Here's my end of the deal for my art trade with MangaKid. I chose Ayako for two reasons. First, hardly anyone draws her. Second, it's a not so subtle message for MangaKid to work on her manga. Come on! I want to read more than the first page of the story.

Ayako was a little complicated to draw, but very satisfying. The picture was looking a little empty (didn't know what to do for a background) so I added her locket. I hope I got the details somewhat right. I also added a little colored pencil drop shadow to Ayako.

I think my favorite thing about the drawing is her skin and hair. I used four different shades for each. Five on her skin if you count the blush. The part that could've been better is her skirt. The pleats don't look right. Also, it's harder to keep proportions more-less correct when the character isn't standing straight up. So I know things are a bit off.

The one thing that was a complete stab in the dark for me was her eyes. I don't know what color they are. I looked everywhere for some clues, but the only official colored image has her eyes closed. I decided to go with light brown. Was I close, Jen?

During the touch-up stage, I had no idea how to fix up the picture. My parents' scanner totally killed it. I decided to remove all the page wrinkles in a couple of different ways. I fixed the locket with the Magic Wand Tool and Ayako herself with the Pen Tool in Photoshop. I also made the shine in her eyes brighter. Looking back, I'm surprised it took as little time to clean up as it did.

I hope you like the picture, Jen. I'm excited as to what you'll do for me. Just don't stress over it. I'm a patient person.

Tools used
Sketch paper
Pencil
Erasers
Fixed-width ink pens
Colored pencils
Photoshop CS5

The drawing is mine, but Ayako and Love Locket belong to MangaKid. Since the character isn't mine, I'm not making it available for use unless MangaKid gives me permission. Edit: She gave me permission.