Strange, hunched, baggy-eyed and socially awkward L from Death Note has got to be the most amazing anime character ever crafted. This super-genius detective has seriously captured my heart, and I adore him so much! I never knew I could find myself so attached to any one character’s well-being, but the writing in this storyline is incredible and, if you’ve never seen it, now would be a good time to give it a shot.
My buddy Rich was talking shop with me the other day about different ways to take my art (he used to be the head of the Comics department for IGN, so he knows his shit). He was saying that while it’s great to do a lot of original pieces, it’s also a good idea to throw some of my own fan pieces into my work and do my different spins on characters that I already know and love. Characters that have inspired me in my work, so that when I recreate them myself, I put a lot of love into the art.
And that’s definitely how I felt when painting L.
As a drawn character, L is fairly simple to recreate. He’s unlike any other anime character I’ve ever seen in that he’s this gremlin kind of adorable freak of nature who’s far too smart for his own good. He’s not this typical “sexy” anime boy type — he has bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep he gets, he’s hunched over all the time because it supposedly increases his “detective skills”, he picks at his lip often and is incredibly awkward in public — but he’s just so freaking cool that you sort of forgive him for all of his weirdness.
I identify with how much of an outcast L is. He’s so dedicated to his craft that he’s completely shut himself away from the outside world and appears to be crazy. But he’s such a genius! Gah!
Anyway, I absolutely love this anime and I was sad when … Well. You-know-what happens. And I don’t want to spoil it for any of you who plan on watching it. But just take my word for it — it’s freaking awesome.
This piece prints out beautifully at a humongous 20″ x 30″.
To view a larger image, check it out here on DeviantArt (though you’ll have to purchase it from me to get the full resolution large print).
I tried to capture L’s weirdness with the coloring of the piece — giving his skin sort of a sallow, pale, sickly look (as if he’s anemic, since he rarely ever goes outside), and drowning the background color with a moody blue to reflect the dark environment you’ll typically see him in throughout the anime. But I couldn’t help adding the touches of glowing highlights here and there. X_x It’s my thing. And I felt like the piece wouldn’t have been complete without it, ha! So I had to.
Anyway, enjoy.
And if you know of any other really cool animes to watch, let me know!
Other animes I dig: Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Love Hina, and Oh! My Goddess. I can’t think of anything else right now. :3
Some Work In Progress pictures:
I still think the background could have a little more something to it.
I always feel like I’m doing something wrong if I leave any part of the picture too plain. But ugh — it’s fine. I’ll just leave it. Ha.
Happy to be drawing characters I love,
XOXO Cheri XOXO
25 comments
I love L & death note :D
And your artwork is awesome (as always) ^^
Death Note is SO freaking good. After you-know-what happens, I kinda stopped caring about it and was like, “Ehhhhhhhh.” Wasn’t as enjoyable for me. :/ But anyway, thank you!
other anime you should watch: basalisk, gurren lagaan, one piece, hajime no ippo
I’ll look them up! If you can give me kind of a synopsis on each one of why you like them, that would be cool too. XD
lets see:
Basalisk – older animation style, ninja/historical fiction type feel
Samurai Champloo – older/modern mixed samurai anime – loved the style
Gurren Lagaan – epic mecca – very mixed animation styles, which i liked
One piece – pirates with weird powers: more for humor/amusement
hajime no ippo – boxing story anime
I like the comedic type ones a lot, so I’ll check out One Piece. :D :D :D
have you ever watched His and Her Circumstances? High school teen angst type stuff. It’s made by the Neon Genesis people but completely different genre. I think that’s the funniest anime i’ve ever watched.
I know the characters from Neon Genesis, but I don’t know what it’s about and haven’t really bothered to figure it out. I played a simulation one time that had the characters in it, but uh … It was dirty. XD
I’ll check out the one you mentioned!
The finished image looks great. You can tell you put a lot of time into this. Love your art style ^_^
I did! And thank you. I’m glad you think I have a “style”. Ha.
eeeee! Can you do some Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon fan art then?? <3 <3 <3 <3
Omg, my childhood was — no joke — FULL of Sailor Moon fan art, Pokemon Fan Art, Dragon Ball Z fan art, etc LOL. Sailor Moon is actually the main anime that had a huge effect on my art style. It’s progressed since then, obviously. But Sailor Venus was the first anime character I’ve ever drawn in my ENTIRE LIFE. I loved that whole series. I even have the entire thing on an external hard drive. Lol.
I remember carrying around this binder full of Sailor Moon crap. I even had collectible Sailor Moon cards. XD
So yeah. I can totally do Sailor Moon Fan Art!! :3
LOL! I totally had Sailor Moon cards too which I traded with everyone. I still have a poster in my room with all of the Sailor Moon characters that I got when I was 10… my friends tease me mercilessly about having it but it’s FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!! So yeah, cant wait for the fan art =D
That just makes me regret tearing down my old Sailor Moon posters. :( LOL! Gawd.
kladlkajsd klalsd DEATH NOTE.
I need to go rewatch this now since it’s been a long time, but I love it.
This looks awesome as usual.
As for other animes, it’s not a series, but Paprika is a sweet movie.
http://content7.flixster.com/rtmovie/17/38/17385_gal.jpg
http://content9.flixster.com/rtmovie/29/25/29255_gal.jpg
Death Note is the first anime I’ve seen in a really long time that had me cheering and going, “OMG NO WAY” etc. It’s so good! Gah.
Also, I will check out Paprika! Hopefully it’s on Netflix.
I think my IQ went about 30 points when I watched Death Note. It was honestly the best dark anime I’ve ever watched. And I’m the typical sailor moon/DBZ fan
Right?! The constant inner monologue was freaking awesome.
I love Death Note! And L is waaaaaay my fave character. probably EVER.
I love his sweets addiction! I wish I could subsist entirely on sweets, but sadly, we’re not made that way :(((
Right?! He makes me want to pig out so hard. BLARGH.
wow! those are old school animes that even I used to watch! nice work as usual
Thankyouthankyouthankyou.
OH MY GOsh. You have the entire Sailor Moon series!? You lucky b****! LOL.
The magic of torrents.
[…] in one day, my painting of L has managed to weasel it’s way into the collections and favorites of over 100+ […]