Art & Inspiration letters from NIGHTEͶ (Nathan Guilhot)
This is not just a newsletter — it's my personal magazine documenting my creative journey.
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Hey there! :)
How are you this week? Here, time flies by so fast and I have trouble catching up — sorry for being late this week! I’m happy to be back with you to chat a bit about what I did this week!
We’ll go over my Inktober project, progress on the main illustration, and some experimentation I’ve made these past few weeks without telling anyone…
Going deeper into my city
That’s it! We are in the second half of my Inktober project, the home stretch!
It’s been quite a journey so far, and I’m super happy with all the locations we visited together so far — but in case you missed it, this month I draw one location from my city/universe every day, and you can find the previous drawings [here] and [here]!
But without further ado, enjoy seveneight more places in this city with blue roofs :)
DAY 14 The Abandoned Shipyard
There is a special place that is very easy to miss: hidden past the rusty, old part of the port, at the very north of the city, you will find an old ship standing in the middle of a muddy field. Nobody knows who left it there a few years ago, but nobody has really complained yet; and certainly not the kids and students who love to go there to explore, play dares, or party. Even though it’s technically forbidden!
DAY 15 The Radio Tower
Have you noticed this voice you seem to hear everywhere? Because it’s very hard to miss! On top of their tower, the WaveFM crew has been entertaining and informing the city for almost twenty years. They mix local news, music discoveries, cultural programs and even live call-in shows; each hosts do their best to make the city feel like a big community. Whether you’re riding the tram, shopping at the market hall, or even waiting at the ferry dock, you’ll hear their programs on the speakers keeping everyone connected.
DAY 16 The Central Park
You’ll find plenty of small charming parks in the city, but there is no doubt about which one you are referring to when you say “The Park.” You might even pass there by accident during your commute, as it’s famous for having a tram line passing right in the middle, on top of an elevated platform. So, if you’re in need of some nature, give it a visit! It’s also the perfect place to read the book you borrowed from the nearby city library.
DAY 17 The Open Air Cinema(s)
Alright, I’ll be frank with you: this city actually doesn’t have a “proper” cinema. Not at all. And yet you might still have people inviting you there to hang out. So what’s the catch? Once night falls, and especially in summer, citizens take matters into their own hands: they gather and organize public projections of their favorite movies for their neighbourhood! On top of roofs, or sometimes in the street, everyone is invited to watch, sitting together or from their apartment windows. It’s way better than watching TV on your own!
Note: The movie being shown here is a self-reference to a super old project of mine that never came to fruition. I was working on it back in 2017, and it was supposed to be a game about an enthusiastic hero with no skills but a lot of luck, and his pessimistic adventurer coach :)
This place is probably one of my favorite so far!
DAY 18 The Laundry Café
Whether you are visiting or living in the city, you might be faced with crucial questions: Where can I wash my clothes? Where can I drink good coffee? How can I make friends? It turns out that Emi’s Laundry Café has the solution to all those questions! Close to the center and right next to the canal, this is the perfect place to relax and transform a mundane chore into the perfect opportunity to gossip. Tell Emi I sent you!
DAY 19 The Rooftop Restaurant
If you want the complete Blue Roof experience, there is one place you don’t want to miss what we often call “The nest”.
Perched on top of a building in the middle of the city center, you can enjoy a great dinner at fair price, and if the weather is good you’ll even enjoy the view from the terrace!
It’s well known for being the perfect place for a romantic evening, and to know someone on a deeper level. Keep that in mind if you’re planning a date with your crush :)
DAY 20 The Maker Space
If you once end up at one of the terminus station up to the north, you might hear some drills, saw and laughter coming from one of the buildings at the edge of the industrial zone.
If so, you’re probably near the city’s maker space!
A group of friends transformed the building into a fantastic place to learn, create and repair everything you can imagine; from soldering electronic to 3D printing toys for the kids. Don’t miss their repair café on Wednesday!
