It’s been so long since I last made an anime fan art 😗

And that’s saying something, because I absolutely love them! Right now, I’m so hooked on Dandadan that I just had to make one. The only catch is that I take forever to finish them. Get this: I wanted to finish this fan art before the episode where Okarun fights the Evil Eye aired… and that was two episodes ago! In fact, I had to set a strict rule for myself: I wasn’t allowed to watch this week’s episode until I finished and posted the drawing. So as soon as I finish writing this, I’m finally watching the new episode — have you seen it yet? Are you enjoying this season? Right now, I’m watching Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan, and Gachiakuta, and I really want to catch up on One Piece. So if you like this fan art, chances are I’ll be back with another one from one of those anime — probably an action scene, since that’s what I love drawing the most! 🎨✨

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🧠 TOOLS USED:

Photoshop (as always, my digital salvation).
Brushes: my trusty brush pack, with a few new ones featuring glitter effects
Soundtrack: Navigating - Twenty One Pilots
Resolution: 2048x3000 px

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⏰ CREATIVE PROCESS

✏️ Phase 1: Sketch & Lineart

For the composition, I wanted to show Okarun landing a blow on the Evil Eye, but with the Evil Eye in the foreground because I wanted to detail it much more than Okarun. In Okarun’s case, I first tried to draw him attacking directly, but I wasn’t feeling the pose, so I went straight up and robbed a frame from the actual anime fight to use as reference. That way, I could pay direct homage to the episode and make my life easier.

🎨 Phase 2: Base Colors

As usual, I used the Pen Tool to subdivide each element of the characters into different layers to work more fluidly. I had made a fairly decent lineart, so I could have painted quickly in the typical anime style, but that wasn’t the result I wanted to achieve.

🌗 Phase 3: Shadows & Kind of Realistic Anime Style

Following the idea of not sticking to the flat anime illustration style, I instead brought it into my own territory using shadows and soft brushstrokes to create volume, relying on Pinterest for reference to the "realistic anime style"—at least for the Evil Eye, since Okarun would have a more chaotic definition.

🌟 Phase 4: Final Details and Atmosphere

The background for almost the entire fight is the vegetation around Momo's grandmother's house, so I experimented with the vegetation brushes I had on hand. They were okay, but the result wasn’t even close to what I wanted—though nothing a trusty motion blur couldn’t fix. I ended up applying that same blur to Okarun to avoid detailing his hands and feet, since I wanted them faded out due to the high speed at which he’s moving. I poured all my detailing effort into the Evil Eye to make it look cool, though I finished that part yesterday and now, looking back, I’m not totally satisfied with the finish. I feel like the colors are a bit flat and I could’ve done more to differentiate the depth of the space. But it’s something I’ll keep in mind for future illustrations like this.