Inktober 2021, Day 29: Patch

I happened to be re-watching my favorite anime of all time - Tokyo Ghoul at the time of going through the list of prompts and doing the planning for what I was going to do for each of them. On day 29, the prompt was - patch. Eyepatch 眼帯 was the code word given to Kaneki Ken, the main protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul. Why Eyepatch? Kaneki used to wear a mask that covered up his human eye. Ghouls are super powerful beings forced to eat humans to stay alive. Kaneki likely requested the mask maker to create the eyepatch for him so that he could hide his human side from other ghouls.

I first watched TG three years ago and made an artwork of Kaneki Ken in his mask back then using watercolors. I wanted to revisit Kaneki’s mask for this challenge and see how my style and skills have improved over time. I feel there is quite a difference between the two when I look at them side by side.

I started with having a look at some reference images from anime before sketching. This image was particularly helpful in figuring out the shading of the mask to make it look more dimensional. After doing the linework with Pigma Brush pen everywhere except the teeth (I used Pigma Micron fine liner 03 for that), I went in with the Diamine Jet Black drawing ink. Wherever the light was supposed to reflect on the mask I lightened those parts by applying more water and diluting the ink there. I then used the Diamine Ruby red drawing ink to add color to the gums. And well, I guess Kaneki had a bit of a snack there, hence the blood splats! Yum! xD I used the same technique as for the Splat with the syringe and the straw! It was a bit nerve-wracking to apply the splats as there was a potential of ruining everything. That did not happen! I think it turned out rather perfect! Ha!