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"Usual Holiday"
This is actually fan art based on a very popular manga, or graphic novel, series known as "Love Hina". "Love Hina" springs from the very talented pen of one Ken Akamatsu, and I attempted in this picture to emulate some of the properties of his elegant, simple style while preserving the flavour of my own work (what little flavour there is, at least). The character in question is exceptionally feminine, so the rather 'girlish' pose is not the result of male chauvinism on my part!
The background, all things considered, wasn't particularly well-done. I knew I wanted to place the character against the backdrop of a photo-sticker booth (these are very common in Japan and several Asian countries), and therefore made a pilgrimage to the nearest movie theatre, where I knew one could be found. My first mistake was to commit the details of the booth to memory rather than actually taking reference photos. My second mistake, of course, was to use incredibly vivid colours for the booth.
In defense of my decisions, I must explain that photo sticker booths tend to come in extremely bright candy-colours. What I had not considered when deciding the composition of the picture was that the said colours would overwhelm the picture and overshadow the subject. I still maintain that it's a very accurate picture as far as the booth is concerned, but not particularly well-conceived.
You can click on the image at right to see the full picture.