Sketch Series: Fanart: Itachi and Kisame

If you're reading this, you've probably seen my previous work, the Japanese Samurai. Yeah, that was one of my lazy sketches, as is this one.

If you're still wondering who they are, then you obviously did not read or watch Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto which is arguably one of the greatest anime of all time.

They were both bad guys (as we were first introduced to them anyway), even though we saw that Kisame was basically a soul torn between sticking for his comrades and obeying the law. That said, he was also prominently evil, having no negative dispositions towards carrying out his duties as a member of the terrorist organization Akatsuki.

Itachi Uchiha killed his entire clan, exempting only his little brother Sasuke. He did this to avoid a war between his village, Konohagakure, and the Uchiha clan, being a pacifist in nature. For this reason, he joined the Akatsuki so as to bring an era of peace where there would be no fighting. He did have to do some very bad things, and he even acted more wickedly to ensure that Sasuke became stronger and more respected.

I loved their duo because while Kisame was a sadistic, casual figure with extreme shark-like features and a voracious appetite for fighting, Itachi was a relatively silent pacifist with great skill and slim, smaller features. Did I also mention his voice and deep tear-troughs were awesome?

So let's get to how I made the art.

I was feeling very bored and unmotivated so I decided to see whether I could make a better sketch of the two. I'd made many tries, but I was never really able to get a good rendering of the iconic pair.

So I started with Kisame, making sure I got a good outline of his hair, the huge body, and a few other prominent features like his headband.

Then I got Itachi down too, trying to picture his features that always gave me an issue.

As you can see, I still botched the face. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Then I went about the tough job of getting the tonal graduation of Kisame's hair right. I did this so we know where his hair stops and his forehead protector begins.

It took a lot before I was done, but I guess it was good for a sketch. I had to angle the pen so only about 20% of the nib was actually touching the paper, so it was definitely a lot of inking layers before I could achieve a dark consistency.

Then I darkened the parts that would need shade, and when I spotted a red-ink pen on the center table, I was sure to use it!

By the time I spotted the red pen, I had already lost most of my motivation to complete this, so I used cross-hatching to finish off the coloring on their clothes. That's why it ended up so roughly.

I'm sure Itachi didn't turn out just right. Again. This is what happened the last time I tried to sketch him too.

TRIVIA

1. Kisame's giant sword is called Samehada, literally meaning Shark Skin. It is sentient snd has the ability to cut through and eat others' chakra. Its appearance is akin to that of a fish, with sharp scales adorning its body and a mouth at its top.

2. Itachi means Weasel, which is a bad omen in Japanese tradition. Kisame means Demon Shark, and I guess we can all see why.

3. The real picture from the two is gotten from Episode 81 of Naruto Part 1, where we first see them coming after Naruto to get the tailed beast inside him, Itachi actually knocks on his door politely when they come to kidnap him 😅😅😅

Thanks for sharing in my geek rants 👊😅

I've also finished some more digital fanart, including one of Hidan and Kakuzu. Would you guys like to see it?