Portal To Heaven | Posted: Nov. 11, 2016, 12:54 a.m.

Media: Digital Art, PaintTool Sai

Time: ~15 hours

This piece took me easily over 15 hours, and it is sad because professional artists can draw something in 1 hour that looks better than my entire piece.

That being said, I do see improvement in my digital art capabilities. I tried establishing a semi-realistic perspective and developing a clear distinction between the background and foreground. I also tried establishing various light sources.

I had to stay patient with this piece due to the amount of detail I wanted to include. I had to use several references, since I had never drawn angel wings or portals/mirrors before.

For those who couldn't tell, this piece is a fan art of Light Yagami from Death Note. Sorry kids, it's not a fan art of Justin Bieber.

When I showed my high school art teacher this piece back in the day, the first thing he asked me was "Is that Bieber?" I literally laughed out loud.

Anyway, at the time (late 2012), Light was one of my favorite fictional characters despite his crazed personality. It was interesting to watch an anime where the protagonist is a villain instead of the usual hero. A challenge for all the Death Note fans viewing this piece: guess who the characters are in the back!

My friend Tanya helped me with this piece, along with several of the other pieces in this gallery. I'd send her a screenshot of a piece while I worked on it and ask for critiques. She'd always give me insightful feedback and urge me to take risks with my art. I can't thank her enough for her guidance through the years.