Ifrit (Final Fantasy studies)

I cannot draw like the gentleman (Kazuya Takahashi) who designed Ifrit for Final Fantasy 16. It is way too intricate a design for my current skill and level of patience. But what I can do is see if I can somewhat get the gist by simplifying it into oblivion in this watercolor style that I am lately fond of, and also keep the beauty of that loose brushwork, always one of the most important elements for me. And so, I've created for myself a challenge worth taking, one I would not get bored after the first few lines because I am actually interested in the topic. 

And here we are, a few hours later. 

If you actually overlay my attempt and the original, nothing is "right". Shapes are different, proportions are "wrong". I've never been one for copying things 1:1 from the left to the right, it's extremely tedious, particularly in digital, because of the zoom level and brushes that can be one pixel or the size of a house. I can do it, I've done it plenty of times, but I absolutely hate it because it involves more measuring than I can tolerate. 

But the funny thing is, if you overlay enough complexity and smaller shapes, the gist will be there and no one would ever notice (or care) that you haven't done it "perfectly". If I would not show the reference, you would never know. Even with the reference there, it's still hard to tell exactly. And, after all, what would I gain by copying something "perfectly"? By "stylizing" these shapes, by intent or accident, I get to make some small decisions and introduce a bit of "me", I get to play around and explore possibilities, which is always rewarding. By mindlessly copying, I don't get anything but copy line lengths and exact degree angles. Not fun. Completely useless, if you ask me.

By the same token, you can then introduce new shapes and create a different design altogether, but that is a concept artist's job, it would take a lot of extra time, and I see no way it would benefit my purpose. I don't want to create a new design, and I don't want to rotate the form in my head and all that crap to prove random beginner stuff, it takes too much brain power, too much time, and I don't feel like proving anything, nor do I care about hiding the fact that I have copied it. All credit goes to the original designer, I am just a painter, I paint.

Here's another Ifrit design, my all-time favorite, from FF 8, closely followed by the FFX design. The drawing is more accurate for this one, but the shapes are rather simple, and I kept the linework, which I do not usually do.

The summons were the main reason I got into the FF series, and Ifrit has always been my favorite of them all. His designs are just insane. 

On that note, FF 16 delivers, as it delivers on many others, being a GOTY contender for sure. If you're playing it, I hope you enjoy it! 

Both paintings are executed in Rebelle 5 Pro, with minor color corrections in Photoshop.