Man... it's funny how things get started. It began with reading up on kimonos, it ended up here.

I don't do fanart much, but for Usagi it's a different story. The comic is about to hit it's 100th issue in a couple months, and that's just 100 issues with Dark Horse... if you count the Fantagraphics and Malibu runs (and you must, since it's technically all one long continuity), then Usagi Yojimbo is nearer to 150 issues, which is a pretty good run for an indie about a rabbit ronin. If you've never read it, or your only exposure to the character is the TMNT cartoon (which completely dropped the ball both times), then you've been missing out.

Color!! I actually kept meaning to stop at several points, but it ended up being one of those "one more thing" jobs, and it ended up kinda interesting. I used a new overlay trick to mess with the overall tone, and a few tricks I made up on the spot, and I kinda like the results. Not like the colouring I wish I could do, but it definitely feels like an improvement on the sketch alone. It's certainly different from the last time I tackled the character, but I like where it went.

Digitally drawn with a tablet in Manga Studio, colours in Photoshop, total time about 3 hours. I looooove drawing with a tablet... I can make so many mistakes and try new ideas with complete freedom. You guys don't see all the different branch ideas that I played with while drawing and colouring it, but it's the absolute best when I can realise that something's not working and step back into the History, reverting to a point where I hadn't made a mess of the whole thing.

As someone who spent 90% of his career working with indelible india ink, it kind of turns your whole way of thinking inside-out.