W.I.P. report + Enter Sachiko!! (again)... and Friend-chan!! + I love making these short wordless CGs (Patreon)

This is a looooong ass post, so I've divided in sections for you to jump directly into what you're interested in.

Enter Sachiko!!!... (again)...

I finished Sachiko!! (finally!!... Hurra!!). I've never been satisfied with how Sachiko turned out, so I've been working on her in my "free time" (for months). However, no matter how much I tried I couldn't manage to make her right!... 'till the last few days. I was wrapping up this month's work for TDK 2.0 to start working on D.O.M. and decided I'll work on Sachiko a little bit before switching works... And suddenly Sachiko was starting to look how I wanted her to look! So I spent a few more days to keep working on her and finally I was able to finish her! (not in the Mortal Kombat sense... LOL...).

This Sachiko version is "final"... Well, I always make minor modifications and improvements to my characters (I'm not sure if I told you this before), so there's never really a "final" version, but instead a version that is ready to appear on stage! The modifications/improvements are so subtle you probably haven't noticed at all. For instance, The version of Kanon I'm working with right now is the 11.0 version, the version I used in TDK was the 6.0 version (and the one that appears in the last image is the 9.5 version).

... and also Enter Friend-chan!!!

Since I was on a roll, once I finished Sachiko I started to work on Friend-chan (haven't decided on a name for her yet). She's also part of Kanon's study group (along with Sachiko), and will also make a short appearance in TDK 2.0 (along with Sachiko). I know I've taken a few days where I should have been working on D.O.M. instead of spending them finishing these two characters, but when you're on a roll (inspired), you have to take advantage of it or lose your chance (which often means more work and time in the future). By the way, Friend-chan took me less than one day to finish, so I think it was worth it!

Friend-chan version is not final. I'm still unsure of her body proportions. I wanted her to have small breasts, but they turned out kind of normal (well, her breasts are small if you compare them with the rest of my heroines). Her body is also slimmer in comparison with the rest of my heroines. I'm still not sure if I should make her THICKER (the hips/butt) but with small breasts or just leave her the way she is now. I'm also unsure if I should make her breasts even smaller... I probably make 4 versions and let you decide which looks better (between the current version and combinations with smaller breasts and bigger booty). But that will be for next month since I really need to start working on D.O.M. ASAP!!

Wordless Short CGs as a format for a running story

I'm really comfortable making these short wordless CGs. I never was when I made the standard ones (longer and with words), and I guess it showed (like in Teaser~?????~Kanon). I want to continue making them, but not only as short side stories about my current projects but maybe as a brand-new story. Something I can post monthly and doesn't take a lot of time to do. The CG above took me technically just one day to make... that is if you don't consider all the time in searching for the swimsuits (MODS), installing them, creating the characters, etc... but all that stuff is something I have to do regardless of what I'm working on.

I've seen some artists making something like that, especially Kishi. I might do something like what he/she does, using an old concept I had: Helpless/Clueless (you can see some examples of it HERE and HERE). To be honest, I'm more inclined to make something in the vein of Helpless, but I think I can kind of combine both concepts. I think the key for it to work would be:

1. The husband never really watches his wife cheating on him, even though the cheating is so obvious! He's probably so traumatized (broken) that chooses to live in denial: "As long as I don't see it, it's not happening!".

2. It has to be short releases (3~10 pics), so it doesn't take time off my current projects (since I'm making these short wordless CGs anyway, because I enjoy doing them, so why not make a whole series in that format).

3. The images have to be self-explanatory without words (or maybe with a minimum number of words). You wouldn't believe how much time it takes to write the script of my works, so the fewer words it has, the better! (and faster!).

This is just an idea, so I don't make any promises, but I'm open to suggestions!

TDK 2.0

Regarding the progress on TDK 2.0, it's progressing smoothly, but I guess it was naive of me to think I could finish it by this month. Hard for me to show you previews since I'm working on a part of the story that might contain some spoilers. There is not really a big twist like at the end of the first part (the original TDK), but there might be a couple of surprises along the way. I probably will be able to show you some previews next month (when I pass that part of the story). However, I would like to talk about some things in regard to the renders, the lighting settings, and the version of Kanon I'm using right now.

Back when I started developing TDK I didn't know jack about lighting for a 3d environment... It's not like I'm an expert now, but I've learned a lot along the way (thanks to studying other people's scenes in HS and also researching about it). For instance:

The original plan for this scene was for Kanon to look at the camera (at Hiro) when he was admonishing her in regards to her underwear. I couldn't do what I planned because her face looked like crap in that scene! (Really like out of a horror movie!). That was because of the IBL (Image Base Lighting) settings I used back then (also the make-up but more on that later). Lighting can make a lot of difference! I'm sure you have often heard how some models look gorgeous in pictures, but they don't look as good when you see them in real life (like looking at them on the street)... well, working in an LRE (Lighting Rendering Experiment) environment is like that... but on steroids!

So, with the knowledge I  gained through experience, I've been tweaking my IBL settings so that my girls' faces look gorgeous no matter the scene or the camera angle. Right now I'm using my current IBL settings for totally new scenes for TDK 2.0, like this one:

However, I'm forced to use my old IBL settings for scenes that mingle with the original scenes in TDK, because otherwise, the scene will look inconsistent, but most of all it will look weird. A perfect example of this is the dresser scene. In that scene, you will be able to see both: What Hiro is seeing, and what's really happening behind the curtains. I tried to use my current IBL settings for the "behind the curtains" renders... but it didn't work! It looked like what was happening behind the curtains was taking place in a totally different... well... place (the lighting, the ambiance exposure, even the colors were drastically different).

By now you might be wondering: "What the hell is this guy babbling about?!... We don't care for all this technical mambo-jambo!!... Is there a point for all this crap!?". And well, there actually IS, and it has to do with make-up.

As I said, the current version of Kanon is 11.0, and that's the version I'm working with for the new CG for TDK 2.0 (and also the Valentine's manga). The version of Kanon (6.0) I used for the original TDK didn't wear much makeup. That's partly why she looked ugly with some given lighting I used back then and couldn't show her face in that scene (however the lighting also played a major part in it). I've been tweaking Kanon since then and although I'm still not satisfied with the makeup (especially the eyes), she looks alright with my current IBL settings. But, when I use her with the old IBL settings I used for the original TDK...

...She looks a little... just a little... but a little... how to put it... A little bit "raccoonish". I only noticed when I had to make her close her eyes. I already made a bunch of renders with that Kanon (11.0 version), so changing her and redoing the renders is not an option. So what I'm trying to say is: "Forgive me for this little mistake". I don't think it's a "game breaker", but since I'm a perfectionist it bugs me. I'll continue the work like this, since trying to fix "every little detail" is not worth it (it will be actually a waste of time for me and for you).

Also, I noticed some weird shadows in the dresser scene. That's because of my old IBL settings. I tried to fix them, but couldn't. They're noticeable but not really that big of a deal. Same as for the makeup, I think it's better to just keep going instead of keeping wasting time on those details.

Well, I guess that's it for this looooong ass post. Now I'll focus on D.O.M. I'll really have to make one manga page a day if I want to, at the very least, give you the same amount of pages from the last couple of months. It will be challenging, but I'll do my best!!

Stay healthy!!