A Parallel Planets piece by Pepe Serapio
Parallel Planets presents November Nocturne
Aaron Felizmenio in InkTober to Remember
Story by Jofer Serapio
Mentioned: Steve Buscemi, when September ends, and (two)facing the challenge
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Rikimaru, Swamp Thing, and Steve Buscemi walk into a bar... They're all awake because, you know, September has already ended. Get it? I'm sorry. I just had to.
Last October, artists all over the world participated in an art challenge that focuses on the wonders of ink. It's an annual thing, first conceptualized by Jake Parker in 2009, and it's called, brace yourselves, InkTober. Not a bad thing to wake up to, right? I mean, you know, from hibernating during the entire September. Get it? Okay, fine, that's the last one.
InkTober may long be over (until next year, that is!) but we're just starting to marvel at how amazing its products have consistently been. It's very accessible, too: One only needs a pen (Pigma Micron 03? Unipin 03? Pigmabrush? Kuretake Fudegokochi Brush Pen? Your brother's Number 2 pencil?) to join the artistic frenzy.
This endeavor allows both amateurs and veterans to hone their skills in the art of inking as well as develop positive habits in their chosen field. One ink drawing a day for 31 days? That routine's going to turn you into a professional, barring the level of your talent and whether you're as disciplined as you are when posting comments on your friends' Facebook posts. Or not.
Aaron Felizmenio, creator of Gwapoman 2000 and Minkowski Space Opera and
the first-ever feature of our Homeworlds series, did Parallel Planets the honor of letting us feature his own TOP TEN creations under the #InkTober banner. From Cameron Stewart's Batgirl to his own characters (Alas has a thing for mechanics), Aaron did his favorites justice using only ink and buckets of talent. Not only that, but he also wrote comments on each piece, a definite welcome inside the mind of one of the Philippines' top comic book artists of his generation.
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"My 2nd entry is Cameron Stewart's Batgirl. I really wanted to draw her before and join the bandwagon but I never found the time. But hey! I did! Thanks to Inktober! Really not that quite familiar with her new costume so I'm guessing... this one took the longest to draw. Just because of the costume."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"It was enjoyable, doing that technique. So I made another one to explore it more. This time, I avoided using heavy blacks with my brush and use pens instead for hatching and build-up of values. I think it looked pretty neat but maybe I could've done it better with only one directional stroke. But that'd be time consuming. These are the 4 vectors from Minkowski Space Opera, btw. 2 of them are protagonists, 2 aren't."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"There was a joke in this when I made this. Every sketch I did were quick ink sketches. 1 to 2 hours tops (never mind the Batgirl piece), so when I uploaded this online, I captioned it with a... 'Here's a quick one for today.' I made friends that day."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"The usual uh, imperfection of the background is a failed attempt of a distorted imagery. Basically I tried to speak in jargons but it turns out, I don't have the vocabulary. Oh, and this is my favorite sketch in the series."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"I went back to the more conservative approach but with an added technique. Originally, I only intended to draw one character, the girl, but it was out of balance to the entire picture so I had to insert Alas. You have no idea how much that character saved my life. Only once."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"Likeness Round 2! Ding-Ding! Also almost miserably failed at this because Steve Buscemi looks nothing like he was back in Reservoir Dogs. He's now crazy-eye and all nowadays. I also made it look like as if it was raining inside the warehouse."
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"For some reason, this got a huge response online. I still don't understand why. The detail on his face is just compensation for the lack of awesome striking pose because let's (two)face it, Harvey doesn't pose for the camera. With that face, who would?"
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"Batwoman is my favorite in this series. But this Rikimaru is the one I'm most proud of. I drew Ayame and this guy years ago and I wasn't really happy with it. I thought I could never translate these characters in my style. I proved myself wrong! Lord Gohda and Master Shiunsai are proud!"
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| Art by Aaron Felizmenio |
"I did this in 30 minutes. Which isn't really amazing considering these facts: No normal human proportion; headshot; All were done in brush to fill large amounts of shadows; But hey the concept is what I'm proud of! Swamp thing hiding in the nature!"
More Aaron Felizmenio: Website,
Facebook,
Twitter
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Editor's Note: This feature is also a part of our "black" theme, November Nocturne. To share your work on Parallel Planets, click here to know what we're currently looking for. You may also read more from Jofer Serapio.
