My Work :: Part 24: AngstyBishy Kenshin

A huge burden has been lifted off me: I finally got Kenshin done!!!!!! It has taken forever, but he finally made it to the finish line in the end.

Not that MAKING him was a burden; he was tricksy but fine. No, the problem was the burden I put on myself for not getting him completed in a timely fashion. The cloud hanging over me of "oh, I am taking forever" and "it's been too long; will he look as good as the others?" and "I am so evil for taking so long" and other mindgames I play with myself. Ha, now *I* am angsting; enough of this.

Getting on the to REAL reason for this post; ever since Jess got me hooked on Kenshin I just knew he had to become an AB. She always said he would make a good AB, way before I knew the character well enough to agree with her, but of course she ended up being right. I mean, he has monstrous sins he feels he cannot atone for; his romantic past has scarred his current romantic relationship; he is always at risk of slipping into Battosai mode; and the list goes on. He is not as wangsty and self-pitying as some, but he most definitely qualifies.

If you look at the original sketch and the completed vector, you will see a LOT of differences. His hair reminded me a little too much of some guy in an 80's hair band, beeing so big and shaggy, so I flattened it a little. But a lot of his pics show him with hair like that; what's a girl to do? And then there was the tragedy of the hakuma; it looks decent in the sketch but kept loking like a white pleated dress in Illustrator, no matter what I did. Elicia helped me make it look more like manly hakuma pleats, thanks goodness, and while I keep feeling there is something more I can do, I'm content for now. Then Melissa noted, to my eternal shame, that I had completely forgotten to put the scars on his face! *headdesk* Of all the things to forget; I'm so glad she noticed in time! So all of these challenges, along with the fact that I had freelancing and other woes to tie up much of my spare time. Meh. So in short, I think he turned out darling, but I'm afraid every time I look at him, I will feel procrastination shame. We'll see how long that lasts. I can't wait to make him a pillow; you get the first one Jess! =)

Oh, and I'm working on a new AB; another classic anime character, before i take deep breaths and start attempting daunting AB's like Cloud. I go the reference pics last night, as a breather from my projects, and hope to sketch him tomorrow; maybe tonight if I can't fall asleep.

Angsty Bishy + Anime Expo = Yay!

GOOD NEWS! I found out we are getting a booth at Anime Expo's artist alley after all!!!!!! Well, around half of one, but that is SO better than nothing. Yay for friends with connections! We mailed off our sellers permit papers yesterday, so that to me means it's a done deal. And I really want to get Kenshin pillows made in time for the con, so am doing my best to get him Illustratored in time. Really truly.

One snag though: the Avery transfers we used before have a new formula, and now won't run on the color-rich laserjet printer we used before. And the colors when we print it on my inkjet at work are completely off, and I am struggling to get a good match that doesn't make the skins of the bishies turn a deep tan. So we are hoping my mom's inkjet will do the trick instead. Cross you fingers it works, or else Roxas, Kenshin, or Howls might not be available (plus multiples of other ones as well.) Sigh. It's always something isn't it?