Kody Okamoto

THE O.Z #1 Print

PHEW, this released today!! Here's the full image of that sneak peek I posted earlier.

About a month ago, comic writer David Pepose (SPENCER & LOCKE, GOING TO THE CHAPEL) showed up in my email inbox asking if I'd be interested in doing a variant cover for the first issue of his next project, and I was in a bit of disbelief. I definitely didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to work with him, so here we are!

Batman Sighting

EDIT: FINALLY JEEZ I kept trying to upload the full size wallpaper for you all as an attachment, and it wouldn't go until JUST NOW. So uh. Nab it if you want it!

Ohhh my god. This took. So many hours. So many hours over the course of a week, with one or two days dedicated solely to fixing my donked-up perspective (assisted with the help of a friend, who correctly placed my horizon line at the bottom of the canvas, instead of where I had it like, a screen-inch o...

Sneak Peek (I FINALLY SPELLED THAT CORRECTLY)

Recently I was hired to make something PRETTY COOL for something that is VERY COOL by a guy who is EXTREMELY COOL, but I can't share the finished work until it's announced. 

Buuuuut I'm dropping this little crop here for you all so you know why I've been so silent these past few weeks - and to also note that because it's done, I'll finally be able to make some new art to share with Patreon! Woo! I promise to have a lot of goodies for August to make up for how slow the earlier summe...

assorted sketches

I still feel really awful I don't have more goodies to share with you all. Even though next month looks like I'll be busy with work-art that I can't release publicly, I'm going to really focus on trying to create more content for this Patreon!

...In the meantime, here's a bunch of study-sketches. This is like the veggies of making art for me. It's not totally fun, but it's gotta get done!

The bottom two colored pieces are studies from Sukiyaki Western Django, which I rewa...

WALLY Wallpaper Download + Process Gif

Hey folks. Thanks so much for sticking with me, even though there hasn't been as much content coming from me as before. Your support makes a huge difference in my life (especially as my partner's begun wracking up some medical expenses and has yet to be able to return to work).

I'm trying to get back into the creative swing of things, and painted a Wally for the still-planned, but as of yet unstarted Bats in the Ring series 2 I hope to do! This was both me getting back into dra...

35% Off Frenden's CSP Brushes!

Hey folks! I just saw this on Twitter; I've recommended these before, but Frenden's CSP 800+ brushes that are consistently updated once you purchase them are 35% off right now with the code 35OFF.  

( source tweet )

Sorry things have been quiet from me this month. I was really hoping I'd have more spare creative energy, but some health scares in my family are leavi...

portrait of a TERRY

I have. A sort of confession to make. I have consciously avoided trying to paint Terry McGinnis in a straight-on shot for YEARS. I did one painting of a straight-on shot that I adored and thought was my magnum opus back in 2014, and it all went downhill from there. Some of my objectively worst Terry paintings that came after were all straight-on shots, and so I started to avoid them.

I finally have a slightly better understanding of facial planes and representing them with pushing paint...

Some Practices for Taking on Client/Commission Work

I am not the most qualified/experienced freelancer to be giving advice, but before I made the switch from hobbyist taking fan art commissions to taking on more official client work, I had almost no one to turn to and no resources to help me make that leap, so I thought I'd put together a little bit of advice and a general process walkthrough for any artist here who is also trying to bridge that gap! I'll be using my recent job creating a t-shirt design for the indie wrestler, Danjerhawk as my...

Patreon Sales Tax Update

Hey folks!

I wanted to give you an update on some changes that we’ll be seeing which may affect some of your pledges.  Due to new laws passing in several countries and US states, Patreon  will be required to start charging sales tax on some pledges starting July 1st. 

Less  than half of all patrons will be charged sales tax, and for most, the  amount will be very small. For example, sales tax rates in the US range  ...

TIMELAPSE: Ultimo Dragon Photo Study

Hey folks! I hope this post finds you in good health. I recorded a timelapse video of this photo study of the wrestler Ultimo Dragon, with some (written) notes added about my thought process, brushes, and more along the way!

