Not related to the post in any way, but happy April Fools' day! :D
Sasuke time! The little Shiba dog from Ginga Densetsu Weed series. I guess you could say that Sasuke is special in a way, because unlike the other characters I've painted, there actually is an official figure of him. (As I'm writing this, I realize that's not actually true a, both Riki and John have official figures made of them. I just completely blanked out about that fact.)
don't know where that stain came from (right f. leg)
All my other custom dogs have been flea market foundlings, but this one I actually bought brand new, specifically with the intent that I was going to paint it into Sasuke. I'm probably not lying if I say that this figure sat on my desk for two years before I finally decided to get it over with and just finish it. I don't know what killed my motivation with this one. The main thing I hate about it is the head shape. It's not round enough. And the snout was somewhat misshapen too. As I was painting the tip of the nose, it was difficult to get it to look right, more trouble than I've had with any of the previous figures. Or maybe my "skills" have gone just a bit rusty.
I had a hard time deciding which reference to follow, his anime look or manga look. And now the end result doesn't look like either of them. I was also confused over those two black dot above his eyes. In the anime it's just some shadings, but in the manga they do sometimes look more like distinctive markings. You could say the same about those black stripes under his eyes too (in the manga images). I did give the figure the two black dots at first, but later painted over them, because I didn't get them to look right. The official Sasuke figure doesn't have any black markings on the face either, so maybe it's okay that I left them out.
I also wasn't sure if I should give him a collar or not. Again, in the anime, it's absent, but in the manga he has one. With my tape method, the collar is simple and fairly quick enough to make, so why not? I made him a collar. I then had to decide which color it should be, blue or black? I don't think (not that I have paid attention to it really) there's any consistency in the manga for when it's blue or black, it just seems to be random. The official Sasuke figure has a blue collar though..... I was going to compromise and paint it very dark blue, but since I already had the black paint on my palette anyhow, and I hadn't used any blue until this point, so I decided to save that tiny speck of blue paint for some other time.
What do I think of the final result? I hate it.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
The main reason I do not like it is because I know I rushed it. I was sick and tired of seeing his base painted ass sitting on my desk for so long. I had to finish it to be able to move forward. I always get mentally stuck and unable to start new projects if I have too many old ones on the back of my mind. I'm glad this is over now. Fingers crossed that I'll do better next time!
Hyena, Sasuke and Jerome
