#atelier sentô
The Shadow Festival / La Fête des ombres
For this illustration, we have used a very grainy watercolour paper to get beautiful textures on the colors. Because of that, it was difficult to draw precise lines with the 8B pencil but it gave them an interesting rough aspect. Definitely a good experiment!
One chance to win this original watercolour by preordering our new comic book right here: https://www.issekinicho.fr/editions/
***
Pour cette illustration, nous avons utilisé un papier aquarelle très granuleux qui donne une belle texture dans les couleurs. En échange, cela a rendu difficile de tracer des lignes précises avec le crayon 8B… tout en leur donnant un aspect irrégulier plutôt intéressant. En définitive, ce fut une expérience intéressante !
Et n’oubliez pas que vous avez une chance de remporter cette aquarelle originale en précommandant nous nouvelle BD ici (jusqu’à mercredi soir) : https://www.issekinicho.fr/editions/
The Shadow Festival - New comic book available!
We’re very excited because we can now reveal what we’ve been working on this past year: The Shadow Festivalisa haunted love story between Naoko - a young woman from the Japanese countryside - and a mysterious ghost. Above is the process of the cover illustration of the book which was entirely done in watercolours!
The French version of the book is now available for preorder on the publisher’s website: https://www.issekinicho.fr/editions/
* * *
Nous sommes très contents de pouvoir enfin révéler ce sur quoi nous avons travaillé l’année dernière : La Fête des Ombresestune histoire d’amour hantée entre Naoko, une jeune Japonaise des campagnes, et un mystérieux fantôme. Ci-dessus vous trouverez les étapes de la création de l’illustration de couverture, entièrement réalisée à l’aquarelle !
La version française du livre est disponible dès à présent en précommande sur le site de l’éditeur : https://www.issekinicho.fr/editions/
Dreams of Japan available for pre-order!
Discover the dreamlike beauty of Japan through 224 pages full of watercolor illustrations, sketches, linocut prints,… Dreams of Japan is our first artbook and it’s packed with hundreds of colorful illustrations and many behind-the-scenes photos.
Pre-order before November 7th and receive 2 exclusive gifts: an ex-libris and a bookmark!
https://omakebooks.com/en/omake-manga/382-reves-de-japon-9782379890000.html
Post link
Dreams of Japan - Cover’s pencils
Let’s talk about the content of our new book coming out this fall, published by Omake Books: 228 pages and about 300 drawings on the theme of Japan. It’s going to be quite a big artbook! And it will be in 3 languages: French, English and Japanese.
Post link
At last, we can reveal it: our next book is coming out this fall - in early November - and will be published by Omake Books! We will tell you more about it in the coming days. Meanwhile here’s a few details from the cover’s pencils.
Post link
Painting on a shikishi
The city of Niigata asked us to make a drawing on a shikishi (a typical Japanese paper on cardboard) for an exhibition with several mangaka. We drew the lines with a calligraphy pen and black ink. Then, we used acrylic-based inks (Aerocolor) and an excellent Japanese brush (a present from the artist Junko Kurihara during our last stay in Niigata). Final touch: we used a white Posca to draw the ghost figure in the background.
That shikishi really was an excuse for experimenting new things!
Post link
To celebrate the end of the year, we’ve re-released our first game After School on mobile (android only) with an updated interface and smoother transitions.
Interested in a haunted love story set in the Japanese countryside & handpainted with watercolors?
Play it for free on your phone or tablet:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.AtelierSento.AfterSchool
Post link
PRAGUE Travel diary - Day 7 (Part 1)
Every morning, we go down the hill to reach the city from our hotel. So we can enjoy a superb view. This is the beautiful Strahov Monastery perched on the Petrin hill. We’re having breakfast in a small pastry : tasty apple and cherry pies.
*
This morning, we make shopping with @mattjabbar and@tekumushi. They bring us at Shakespeare and Sons Bookstore and Cafe. The place is so cozy and you can find many beautiful books in various languages.
*
We find 2 beautiful etching illustrations by the local artist Juro Blahovec in an Art gallery next to Charles bridge.
*
We’re having lunch at the Café Louvre where Kafka used to go. It’as a beautiful and bright place. We take a succulent blueberry pie with vanilla ice-cream.
*
Some of you may already know it but Mateusz and Kana are very fond of art tools. So Mateusz searched for all the art supplies shop in the city. Today, we visited the Výtvarné potřeby Altamira shop and, there, one of the customers recognizes Mateusz! His name is Yura Greban and he follows Mateusz’s videos on youtube. He also do outdoor sketching so we suggest he comes with us for our next sketch! Unfortunately it’s starting to rain before we can finish our sketch in the Jewish district but still, it is very fun to work all together. We feel like the pied piper of Hamelin, gathering all the artists in Prague to make them draw under the rain!