My main goal was to improve my draftsmanship at the sketching stage, practice sight picking colors, and to further practice good edge control during the painting stage. Plus - that's just a super nice photo of a super great wrestler, so, haha!

(Music is from M...

Ultimo Dragon photo study

( Photo source: medium.com )

This is a lil self-explanatory, but uh, I did a photo study of Ultimo Dragon! You can grab a high-res of it in the attachments below. I also recorded a timelapse video of working on this start to finish which I'll post in just a second!

3AM Train Ride Home + Wallpaper Download

And... we're back! I think my health and availability have both returned to a good space where I can make art again! Pledges will begin collecting on June 1st. Before then, though, have a Batman Beyond wallpaper!

May Hiatus

Hey folks! I sincerely apologize for the radio silence. There hasn't been a day that's gone by since I last wrote that I haven't thought of you all and this Patreon daily.

I'm writing to announce I'm putting this Patreon on hiatus for next month, the month of May. You will not be charged your monthly pledge for the month of May. 

My health (mental and otherwise) in April didn't allow me to do get any creative work done, and although this Patreon is run like a...

Covid-19 is a jerk

Hey friends, I hope this post finds you all well. I know these are incredibly strange and disquieting times, and that many of us have found our work, finances, and emotional and physical well-being adversely impacted by covid-19. Some of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen my post in regards to my partner recently being laid off due to coronavirus, and so our little family has lost our primary source of income.

This along with some health concerns within my family has left me wit...

VIDEO REWARD: How to Add that Glow Effect I Do in Literally Every Painting

Thank you so much to all my new patrons!! I'm so happy to have you! And a continued thank you to everyone whose stuck with me so far.

Here's a quick, 2:35 video tutorial on how to do that glow effect (you know the one I do in literally every painting?) in Photoshop. It's absolutely doable in Clip Studio Paint, too. If you're doing it in CSP, I suggest using an airbrush!

(Song is "Shattertongue" by In the Middle of Waves)

20 FISTS #1 Variant Cover

Earlier this month I was hired to do my first comic cover! This has been my dream for years. It's for 20 FISTS, a comic about fist fights and bad romance from creators Frankee White and Kat Baumann. My cover will be available for purchase when the 20 Fists Kickstarter goes live on 3/23. For now, please give 2020-03-18 22:43:37 +0000 UTC View Post

FREE ART TOOL REC: Design Doll & MagicPoser

Hey folks!! I wanted to share this before I forget: a free fully poseable, customizable 3D model (with light sources, perspective, camera movements). It's pretty much my dream 3D tool.

I've been playing around with it, and it's fantastic. It has similar limits to models like bodykun, in that some joints act more like a ball-joint rather than the actual human body, but if you supplement your pose with photo ref, I think you'll be golden.

2020-03-09 19:34:51 +0000 UTC View Post

THE EGGBABY (abandoned Batman Beyond comic)

Happy March, patrons! Here's an unfinished throwaway gag comic I started in October that I will 100% never finish. (All the panels are there, I just never finished the art for the final panel.) A friend messaged me to say she dreamt that Blade Sommers from Batman Beyond had created an influencer instagram for her and Terry's Eggbaby (from, you know, The Eggbaby episode). I thought that was hilarious and started this in response.

I still like how Max turned out in these, so I thought I'd...

February Rewards

Hey folks! Thank you so much for your continued support. I really can't understate how much of a financial help this Patreon is, and I am constantly humbled you're all here. Rewards this month will be a day late (I'll send out a message to the dropbox link tomorrow, rather than today).

AFTER THE SHOW (bonus scene + download)

A post-show painting I did for Bats in the Ring! I actually had the sketch/thumbnail for this as early as November. Uh. Maybe I'll share it as my casual reminder that I can't draw, I can only paint.

