Whilst most may not have heard the name “Naru Nanao”, most are still surely to have seen her work once at the very least – her artist ability has brought to life many a series and character, yet we center on style.
No complicated examination is required to firstly notice that all throughout the works of Naru Nanao, one of the facets worth of note is the consistency present in each and all. Naru Nanao utilizes distinctive methods to meet her interesting set of preferences which seemingly prevail no matter what – resulting in that one could merely glance upon an artwork of hers, and easily, as well as instantly, know it to be one of her creations.
Now in respect to what these characteristics actually are, they’re quite straightforward as well – with the first being yet another immediately visible trait. Every artwork devised by Naru Nanao can be noted for its vivid yet gentle palette of hues – colors which have been tinted heavily essentially make up the entirety of her works, and further, they’re taken advantage of in extravagance. A canvas featuring an illustration by this artist doesn’t simply use lively colors – yet a party of them in conjunction within what is nearly a pattern-like display.
And of course, one can see the aforementioned right above – a gorgeous bishoujo with a sense of fashion which exemplifies the frivolous and lighthearted color workings of Naru Nanao.
Noticing the lowest layer of dress, a frilly trim of a darker red magenta, the hue can be spotted in several places across the canvas as per the ever-necessary balance of visual weight. The red makes up a tiny band of trim across the top of the visible thighhigh, then it is also seen wrapped around the abdomen of the girl – and finally, on her head. While the hue was spread out skillfully from floor to ceiling of the image, the artist still accounted for differences in relation to the light source – delicately adjusting the red ever so slightly as needed.
Contrast is substantial in general, although those who enjoy playing with colors happen to be ones who particularly make the most of it as the two surely do go hand-in-hand. In this case, Naru Nanao set that magenta of earlier against some other variants of red, as well as neutral white – the beautiful female’s dress has a slice of orange, then a few creamy hues, and the key color of magenta. Do see that going upward in the image, the general theme of colors shifts into a lighter arrangement of violets and pinks – yet magenta is the main attraction.
Aside from the contrast, a darker bottom met with a lighter top will result in a more uplifting atmosphere – though in regards to this artwork exclusively, it also aides in bringing out what appears to be the absolute central focal point, breasts. Our subject matter’s chest is wrapped in white, and also do see how the shadow underneath waves as it seems to subtly hold her upper body – the light was sketched dynamically to react in accordance with the shape it is acting on.
As light comes forward, and paired with the impressive value application of Naru Nanao, which builds a depth nearly escaping the flat image, it’s indeed the fine set of mammary glands which serves as the foremost point of attention.
On that note, consider the fine black outline composing her bust – the curvature is highly perfected, and varies as it continues from right to left, being reactive as per her skin, something which also develops a sense of suppleness. And moving to another mentionable detail, this one going back to depth, the red ribbon partially draped over her oppai serves as a visual indicator of position – another facet which contributes to making her chest seem to be above all.
Her visage is another, partially lesser, portion of the focal point – blushed with brighter pink, and of a paler skin tone in comparison to that seen beneath her skirt. Contrast is one of the major players here, as usual – specifically as her hair looks to refreshingly flow out with some definition, the obvious stand out of her face, and then also her eyes of an off-set yellow. Her pupils are a yellow-green tone, and incidentally yellow complements violet, whilst green does so with red – and some more complements can be seen in the stripe patterned background.
The background matches her pantsu when it comes to pattern – and being filled in such a spaced out manner, with all sorts of sweets, amongst the easygoing colors, it gives quite a fuzzy feeling overall, a very fitting sentiment indeed.
Lastly, the angling and positioning is impeccable for the desired atmosphere – the informality of the balance is eye-catching, as is to be expected, yet it’s also what allowed for the artist to show such a diverse view of the female. This perspective gives us a sight of some more suggestive bits, like pantsu and breasts – yet one can still capture all the colors and cute things scattered over the image. The artwork isn’t too tilted in any single direction – sustaining a significant tenderness to it.
A reason as to why all of Naru Nanao’s works have an exquisite subtlety to them is that she balances everything so precisely – for each element employed, another is added to account for it, such as the layering of colors on the dress mentioned earlier. Yet balance also expands into predominance of compositional style – which put in simpler terms, rather than put the stress on color to form her shapes, or vice versa with line, she always uses incredibly slender, and excellently sketched lines, alongside her unique color selection, and then of course, smooth shadows.
It’s a very contemplative and mellow mixture of technique.
Naru Nanao’s artwork truly feels feminine, and when drawing females, that’s certainly a rather useful trait – and in fact, her female character designs are renowned and recognized, yet Naru Nanao is known for not being nearly as skilled at male illustrations, which when one comes to understand her style, seems all so understandable why.
Jul 5, 2012 @ 6:03 CDT
Lovely artwork…sensual..
Jul 5, 2012 @ 7:41 CDT
All the characters have the same face
Jul 5, 2012 @ 22:29 CDT
Naru Nanao has great artwork indeed. I especially liked her work in the EF series, among other noteable VNs.
Jul 5, 2012 @ 22:31 CDT
I’m particularly fond of Da Capo and Sola – though indeed, all her works are amazing without fail.