The Official Blog for Arrow Valley!

Carrot from One piece fan art and video.

2018-01-03T06:00:00.000+00:00

A real 'bunny girl'.

Carrot from One Piece

Speed painting.

Created some months back by myself, a commission piece based on the character, Carrot from the hit anime show, One Piece.

This is actually two milestones in one for me as it is the first time I've ever heard of the show and also the first time I've ever drawn an anthro style character.

I think overall it came out quite well but I'm still not that happy with the hair.

Still the buyer was very happy with their commission and that is all that matters to me!

Please spare a couple of minutes to watch the video as it will really help my channel grow and thanks for your support!

DooM VR Review.

2018-01-02T07:59:00.000+00:00

Doom VFR
The Good:-Excellent use of VR, Smooth gameplay.
The Bad:- Controls can be awkward. Some boring hub sections.

DooM VFR is at its heart a fun and exciting VR experience but is held back by some odd design choices. The game is NOT a VR version of the 2016 game but a sort of spin off title. You play as a Marine who is badly injured in a Pinky Demon attack. His body is then hooked up to a computer where you now control a sort of floating droid thing with hands and so begins the game.

The one thing you will notice from the go is the game is not as fast and frantic as the 2016 game. While it does have these moments, it is a much slower paced game based around a hub area. You complete a task in that hub area which opens the teleporter to the next level. The new area is a small section from one of the full levels from the 2016 game and usually involves doing the same kind of thing. I for one found the hub area to be unnecessary and completely void of any enjoyment. Still the game does make up for it with some excellent VR DooM mayhem that once you finish the game will want to comeback to. The game also sees the return of the DooM Guys which are little collectables that unlock classic levels from the original two games. These are some of the best moments in this game and I went out of my way to collect them so I could play these levels.

The controls are a point of contention for this game but I found them to alright but very odd at the same time. I thought at first it would be like a standard first person control scheme where you move around using the control pad but instead is more like a stand and shoot game. It sort of reminds me of the old House of the Dead games only you can move around the level. You have three types of movement. The first is using the D pad to dash in the direction you pressed about six feet. The second is to use the joystick to move you around in 30 degree angles. The third is the use of the left trigger which brings you a green line you can place around the room and teleport to that location. I was scratching my head trying to work out why this was but I think it might be down to motion sickness. I believe if the game played the same as normal DooM it would make you feel dizzy very quickly where as this way is more like standing still and shooting. Even when moving it happens so fast you don’t feel it.

One thing I will point out though is the game is short. I mean really short. I completed this is just a couple of hours and just a few more to 100% trophy it. While I have gone back to it several times, it is still a shame that there is not more levels.

One last point I want to make is the demon, Pinky is a pain in the backside in this game. For those of you who don’t know, the Pinky is a well armoured demon that requires you to be behind it to shoot at its unprotected tail. However, by the time you have teleported behind it and then moved the camera around, the demon has already turned around and is facing you. Not the best of enemies for this kind of game.

Overall though the game is still a fun and exciting game and has become the one I show off the VR with. Not the DooM experience I was hoping for but it is the closest thing to being in Hell fighting demons I will ever experience…I hope!
Gameplay:-13/20
Graphics:- 17/20
Sound:- 15/20
Replay Value:-14/20
Value for Money:- 14/20
Total:-73/100 (Diet DooM)

Splatoon 2 Marina Digital Painting Fan art.

2017-08-08T22:33:00.000+01:00

To celebrate the release of Splatoon 2, I've decided to create a piece based on Marina from the game.
Created using Corel Painter and taking around 8 hours to create. I have decided to create pearl as well at some point.

You can also check out the making of video right here!

Thanks for looking as always and don’t forget you can follow me on:
Deviantart: http://reillyington86.deviantart.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3qBRfqo5Zcpknqr2LVtYw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley/
Tumblr: http://arrowvalley.tumblr.com/archive
Google+:https://plus.google.com/+ArrowValley/posts

Teba from Breath of the Wild Speed Painting.

