Last updated on June 15th, 2025 at 12:47 am
I’ve been a fan of Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend Of Korra since I was young and wanted to do a fanart for two of my favourite character, Uncle Iroh and Zuko. Originally I only wanted to paint Zuko, as I thought his red clothing contrast well with a green background. However, I realised this might be a good opportunity to draw an older looking character and add something new to my portfolio.
I was inspired by Bryan Konietzko’s artwork, who is one of the original creators. I had previously done a fanart of Korra and Asami, so I thought it would be best to include Iroh as well and create a more emotive work. I draw up my ideas in my sketchbook as I usually do, but in addition, do thumbnails in watercolour and white gouache too. I usually do small thumbnails in Clip Studio, but I wanted to give this a try and was really happy with the result. By doing this, I saved myself time on the computer and could start with the illustration right away.
I was unsure with which designs to use for the characters, so I ended up going for their costumes form after the Hundred Year War which appear in the comics. I decided draw Zuko and Iroh happily enjoying their tea under the setting sun. Next I looked around the internet for references I might need.
Starting the draft, I had a few problems with composition and perspective. I decided it was best to center the two characters so the focus was solely on them. Having the characters to one side wasn’t seem to be working for me as a good composition, as it made the canvas unnecessarily long. I also struggled with the characters hands because I didn’t use an image reference. I used a mirror instead and tried copying my reflection. Next I did a clean sketch and tided things up. I also decided to include a secondary light source off canvas.
Painting the background was relatively easy so I wont go into to much detail. I wanted the focus in the center so I added the lighting to the inside of the bamboo. The main light source that hits the characters will be on the right side. Although it seems the light is coming from the back, the composition is simple and the overall image still makes sense. The next part is fairly straightforward as I started working on the faces and transitioned down to work on the clothes. I had to keep in mind of the secondary light source which may be a small fire and how it interacts with different forms and materials such as skin in clothes. Hands are always a challenge for me and I struggles a lot here. I couldn’t get them look right but I tried my best to make them look somewhat normal. With references or not, hands will forever by a annoyance for me. I also struggled with Zuko’s hair piece and wasn’t happy with the green reflected light. After working on other areas, I came back and changed it to a blue reflected light which looked much better.
As I was almost finished, I worked on details such fine tuning the characters faces and added steam coming their tea cups. Overall I think it came out pretty well. I’m quite happy with how I portrayed Zuko and Iroh in my style. The hands however could definitely have been done better and I think I could have toned down the orange on the skin.
