not uncommon to see characters from the series, especially the protagonist, Light Yagami, drawn in striking poses and settings befitting of the Sistine Chapel. Though I had experimented with using symbolism in pieces inspired by the series before, I was never particularly inventive with other elements of the art such as pose, perspective, and expression. I had an idea, however, that pushed the limits of anything I had drawn before. I wanted to draw Light towering over the viewer, showing off large wings, feathers and necktie blowing in the wind. I had ideas for other symbolic items to include in the piece as well, that would later be adjusted to fit the composition I wanted. It would be a grand undertaking that I frankly wasn’t sure I could match to the idea in my head, but I dove in nonetheless, leaving nothing out.
Composition and Perspective Challenges
The planned composition of the piece was, without a doubt, going to be the most challenging part of the illustration. I decided to use a 3D model to help with the pose and perspective, which helped a great deal, but I still had to incorporate the clothes and other elements of the drawing. The wings in particular gave me trouble perspective-wise. It was difficult to find references for wings at the ¾ angle, fully extended. I ended up having to mix references, and though the final product wasn’t exactly what I envisioned, the free-form nature of the wings allows the composition to still appear realistic. The folds in the clothing took some heavy referencing to get right but ultimately came out looking good and matching the depth and detail of the rest of the piece.
As Many Tries as It Takes
One thing I decided going into this piece was that I wouldn’t settle on any part of it. I wouldn’t take any shortcuts or decide that something I didn’t like was just, “the best I can do.” Every element that gave me a challenge was reworked until I was absolutely sure it was my best work and fit in appropriately with the rest of the piece. A large part of the drawing that challenged me on this was the face. I spent hours on it, continually revisiting and revising it. Not only was the low perspective making it difficult to get the face right, but the expression that I chose was also extremely hard to nail. I repeatedly asked peers for feedback, especially since, at a certain point, I had looked at his face for so long, I wasn’t sure how to interpret it anymore. When I finally got it right, however, it felt great and I absolutely loved it. Finally, the death note (notebook) in his hand was very challenging perspective-wise and had to be redone many times until the size and details worked with the rest of the composition. At first, I was cutting corners with it, putting in scribbles instead of actual writing. Once I took the time to add real names that were written in it throughout the series, highlighting the plot-essential name “Lind L. Tailor” in large writing, it elevated the piece greatly.
The Payoff of Challenging Yourself
The pride and sense of accomplishment I felt when I had finished this piece was amazing. So many times in the past I allowed myself to be lazy and make illustrations that didn’t really push myself, but committing to creating something that met my initial vision was a fantastic challenge that forced me to learn new techniques I might have otherwise resigned myself to not being good enough to use. Whenever I have an idea that I feel is too lofty now, I look to this piece as a reminder that I can make anything I set my mind to if I’m willing to commit to the time and effort it takes to complete it.