2017-05-02T08:47:00.000+01:00

Breath of the wild is one of the best games of the year so far and is full with some amazing characters that you meet along the way.

One of the standout ones for me is the Rito known as, Teba.

He helps like take on the mighty Guardian in the sky. He is also criminally under developed in the game. So here is my take on the hero!

You can also check out the making of video right here to see how I painted it.

Mismagius from the Pokemon game series!

2016-11-24T13:27:00.000+00:00

Based on the ghost Pokemon, Mismagius! I created this back in October for Halloween.
Again, I wanted it to look like it was floating in midair which I think is captured quite well.

You can also watch the making of video below. Please leave a like or comment on the video as this will help the channel out!

Thanks for looking!

Gardevoir from the Pokemon game series!

2016-11-22T07:00:00.000+00:00

Created a few weeks back, here is my version of the Pokemon character, Gardevoir!
I wanted to keep it bright and colourful which I think worked really well for this piece. I also wanted to give it a battle stance rather then just a simple pose and chose Moonbeam, although it could really be any attack as I tried to keep it neutral.

Spotlight! Satoshi Takeo (21st Nov 2016)

2016-11-21T07:00:00.000+00:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the first, Spotlight! The aim of this series is to highlight artists who I believe have some real talent to show and deserve more recognition. I will show you a couple of their art works and links to their videos if they have any. I will also give a rating of their works.

So for the first one, I have chosen the artist, Satoshi Takeo. Now, I will admit they are not a 'small' channel in anyway with well over five and a half thousand subscribers on their YouTube channel alone but I really enjoy seeing their work and thought it would be a great starting point.

It should also be noted that my Spotlight series is in part inspired by a similar series created Satoshi called Art review.

Example of Satoshi's Loud House art work.

Focusing mainly on cartoon shows and more recently, the Loud House, they have vastly improved over the months. They are able to show great control of the line tool and an incredible understanding of cartoon shading, which is something I have never been able to do that well. It is always enjoyable to see when an artist is improving and Satoshi clearly has with the most notable area being in the anatomy of the characters which I have no doubt will improve even more in the coming months. Definitely one to watch if you are into cartoon fan art.

Final thoughts.
So, while I do think there is still some room for improvement, mainly with anatomy and maybe trying some better poses, the artwork is clean, free from rough edges and captures the characters brilliantly.

Why not checkout their Deviant Art page? Click on the link below:-http://satoshitakeo.deviantart.com/

Do you have a channel that you would like me to review? Let me know in the comments.

Dipper from Gravity Falls.

2016-11-20T10:18:00.001+00:00

Hi everyone!
Here is the piece I did based on Dipper from the hit cartoon series, Gravity falls!

As you can see I tried to kept the style of the show but added just a little bit more detail to make it stand out.

What do you guys think?

Balloon Boy from Five Night at Freddy's.

2016-06-17T07:00:00.000+01:00

The scary, creepy and horrifying Balloon Boy from the Five Nights at Freddy's series!
So, what do you think? Would you like to see more FNaF work in the future? Let us know.

Don't forget to share as this will really help me out.

Harley Quinn Rough sketch.

2016-06-16T13:09:00.001+01:00

So, as you can see this is a early concept sketch I done for a Harley Quinn piece. Based more on the classic design then the newer ones. Hope to have it finished soon!

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 10th May 2016

2016-05-10T13:22:00.000+01:00

For today, an excellent painting by the artist, ROcata. The channel dosn't have much at the moment but the owner is uploading more regally so check them out!

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCef7pdzhwev5Dgfk_HXuGEA

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners

Got featured by Rare Ltd.

2016-05-09T13:34:00.001+01:00

Great day for me today! Rare Ltd posted one of my old Perfect Dark fan arts to their official Facebook page!

Feels amazing to have the makers of the game look at my work, let alone re post it!

