I originally made this DA account from a computer in my high school's art room back in 2004. All of those early pieces have since been deleted, but I thought it would be nice if I shared a glimpse of my art from 2006 until 2012. Many of these pieces have never been posted before so enjoy!

2006

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. First page of Ryu-hime
2. An early pin-up of Yune
3. Ryu-hime Chapter 2 Index feat. Sasuka
4. Shukujo Valkyrie character design</sub>

I started to seriously work on Ryu-hime, a comic idea I had originally came up with right before I entered high school, probably in the 8th grade. All of the artwork featured here is from my senior year of high school, where I enrolled in my local tech center to learn more about graphic design. All of my drawings were done traditionally using Sakura Micron ink pens, but heavily edited digitally. I used Photoshop CS or 7 to apply the text and color with black and white manga screentones. This was a very good time for me, as I was graduating and spent the entire year focused on my art. I had great teachers that encouraged me.

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2007 - 2008

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. Jazz Concert Poster Advertisement
2. Bookstore logotype & stationary Set
3. Gastroenterology abstract illustration
4. Scientific magazine 2 page spread layout</sub>

I went to college and switched focus from fine arts to a professional career in graphic design. I created many advertisements, logos, posters, stationary sets, 2 page magazine spreads, and small books. It was a very very tough time for me and most of my designs were really awful. I did learn a lot but I was unable to do well in school even though I had skill and talent. Most of this time I felt sort of dead to be honest and I was barley anything like myself. There was little time for personal projects but I did take a few illustration courses. My popular painting, "Sins" was created during this time [link]

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2009

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. Close-up view on Ryu-hime Prologue Cover
2. Concept for Ryu-hime Chapter 1 Cover
3. New Concept art for Yune (the main character of Ryu-hime)
4. A screenshot of my website "Mishi Paper"</sub>

I had left school and I was hesitant to create things for awhile. The experience had left me creatively barren and I felt completely empty and burned out. Most of this time was spent trying to recover. I had no internet during this time, so I lacked references and tools to study anatomy like I have now. But I did push myself to rework all the designs for Ryu-hime. I started a large binder and I redrew all the characters, costumes, locations etc. A few pieces were colored digitally and posted online. The other big project I started was a website "Mishi Paper" where I offered anime and gamer themed wallpapers. It was very successful and I met a lot of friends. I also expanded my web design knowledge.

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2010

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. Sailor Orion Colored [link]
2. Chibichibi and Sol Colored [link]
3. Eternal Sailor Luna Colored [link]
4. Sailor Moon Realism Colored [link]</sub>

I had internet again and decided I wanted to become more proficent in digital drawing. I began drawing a lot of Sailor Moon fanart and other people's characters. I started doing backgrounds and focusing on color. Personally, I was facing a lot of serious problems, but artistically, I was getting a little better.

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2011

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. Sailor Sun Colored [link]
2. Sailor Autumn [link]
3. Nightmare of Silence - Mistress 9 (Revised) [link]
4. Harlequin's Grin (originally posted on ~CirceSilver) [link]</sub>

It wasn't until the end of 2011 that I was able to start doing art again. Also, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to be a part of the community anymore. DA can be like one big popularity contest sometimes. It always seemed like the quality of the art didn't matter, so long as the subject revolved around popular anime, games, shows or sex and I really didn't want to feel forced to cater to those fans. During this time, I tried new things like painting without heavy outlines. I delved into horror and more macabre subjects. I participated in several contests and also started an alternative account, ~CirceSilver

_{For a more detailed breakdown of the year, please visit my "2011 Summary of Art" [link]}

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2012

<sub>Featured Artwork:
1. Dawn of the Rising Senshi [link]
2. Planetary Dream: Senshi of a Lost Star [link]
3. Varia [link]
4. N/A</sub>

Currently as I am writing this, the year 2012 is coming to an end. It's been the best year and also the worst year in many ways. Despite all the bad, I feel like I'm starting a new chapter in every direction including artistically. I've made a lot of progress this year and for the first time I feel perfectly comfortable drawing in Paint Tool Sai. I have started a new collection folder here on DA, showing off inspirational pieces where other artists have improved dramatically and started keeping record of my own progress. I have finished the basic concept for my Sailor Moon fan story and the main character's design. I've also been experimenting with other styles and ways to digitally paint. What's in store for the future? A new Ryu-hime comic? Maybe a new story? : )

_{If you'd like to know more about my 2012 drawings, please visit my "2012 Summary of Art" which breaks down my progress from month to month [link]}

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This was created using the "Improvement Meme Template". If you would like to make one too, go ahead! Just head on over to Kamaniki's page and download the template here [link]