Awesomely clever idea provides gorgeously lifelike results, before-and-after video shows.

Coloring anime-style on-paper illustrations can be a tricky thing. Like just about all cartoons in the modern era, Japanese animation is digitally colored, and before that artists used cel paint, which is outside the budget/skill set of most hobbyists. Manga, being a largely black-and-white medium, also doesn’t always give many hints for enthusiast artists.

Nonetheless, Japanese Twitter user @Huku_0328 managed to apply coloring to the face of the character she drew that manages to somehow look incredibly natural, yet also mysteriously unlike what you’ll see from ordinary colored pencils, markers, or paints.

Starting with the uncolored version on the left, @Huku_0328 managed to add an extremely lifelike blush to the characters cheeks. There’s a similarly uncanny effect to the color of her eyeshadow, eyelashes, and eyebrows, and the color of her lips might have you thinking the character is wearing actual lipstick…which makes sense because that’s exactly what she’s doing.

As shown in the above video, after doing the illustration’s linework and coloring in the characters clothes, irises, and the gem clipped to her bangs, @Huku_0328 put down her conventional art supplies and grabbed her makeup kit.

Utilizing a selection of brushes and other applicators, @Huku_0328 bypassed having to simulate the colors of cosmetics by simply painting the paper with the same products she uses on her own face.

“I’d always wanted to try drawing a character using cosmetics,” @Huku_0328 tweeted. “I just did the face like that, but it was a lot of fun.”

Online, commenters were quick to shower her with praise for her ingenuity and the beautiful results of her unorthodox technique. The fact that this means @Huku_0328 isn’t only a talented illustrator, but a pretty skilled makeup artist too wasn’t lost on one admirer, who said “It’s be interesting to see you try doing this kind of anime-like makeup on your face,” but as of yet, @Huku_0328 seems happy enough to let us gaze upon her character’s face instead.

Source: Twitter/@Huku_0328

Featured image: Twitter/@Huku_0328

Insert images: Twitter/@Huku_0328