Hard to see, but my crayons are starting to break from overuse :')
DAY 21 The Lake
Now, if you want a break from the city and fancy some freshness, then a walk around the lake is all you need! It’s far to the west of the city, but thankfully a bus can take you there. You’ll find plenty of happy duck and beautiful nature; grandparents love to walk there with their grandchildren! And if you’re feeling sporty, a big race is organized every year by the city. If only the highway didn’t cover the view…
As an aside, this weekend I also visited a local event called the 24h Comics marathon and… okay, before you raise your eyebrows, no I didn’t participate. I did my fair share of challenges like these in the past, and I can’t pull all-nighters anymore haha
Instead, I just stayed there half a day and worked on the sketches for Inktober; just enough to have a bit of buffer until the next weekend!
Plus we got cool stickers as a gift :D
This month has been very intense so far, but I’m super excited to see the conclusion approaching and to show you more cool places next week :)
Slowly filling in my big illustration
Here’s my weekly progress on the illustration!
I sadly didn’t have enough time to work on it as I hoped I would. Last week I left you with some rough color blocking, and here is now a more refined and colorful version of it! And with colored lineart!
I wish I could have more time to spend on it, but I take what I can from the few hours I have each week!
One of my key insights this week was that, now that my universe is much more publicly defined (thanks to Inktober), I need to be careful about where everything should be in relation to each other.
For example, in this illustration I started blocking off the light before realizing that, since the “view” is pointing West towards the sea, the sun cannot come from the side!
In the same vein, I learned that solar panels, at least the classic ones, should face south whenever possible. This is definitely something I’ll keep in mind as I continue illustrating this universe :)
I love learning new things while making art. It’s a lot of fun!
The illustration is not done yet, it’s a long process, but I’m keeping at it!
How (and why) I started drawing fanart in secret
Alright, let’s start on the special topic of today!
To give you the context, over the past 2+ years I’ve been working very hard on backgrounds and landscapes in my illustrations. To the point where it became way easier for me!
And to this end, I decided to try something that I almost never do: fanart.
Because what better way to study good designs than to draw them!
But what was the trigger that pushed me to try it? Of all things, it was when I stumbled upon the unused faces for Flowey, the final boss of Undertale.
I just love those guys very much
My first thought looking at them was “Damn, this guy is so good at drawing expressions that he just threw those away!”, and that’s how I started thinking about characters even more than usual.
So here’s a first fitting example: Undertale characters!
You’re seeing them now, but I almost didn’t share it with anyone, and that’s because I know it’s not at all what people expect from me. I don’t want to gather attention as a fan-artist when it’s not what I want to do long term! I’m shy!
But to be frank, I’m probably overthinking it (not that it ever happened before)
Edwin Murray from the last FNAF game - it's funny how my version doesn't look like my style at all!
This was a gift for John's birthday, a good internet buddy of mine :)
I’m here to share my journey after all, so why not also share more experimental stuff!
So like I said, this was a great opportunity to study some designs that I love, and above all, it was a ton of fun!
This is Zeki, my gf's OC :)
One thing, for example, that I realized was that some designs that look complicated are often very well structured.
Take for example Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle: his sleeves have a checker pattern that makes the outfit look very nice and ornate, but drawing it is relatively simple since the lines start and end at predictable places. That makes it perfect for animation!
Another time I simply redrew an image because it was fun, and I even used this exercise in reverse: improving designs I didn’t really like.
For example, I recently learned about a FNAF fangame (I told you it was out of brand!) called Playtime with Percy. The game is very impressive in itself, especially because it gathered a big fanbase and was made by basically one guy.
But I wanted to give my own spin to the main character that I thought was too stiff and symmetrical*.
Here’s what it looked like!
All in all, I did learn a lot doing those little doodles over the past few weeks, but now I need to come up with my own design to put it to the test!
We might see this another week! (but probably not before Inktober is over haha)
*To be fair, the creator was super young when making this first design, and on top of that most characters were animated in a paper-doll style which constrained the look even more.
Alright, here is what I wanted to share with you this week!
Once again, I'm very sorry for being a day late today. But I hope to see you next Tuesday at the usual hour!
In the meantime, please take care and enjoy your day ☕
See you soon!
Take care, - Nighten
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