*
It looks like the golem, the famous legendary creature of Prague, was revealed to Olivier under the rain…
Post link
PRAGUE Travel diary - Day 4
Today, we climb the Petřín Hill to see a beautiful panorama of Prague. Truth is we came here to find the beautiful Church of St. Michael the Archangel. The all-wood orthodox church was built in a village in Ukraine in the second half of the 17th century then disassembled and moved to Prague. It is a perfect spot to make a sketch!
*
From this point of view, @mattjabbar focused on the incredible woodwork of the church. @tekumushi studied the shape of the church’s roofs. Look at the impressive amount of tiles! It was probably the most complex part of the building but also the most beautiful!
*
After lunch, we look for another spot to make a watercolor sketch and we find it on one of the small island on Prague’s Vltava river : Strelecky ostrov . The atmosphere of the island is very pleasant. We discover another face of the city with lots of young people meeting here to relax and spend time together. Prague is not only a historical touristic city but also a lively place with young residents!
*
This time, Kana draws people she see, making a break on the shores. It’s interesting to see how Olivier, Mateusz and Cecile painted the water. Water is very difficult to draw and we learned a lot watching each other’s sketches.
Post link
PRAGUE Travel diary - Day 3
This third day starts with a pretty complex view from Charles Bridge, Old Town, Prague. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t good and the sky is gray so it’s quite difficult to give volume to the drawing without shadow. And it starts to rain…
*
Even if the sky is cloudy, @mattjabbar can make the colors vibrant.
@tekumushi drew several characters at the forefront. Mostly elderly persons she saw on the bridge. It’s like a comic panel, you can almost imagine a little story with these characters.
*
After drawing, we take refuge in the beautiful Cafe Letka for having a lunch. The place is amazing. The rustic walls and the bright colors go wonderfully together. Again, before eating, we take a picture with all our sketches and compare them. It is so funny to see that from the exact same place, we drew different points of view. Also the colors are different : look at the tower’s roof!
*
Cafe Letka’s food it beautiful and delicious! We’re having a great time and it’s hard to leave.
*
Because it’s still raining, we cannot look for another spot to draw, so we decide to visit the Národní technické muzeum (technical museum of Prague). It’s a huge and beautiful museum full of technical curiosity. The old things displayed are inspiring and we spend more than 2 hours there. Our favorite exhibition is the one with thecollection of astronomical instruments. It is so beautiful that you almost feel like in the distant space, surounded by poetic shapes.
*
After this moving visit, we need something to eat! We go back to the city centre and have dinner in the outside seating area. This goulash is marvelous : potato and bread dumplings, cabbage and red cabbage cooked with balsamic vinegar and pork with mushrooms.
Post link
PRAGUE Travel diary - Day 1
Last March, Cecile met the two great artists @mattjabbar and his wife @tekumushi in Tokyo and they offered us to come with them in Prague for a 10 days trip in summer to make out-door watercolor sketches together. So we took our plane tickets and get our watercolor set ready!
*
This is our very first time in Czech Republic and we don’t know what to expect but during the flight, our head is full of images from the movies, animation films, video games and stories we saw. For us, Prague means Amanita Design, Karel Zeman, Jan Švankmajer,Der Golem,Franz Kafka and many other amazing, inspiring creators.
*
Before starting discovering the city, we put our luggage at the lovely Hostel Dakura. The place is not expensive and very charming. Then we have our first meal at the Lokál, a popular restaurant where we order a traditional Czech beef goulash and knedliky (bread dumpling). We love the tasty food and the lively atmosphere!
*
Our first impression of Prague is that it’s a crazy city with millions interesting things to see and 10 days might not be enough! Every building is beautiful and you can find an interesting detail at the corner of every street.
Post link
Ghosts of Kyoto - illustration
(8B graphite pencil + watercolor)
This illustration was commissioned by the pop culture mookCarbone to illustrate an article about haunted places in Kyoto. We love horror films and Japanese ghosts so we enjoyed drawing this a lot! It’s also great to be part of Carbone: the articles are fascinating and the cover art (by Boulet) is just wonderful!
More info & order the book (French only):
https://carbone.ink/produit/02-maisons-hantees/
Post link
Ghosts of Kyoto - illustration
(8B graphite pencil + watercolor)
Here is our process for making an illustration, from the first draft to the final colors. We use a lightpad and a 8B graphite pencil to trace it on a sheet of watercolor paper. We have to be careful not to rub our hands on the lines because it would spread the graphite and 8B is difficult to erase. The colors are made with watercolors. Because of its theme, this illustration is darker than usual so it was an interesting exercise.
It was commissioned by the pop culture mook Carbone to illustrate an article about haunted places in Kyoto.
More info & order the book (French only):
https://carbone.ink/produit/02-maisons-hantees/
Post link
