Artist Imitate: Marios-Friend9

THE FIRST ARTIST IMITATION IS FINALLY HERE!!! YAAAYYYYY Before we get started, I just want to remind you guys that this is not an exact copy of any of 's work. This is simply my take on her art style (mostly because I wanted to try and replicate it because it looks AMAZING) This imitation is mostly based on the deviation “Copy that, COPYCAT” (Link here:  marios-friend9.deviantart.com/… ) as that's where I got the color scheme from. Also, if you want to see this... but much better, then check this fabulous artist out! Okay, here we go.

Marios-Friend9, your art style is one of a kind, which is why I wanted to do this in the first place. I remember first discovering your fantastic illustrations through the game Mario the Music Box. I was completely mind-blown as to how such a simple art style could be so expressive and, at times, depict a very emotional and/or dramatic scene! Your style was also very satisfying and fun to look at, with nice soft colors, fun geometric shapes (mainly circles), and simplistic shading.

In this imitation, I chose not to focus on the themes of MtMB, simply because the game already has quite a bit of attention. Instead, I focused mainly on your art style in general, the multicolored, thin outlines, the contrast between shadows and highlights, and the roundness, and smoothness of basically everything. I gotta say, it was really fun to discover how all the elements fit into place.

One of the things I remember liking most about your art style is- of course- the shading. It always looked very precise and neat, while still giving off the “hand drawn” impression that makes it so fun. I really loved trying out a bit of your color palette, and seeing how you work with contrasts- another part of your art that intrigued me. How you managed to combine such perfect colors is beyond me. All my characters still look very orange, no matter what colors they sport.

I also thought it was very interesting to see that you don't really outline or shade Mario's mustache or eyebrows, simply coloring in the facial hair with a single shade of dark grey. This realization weirded me out at first, but then I noticed just how well it works in creating a more cartoony mood, and making your art have a more 2D nostalgic feel. This really helped in MtMB, because it made me feel for my favorite video game siblings a little more, and I was rooting for them the whole way through the game.

It was also really fun to take a shot at drawing Mario's eyes in your style. I really love how they're still the same shape, but just a little more anime. It was really fun blending the different blue hues into the eyes, and it really taught me some good lessons about drawing a character's emotion through their eyes.

I think the only real trouble I had with your style is

1. The outlines, and

2. The general size of the main picture.

The outlines were only an issue because of my inability to draw straight, and because of how tiny they are! As you can see, my outlines are MUCH bigger than yours for those reasons. Mostly, the problem was because of me, so it's nothing to worry about. In fact, those almost perfect outlines of yours are the fruits of your labors, so have a clap and a half!

The size of the drawing was a little hard to work with, so my drawing is simply a full face with less cut off than in one of your works. Still, it was very weird having such a large difference between the small outlines and the thick color. Of course, the final product of such a style works extremely well, but it is a little weird having Photoshop make the huge lines look like a bunch of giant copied circles you have to erase. (CURSE YOU, PHOTOSHOP!!!)

Overall, your art style is amazing! I love the slightly dulled, yet contrasting hues, the dramatic positions of shadows, the perfect proportions, the angles, and everything else about your work! It's fun to see a slightly darker take on a game franchise as happy as Mario Bros, even outside of MtMB. Your art makes me feel emotion.Whether I'm gawking at how adorable the bros look, or bursting into tears with one look at one of your more depressing works, I'm satisfied with my care. Thanks for being awesome, and have a great day!

Well, that happened. I have some ideas for more imitations, so make sure to check them out when they're done. I actually have a few ideas of who I might do next. *evil grin* And if you want to try one of these yourself, check this out for more info: thechocolatearmor.deviantart.c…