PATRON ONLY POLL #1 - Bats in the Ring Series 2

Well, you'll hear it here officially: I will be doing a sequel series to Bats in the Ring that greatly expands the roster of wrestlers. I have a *very* rough script for it written of the plot, but I do know the opening scene is a tag team match featuring the team of Harley Quinn + Poison Ivy, and you, my lovely patrons, get to decide their opponents.

So, who do you want to see wrestling Harley and Ivy in the opening shot of Bat...

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Wallpaper Download

Part 17 and the finale of Bats is the Ring finally landed this week, finally revealing Bats in the Ring was a tag team reunion story all along. I hinted at the tag team angle in the title and trivia for VIGILANTE VENGEANCE, as well as in Terry's wrestling outfit post!

The inspiration for this came from the Golden Lovers tag team reunion video, as well as this shot of the Golden Lovers: 

2020-02-26 02:43:24 +0000 UTC View Post

FLY ME TO THE MOON Wallpaper Download

We're pretty much in the final climax of BATS IN THE RING. I'll wax poetic more later, but when I first pitched a batfamily/pro-wrestling mash up to my sister and asked her for movesets for the boys, one of the first things she said back was "Terry gets an Asai moonsault because it's got his [Batman Beyond] pose in it" -- and it was that imagery that I began Bats in the Ring.

This was one of my first thumbnails, even though I knew it'd be one of the last paintings.

Here's the phot...

ASCENSION Wallpaper Download

We're nearing the end of Bats in the Ring! Here's the wallpaper download below for the latest piece that was posted today.

I've been most looking forward to painting this piece from my early thumbnails. It pulls ref and inspiration mostly from Kota Ibushi's Asai Moonsaults. When I was watching video compilations of Asai Moonsaults, one clip showed Ibushi framed by the lights. I never hit printscreen so fast in my life.

2020-02-04 22:29:33 +0000 UTC View Post

DAMNED PRINCE Wallpaper Download

Part 14 of Bats in the Ring! You can download the wallpaper size in the dropbox link that just went out, or in the attachment below. I knew from early on, this would be a downwards wide angle shot with, hopefully, a spotlight lighting, although I am still a little surprised it all came together.

Some photo inspiration for the camera type:

(2020-02-01 19:49:47 +0000 UTC View Post

EYES ON ME Wallpaper Downoad

So far, this is my favorite piece from Bats in the Ring. You can download the giant wallpaper size of it in this month's Dropbox, or in the attachment below! 

I pulled a lot of inspiration from wrestling photography for this one, particularly the perspective of this shot from DEFY Wrestling (source).

2020-02-01 19:41:16 +0000 UTC View Post

JANUARY REWARDS

Hey folks! How's the new decade treating you? Just a quick announcement for the new faces (thank you SO much for supporting me): rewards drop on the 1st of the month, and span the art made in the previous month. 

January's rewards will include high-res versions of all the BATS IN THE RING piece that were released in January, as well as the layered PSD of this painting! On February 1st, I'll send a message out with a link to a Dropbox folder that includes the PSD + ...

BATS IN THE RING: Behind the Scenes of Act II

Holy -- it's almost the end of January? Has BATS IN THE RING really been ongoing for nearly three months already? I guess we're overdo for another behind the scenes post! I'll continue to talk about the thought process that went into the art and visual side of it, as well as any neat wrestling references that worked their way in. Here we go! 

COLORSCRIPT

2020-01-27 22:07:53 +0000 UTC View Post

BATS IN THE RING pt. 10 - 12 downloads

Hey folks! BATS IN THE RING continues! Here's parts 10 through 12, The Once and Future Ring, Vigilante Vengeance, and You Could Have Prevented this, respectively.

As a Patreon bonus, I'm also including the painting I did for part 12's titantron (giant screen) of Dick looking Maximum Worried as he's forced to watch his friend suffer a neck breaker!

PAINT TIPS

Some quick paint tips from tumblr. My approach to painting and rendering all objects, from clothes to hair to backgrounds generally follows this same workflow!!