Hey there my friends!! Hope everyone had a great Christmas!! Wishing you all the best for this holiday season and also for 2024! I'm sure a great year awaits for us! :)
Christmas makes me truly nostalgic, so I thought it was appropriate to share with you this fanart I made when my little cousin asked me to paint my favorite Naruto character. It is no surprise that the fan base for Japanese animes is huge these days - or maybe it has always been this way!
As an illustrator and pixel art animator, I've followed many different anime over the years. Yu yu Hakusho, Saint Seiya, and Captain Tsubasa were big names of the past which captured me due to their amazing animation and impact frames. Things obviously evolved a lot and most recently, after taking classes on storytelling and screenplay, I've become quite keen on Haikyuu, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and Naruto for their narrative (although their animation is top-notch still! lol).
The story of Shikamaru always struck me as a very emotional one. In Naruto, we follow several kids in their ninja school as they train to protect their village from outside menaces. Shikamaru was always a loyal companion to his friends but was never seen as the brightest of the students. He was rather seen as lazy and easily bored by school which honestly reminded me of myself in my childhood days.
The cool thing is that we get to follow this and many other characters as they live their teenage years. After failing missions and putting the lives of his beloved friends at risk, he found himself at a crossroads to either give up entirely on being a ninja or overcome the struggles he faced toward becoming a higher and improved version of himself.
The illustration below depicts Shikamaru after the completion of his arch in the story. After suffering the loss of a significant one, Shikamaru swore to protect his friends and his village members with his life, becoming the number #1 strategist ninja of the village, second only to his father. Later in the story, he takes his father's place after his passing to continue the work of his family as protectors and war chiefs of the village.
TAKE-AWAYS
- Being trained in classic drawing it is REALLY hard for me to draw stylized anime characters. Yet, realistic painting is quite nice for translating some of the visual storytelling aspects of the character.
- In this scene, we see Shikamaru resting against a wooden wall in an early-morning setting.
- He lit a cigarette just like his old master used to do, A clear tribute to remember or praise that who he had as a second fatherly figure.
- He stares at us, but his eyes are lost, almost as if his mind is 100% focusing on his thoughts.
- He could be plotting his next move, setting down the perfect strategy to defeat the enemy...but perhaps he could also be wondering whether he would be able to pull it off, or what his master would do instead. Yet, he is resolutive. Confident. And although overwhelmed by emotions, he is set down a path to protect his loved ones.
Look how much more impactful the illustration can be when we consider all these aspects of the character's story! Anime is amazing in many aspects, of course. But beyond my love for VFX and animation, I now truly recognize the ability of anime (and manga primarily) to convey powerful narratives, packed with inspiring stories about characters that (before we know it) begin to love.
VIDEO PROCESS
You can watch the full video process of this painting HERE - which is followed by his classic opening song in the original anime!
Thanks guys! Hope you enjoy this article! Did you watch Naruto or any other anime? Let me know your thoughts!
Wishing you all the best,
Galiant