hey, this is actually cute.

Thank you! I definitely wanted to make Fender look as cute as I possibly could.

oh both look cute, really. :P Not hard to make fender NOT look cute. :P

you've outdone yourself.

Thanks. Hopefully my art only goes uphill from here.

I think it should be picked, it's gorgeous. :D

Thanks!

So this was the piece you mentioned in the forums?
It's really good you tried something different and actually finished it, congratulations!

Now, onto it:
-Why the Japanese imagery? Next month is June, but I'm not sure what it has to do with the period you're referencing here.
-Cherry blossoms. Their constant presence in the anime I watch has made them a bit annoying to find. Objectively speaking, these have the right color and feel proportioned, so they're fine. Composition-wise, they're in a good (if safe) place, much more so with the letters balancing them out.
-A simplified landscape, I see. I only wonder about those clouds, the ones closer to the spectator, is it possible to see them at that height?.
-I'm really bad with perspective (often I find myself realizing things actually look closer than one would imagine). Nice work using the landscape's natural roads to create it, though.
-Not sure if this was the intent, but the overall composition without the letters makes me focus in Fender's face, it's so cute! With them ,though, it feels a little bit tacked. My eye still goes to Fender's eyes, but I can't ignore the letters enough to focus on them and the cycle repeats. I found you avoided this, though, by painting the roof with an "intermediate" color: in this sense, the darker colors are in the front and the clearer ones are in the back, which create the illusion of the radiant sun.
-Rednef's face looks a bit weird to me, the muzzle in particular. But I never liked her design to begin with, so, eh.

That's what I think of it on a first impression.

- I wanted to do a Japanese themed banner because I love Japan! The question you should be asking is, "Rob, why don't you draw more Japanese stuff?"!
- The cherry blossoms behind Fender were a last minute addition. I'm really glad I added them- to me it adds so much depth to the background.
- I'm not quite sure about the accuracy of the clouds, or anything else, really. I just drew what I thought looked good. I understand the importance of being knowledgeable about those things though... I definitely have to take my art more seriously- it's the only way to improve.
- I'm not good with perspective, either... I'm glad you find it palatable though.
- Fender is definitely the focus- it was the first thing I drew when I was sketching it up, I think. The letters -are- tacked on. Not much thought went into how it would interact with the rest of the image. The intermediate color of the roof is just a coincidence- pagoda roofs are typically a greyish blue. When I sketch, I don't really think about the composition in terms of color, just where the shapes are placed. I should probably get into the habit of putting more thought into the colors in the preliminary stages of drawing.
- Maybe I made the muzzle too angular? I played around with her design a lot... I don't like her design too much, either,

I love this banner! Good thing I have the Greasemonkey toolbar to switch out the banner for this! ^^

Thanks! The May banner is really beautiful though... but I guess with that toolbar you can switch to that one anytime you want, too. Hahahaha!!

Beautiful, Rob. :) I hope to see this up on the site, the colors are beautiful and the two look so sweet

Thanks, Meeka! I'd be overjoyed if it was selected, but for me it's good enough that I actually managed to get this done.

I really like it, nice work Rob!

My deepest gratitude, comrade!

it looks amazing :3 the timing is a little bad indeed but hey, there is always next year! you have outdone yourself with this one but you will improve even further until next may, so that banner will totally blow our minds, im sure of it! X3

Thanks! I think this is going to be a one time deal. Who knows where I'll be a year from now, anyway?

Is there a way to get a link to the forums in order to vote for this, cause I don't know if I wanna wade through that swamp looking for it.

(This is quite nice, Rob. Fender looks really adorable there.)

((I'm not even sure if its a vote situation, learning things!))

It's not a popularity contest. And even if it was, I wouldn't want my art to be noticed just because people are rallying for me- I'd want it noticed for its quality!

Thank you!

That's very virtuous of you.

It would be very cool to see this as the banner. Maybe next year.

I lied, gonna send falvie angry letters.

(Thanks)

i think this should be used anyway i mean come on cherry blossoms bloom all year round in anime lol

Yeah! Screw time, this is the internet!

lol for people like me that live on the internet "what is this time you speak of?
btw this has been killing me but where is your avatar from? lol

炎のメモリー！ポカブVSエンブオー！！

(It's from a Pokemon episode that hasn't aired)

((in the US))

lol okay great now im craving aime lol

Wow, you really have outdone yourself, Rob! It looks excellent, especially with the cherry blossom addition you did.

Thanks Bando!

This is really rather nice! :> I like your use of colours in the background! I use the old lighter theme, and your banner it looks better with it than the darker one, I think. The banner itself is very calm and relaxing and just over-all nice. Rednef's mouth looks a little weird, but I think that comes in part with Refnef having a weird-looking head in general (Sorry, Rednef character-account, if you read this!)

But yes, lovely!

Thanks! I wasn't expecting the maker of the shoo-in banner to comment on this... nice to know you acknowledge this one.

Are you talking about Rednef's chin? Or is it another part of her mouth?

I think it is the chin. Its pointiness gives her a very hammer-shaped looking muzzle. Almost like a sergal's.
But looking at it longer, her sharper angles sort-of serves as a nice balance to fender's rounder face(which, btw, is adorable and super-hugable).

Also, I somewhat agree with Ariosto about the wording and the characters' faces fighting for eye-time. I'm not entirely sure if his impression was more negative or positive on it, but I personally see it as a good thing. It makes the viewer look all over the picture while tracking back and forth instead of just focus on one aspect, which is optimal because there is so much to find in there.

And no way XD;; Shoo-in? I don't know about that! There are quite a few nice banners made recently that could be used. This one is definitely in the top-tier of possibilities in terms of quality and 'gorgeosity'~ The ants carrying Fender away was also a fun one that people might enjoy too, as one can never underestimate the power of humor.

Wait, what? I thought we weren't gonna do these.

I changed my mind. You don't have to do one, of course.

Looks so calm! Love it, hope it gets a chance. ^_^