The Very Beginnings

I began drawing comics when I was 13 years old, highly influenced by the anime that came on Cartoon Network at the time.  In case you haven't figured it out from the two short pages of When I was 13, I was obsessed with Gundam Wing, specifcally, Quatre Winner.  This obsession waned significantly when I finally started having boyfriends at the ripe old age of 14, but my love of comics and animu art hasn't dwindled.  I've been encouraged by several people to post these abominations, in the hopes that aspiring comic kiddos will see this and realize you don't have to start out 'perfect'.  I am far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from perfect, but these pages are bad enough to make me seem like a comic guru in comparision.  To wash away the ick, I need to post some GOOD art following, so you don't lose faith in me and think I've regressed.

My very first comic was self insert, and my very second comic was self insert awful autobio, and my third comic was horribly weeaboo and won't be included in this post.  I have made enough mistakes in my comicing life that I think I've got some decent street cred, so when I advise you aspirings to NOT DO SOMETHING, you should take my advice, because I've done it and it was horrible.

Fake boyfriend, referring to myself via a Japanese name, set in Glorious Nippon, drawn with Crayola's short lived, non archival, non light fast fineliner markers, wall of text lettering, telling not showing, every single shot is exactly the same, bad use of Japanese symbolic emotions, USING ARROWS TO EXPLAIN FLOW.  WHAT ARE COMICS?!

Drew on the back of pages, used crappier copier paper, dude, I think this Akira guy is based on Quatre or something, I mean, he's a BLOND JAPANESE GUY, guh ugh ugh, I wish I didn't have to fullsize these, I am so embarassed, I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE LAUGHING.

Words cant express how bad these are, so very bad, so really awful.  

You cant see, but I am cringing in Japan right now, this very moment.  It's like, 4 AM and I'm cringing in my sleep.

At 13, I thought 21 meant "I am a big girl now" and that I'd be living the dream in Japan.  Er.....

Excellent use of Crayola pencil colors to outline AND color in this wonderful example of figurework.  It's so realistic!  The anatomy, SO BELIEVABLE.

Every original character I came up with at this time either had animal characteristics or was a bad self insert.  Every.  Single. One.  Sometimes I combined the two, for extra spice.

This was some serious effort here.  I mean look, there is a BACKGROUND.  Also, am I not KAWAII DESU KA?  LOOK, I HAVE COYLY REMOVED MY SHOE, IT IS SO KAWAII.

Even then I liked drawing kids. What can I say, I am a creature of limited tastes and interests.

So realistic!  You would never have guessed I was taking ballet at the time.

I. I don't.  I don't know.

Guess who learned how to scrawl the letters of her name in hiragana.  THIS GIRL HERE.  THIS ONE.  ME.  Also, check out this life drawing.  Drawing from life was a short lived phase at this point in time, and by short lived, I mean this one page.

I wonder if I can get some Handlettering extra credit for this fine example of logo.

A bared midriff was the height of sexy to me at that time.  It was all I aspired to be.  It was also banned by my mom, so this would've been quite racy for me.

Oh,  oh it burns.  It burns, it burns.  The bad autobio comic that isnt autobio in the least.  Involving my friends.  Did I even ASK if they wanted to be immortalized this way?  No, I did not.  For the record, I was really inspired by Sluggy Freelance at the time.  And anime.  Always anime.

Ugghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  hhh.  h.  But hey, in my defense: BACKGROUNDS.

I just realized these pages were done at 15.  10 years ago.  There...there hasn't been enough improvement...

A healthy dose of wishful thinking in every page!

Don't bother reading the badly written text.  I sure haven't.

I stho desthperately wanted a boyfriend of my very own.  

I'm so edgy, making the same lame pun jokes about DBZ that every fifteen year old made in 2002.

No.  No.  Please.  No. No. Nooo. No.  Pleaassseee.

Thank god I'd had the common sense not to upload these things when I drew them.  They mouldered in a folder for years until I recently decided that self-humilation is a great way to buy reader affection.

I...I think I've lost the right to mock people who think they're 'soul bonded' to anime characters now.

Ohhhhh.... 

Retrospectively, NONE of those options were in my future.

Guess who discovered Koge Donbo.

Many years ago, this was my 'best work'.