Art: Anime Expo 2009

I forgot to take my camera to AnimeNext, so I don't have any photos from it. So, we have to skip right to AnimeExpo. I raised my commission prices here. I got some color work to do, which was exciting, but no one wanted full bodies, which is a shame. I need to adjust the psychology of my commission prices.

Someone wanted her OC with Kiba from Naruto. I couldn't remember where his headband went, so I had her hold it because I thought that would be cute. I was warming up and praciticing the anime style, so it looks a little off.


Her friend requested Ulquiorra and Orihime. She spent a long time deciding between that and another pairing.


Melinda said the girl's face was nice, which was a super compliment because I think faces are the major turn off on my pieces. She told me that I do eyes too close together when drawing anime. Upon further analysis, it was pretty obvious. Usually, I match eyes to the edges of the nostril. When I distort the anime nose to make it smaller, the nostril distance obviously shrinks so the eyes get too close together! Man, I'm an idiot some times! I've done that for years!


I was intimidated by the reference I got of this original character. It had a lot of detail, so I kind of wanted to do it regular, but they wanted chibi. :( I think it turned out good, though. It's better than my A-kon ones.


I like how this chibi turned out, too! It's meant to be Kiba from Wolf's Rain, but I think the clothing is inaccurate. Adding ears and tails to chibis increases their cute proportion.


Ritsuka! He's so adorable. Argh, I spilled some ink on the other side of this - just when I had finsihed inking, so I traced it onto the back and started again. That was depressing. I felt so bad because I was already taking a long time.


I think this was one of my favorite's from the convention. I like how the cybernetic arms turned out, as well as the scar. I was worried the girl had forgotten since she got it on Thursday, but she came back on Sunday to my relief.


Ah, then again, I liked this one, too! Somehow, original characters pose so much more of an intellectual challenge to me. This girl was really nice and had art from a lot of people. I hope I did her character justic.


Some girl asked me to draw her with Marth. She was carrying a Marth print I had favorited on DeviantART. I like Marth. Unfortunately, when drawing late at night, my proportion sense goes wonky, and I don't realize until I upload it to my blog.


Another OC chibi. I think the commissioned liked it. Two-colored eyes are very fun.


Another original character, based off the Cheshire cat. I think this was my favorite sketch style one. I think I over-shaded the face too much. It didn't leave me enough time to...


... do this piece justice. It was an elven (?) sky pirate, so I was really excited. Unfortunately, I think I could have done better, but I was particularly rushed. Awkward hand is awkward. I shouldn't attempt the long, CLAMP, spaghetti-finger, style.


Chibi Michael Jackson! Yay! I'm a little conflicted about his passing. I am not a fan of his voice (falsetto is not for me), but I like individual songs of his (Smooth Criminal, Beat It). Nevertheless, there's no denying he was a huge influence.


I like the guy's face on this one. I think the "anime" thing finally clicked. His proportions are a little weird, but the commissioner (whose original character is the girl) was happy, and that's the important part.


Gah, this was the one that I thought had the most potential, but I screwed up on the most. I love Mekania. She is one of those characters whose design isn't too complicated but still remains likable and radiates personality. And I know her owner knows I can do a better job than this (specifically on that arm and the face proportions). I just hope I didn't charge too much. I think it was a matter of burnout. If I had gotten the job on Friday, it might have been better. Mek, if you're reading - I'm really, really, really, embarassed, and I hope I can do you something nicer next year.


Another one which had potential, but I got too rushed. It seems like something about spacing gets lost when I don't concentrate. I thought these two characters were really cute. I wondered if they were twins.


Another one of those original character commisions. I had actually forgotten if they wanted a bust or a chibi, so I had started a bust on the back. That wasn't correct. He was cool, so I guess I just subconsciously wished to do him in my style. That, and I think I'm faster at busts...


So, that was AX in a nutshell. Less commissions, but of higher quality. I didn't do as well as last year. I"m not sure why - whether it was location factors, time factors, or competition factors. But it was fun, and I laughed until crying on multiple occassions. That said, I'm also glad Toby wasn't hit by a car.