Artists who inspired me. Part 1:- The one who got me started.

2016-03-29T13:23:00.001+01:00

So this year will be my fifth year using computers to paint. Before that I used acrylic paints on canvas the good old fashioned way to some degrees of success.

I knew about digital painting at the time but had avoided it for quite some time as I always felt it was a little bit like cheating. This of course was back when I thought the program did all the hard work for you. Yes, I really did think that clicking a button would automatically paint the hair for me and all I needed to do was select the area. Oh, how little I knew about the subject!

Then one day, an artist by the name of AG+ created the most amazing piece that I have ever seen, the 25th Anniversary of the Legend of Zelda.

I first saw it on the gaming website, Gamesradar.com and I was blown away by it. It was the piece that made me realize how good digital could be. So, I saved up as much of my wages as I could and even worked over time to buy me an old version of Photoshop, which is still the version I use today!

The most epic fan art of all time. Period.

While I have never been able to pin down their official site, nor do they seem to have any Facebook or Deviantart pages, I have found much of their work on-line.

Over the years however, their work and style has had less and less of an impact on my own style but without this piece, I may never have given it ago or at the very least, not at that time.

So to AG+ I say, thank you for helping me start down the long path of digital painting!

From here, the artist who inspired me gets a little fuzzy and I'm not sure of the order of who so I will do them in random!

Let's Paint...Muffet from Undertale

2016-03-29T07:57:00.001+01:00

Uploaded a few weeks back, my 104 video was Muffet from the hit video game series, Undertale!

Created using Corel Painter 11 in around 1.5 hours the piece had been one of my most requested pieces for some time so here she is!

Let's Paint...Sheik.

2016-03-26T12:36:00.001+00:00

The latest piece by me based on the character, Sheik from the Legend of Zelda games series.

Despite only being in one main series game, she has become of the favorite members of the series.

Sheik by Arrow Valley.

#WTFU and why you should care.

2016-02-26T16:11:00.000+00:00

Where is the Fair Use? A simple yet important question was raised a few weeks ago by non-other than the Nostalgia Critic himself, Doug Walker. A man who started off like all other YouTubers at the bottom and slowly built his way towards the top reviewing movies and the occasional Television series in a laughable and sometimes thought provoking way.

I’m sure by now, many of you have seen his video. If not, here is a link to it. Please watch it.

Fair Use is not just a guideline nor an idea, it is LAW. A law that is broken every single day.

Also, check out this video by

You have companies like Nintendo who have been allowed to control Fair Use to their own advantage by allowing only censored content to be seen. Music companies silencing critics of songs by hitting them with take down notices. Random, faceless corporations flagging popular video’s and illegally claiming the revenue during its peak viewing time.

Channels like Four Star and IHE have been taken down in the past yet they have done nothing wrong.

Without Fair Use, free speech, a basic right that all should have will be taken away. Critics will only be heard if they praise a piece, musicians will be silenced and so on.

The list goes on and on and yet, nothing is done to stop it.

So I along with countless others ask the question, Where is the Fair Use?

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 19th January 2016 (Saria from Ocarina of Time)

2016-01-19T07:00:00.000+00:00

For today I have chosen something a little different. This video is a re-paint of a pervious piece by the artist. The improvement is astonishing!

It really is an amazing piece, click on the video above and see for yourself!

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC351lcgaT0FqC8LmF_2V7RQ

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 18th January 2016 (Garnet)

2016-01-18T11:00:00.000+00:00

Today I've chose an amazing piece based on Garnet from the hit cartoon show, Steven Universe!
A really great use of colour and a general soft feel to it helps it stand out.

It really is an amazing piece, click on the video above and see for yourself!

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeVMaqK891kywrNEyWvysAg

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners

How to get started in Digital Painting. Part 1, What tools you need to start!

2016-01-17T15:38:00.001+00:00

How to get started in Digital Painting.

Part 1,

What tools you need to get started!

