Jackary Archives Day 178: Orochi Fire Emblem (Nude) (2022) (Patreon)

So first off, let's address the elephant in the room -- I haven't done Archives posts in weeks and I apologize for that! But to make up for the lack of posting, I will be posting TWO Archives posts a day for the rest of September!

In a nutshell, things have just been incredibly busy. Obviously there's cute lil baby Saria to take care of, but also, I've been in the vetting/interviewing process for a neat job for almost two months now. That, along with trying to catch up on other art, has kept me busy. I kept intending to resume Archives posts, but before I even knew it, 3-4 days had turned into 17. Oof!

Anyway, we're back on!

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Today's Archives Post is a 2022 piece of Orochi from Fire Emblem Fates, dressed in absolutely nothing at all except for her hair piece!

This isn't the first time Orochi has appeared in the Archives -- last time was in July, where she showed up wearing a rarely-posted alternate casual outfit. But Orochi has some assets, and if you prefer to see her without those pesky clothes in the way, here she is to bless your feed.

ARTIST COMMENTARY

Being from 2022, it's not like this drawing is that old, but as my skill and my "artist sight" improves, my opinion on older pieces often sours over time.

But not with this one!

I really like this drawing. I think it still holds up well. The technique is definitely there. Really soft and detailed rendering throughout, a well-drawn face, everything about the piece just works for me!

But aside from that, I feel like I also captured the essence of Orochi really well. Orochi is by far one of the most underrated Fire Emblem characters. Being from the 3DS era, having an extremely memorable personality, big ol' booba, and a great design, I continue to be utterly baffled and bewildered at her lack of popularity in the fandom. Orochi deserves JUSTICE and I was overjoyed when somebody commissioned me to draw her.

One last note: 2022 was probably the peak era of "detailed Jackary rendering." You'll notice, the thinner my line art is, the more the rendering takes center stage. This is because lines often fulfill the job of rendering, but in a simpler way. Like, see how her right leg is folding, and I have shading above the line I drew for her calf? That emphasizes the folding of skin and the small shadows that form when light is unable to get into such tight crevasses. But in a drawing with more prominent line art, that effect might be represented with a thickly-drawn line instead.

In other words, the more you reduce the line art, the more the rendering has to step in to fulfill the "job" that lines would otherwise achieve. But the tradeoff is, by replacing lines with shading, it achieves a higher fidelity of detail and thus looks more "realistic!"

That makes me curious: In an effort to save time in non-commission drawings, I've been drawing with much thicker lines lately, resulting in a style that hits a bit different. Compare this drawing to, say, the Paya and Purah I recently posted. Between this style and that one, which do you like more?