So you've seen those fantastic pieces of artwork that others have created using computers and thought to yourself, "I want to try that!" but you have no idea where or how to start!

Well, I'm here to help...I hope!

This is my own personal story of how I got into digital art.

In this post, I'm going to tell you what tools and equipment is best for drawing.

So without any further delay, let's talk about the equipment!

The Pen Tablet.

First, and I really can't stress this enough, buy a pen tablet! When I first started I used a mouse and it was terrible, my work was terrible and it was like trying to paint with a broom. You have very little control with it and it feels unnatural.

The pen tablet is a simple device that the name pretty much tells you everything! It is a tablet that acts like a drawing area and a pen that you use to draw. There are many different types and versions from the cheap to the insanely expensive.

My current pen tablet. Fairly cheap and does the job!

The price you pay is of course up to you. I personally started with a cheaper end model before moving on to a 'better' one. Truth be told, apart from having a bigger drawing area, the more expensive model was not that much better.

Pros:-More control. More natural feeling.

Cons:- Strange to use for newbies.

The Drawing Screen.
Now I first need to say that I have never used one of these before but know people who have.

For the REAL big spenders!

This is the ultimate in drawing setup. With this setup, you use a pressure sensitive pen onto the screen. These can be purchased in both a 'cheaper' SD version or an expensive HD version.

Pros:- Like drawing onto paper. HD display (better models)

Cons:- Very expensive, not very mobile.

So now it is up to you to chose what to start with. Next, the programs you can use.

Arrow Valley Pick of the Day! 14th January 2016 (Splatoon)

2016-01-14T09:10:00.002+00:00

For today I have chosen a piece that was created by the artist, Zoe Gomez using the Art Academy on the Wii U!

It really is an amazing piece, click on the video above and see for yourself!

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPdgbLXNm7QEBgdbkO3GVRg/videos

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 11 January 2016 (Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy)

2016-01-11T08:44:00.000+00:00

A great piece based on the character, Rosalina from the legendary Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy.

Please check out their video and leave them a like, comment or subscribe if you enjoyed it.

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMy_ZH21JE_6dPJzkhzcQ6Q

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners.

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 8 January 2016 (Link from the Legend of Zelda)

2016-01-08T07:00:00.000+00:00

A great piece based on the character, Link from the ever popular, Legend of Zelda game series. The artist in this has used the same Link design to create two distinctive versions of the same character!

I let you be the judge of which is better!

Please check out their video and leave them a like, comment or subscribe if you enjoyed it.

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYgmu-tEY3oqg6OU0vjygNQ

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners.

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 7 January 2016 (Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy)

2016-01-07T07:00:00.000+00:00

For today, I chose a piece I found the other day. I personally like the colour scheme of this piece and the general playfulness of it. There other work is also very similar in style so why not check out some more by the artist!

Please check out their video and leave them a like, comment or subscribe if you enjoyed it.

Artists YouTube link:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsB7R_vyClo_wAMwuhd-dcw

Want me to showcase your video? Leave me a message with a link to your video and yours could be next!

Don’t forget to follow us!

Blogger :- http://thearrowvalley.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook :- https://www.facebook.com/arrowvalley

Twitter :- https://twitter.com/ArrowValleyBlog

Deviantart:- http://reillyington86.deviantart.com

Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/arrowvalley?rf=581955&ty=5

Video are owned by their respective owners.

Queen Chrysalis re-paint

2016-01-06T16:00:00.000+00:00

An update version of the Queen Chrysalis painting that I first did in 2013.

So what do you think? let us know in the comments!

Arrow Valley's Pick of the Day! 6 January 2016 (Legend of Zelda Watercolor)

2016-01-06T07:00:00.001+00:00

For today, I chose something a little different.

It's a hand made painting using water colours. No digital here!

The work is created by the artist:-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN_zCgMLyrgbAs7Uy0AzaeQ

Please go and check out their work and leave a like, comment or even share if you enjoyed it!