Rain of Tears - Sasuke

Rain of Tears - my first Sasuke fanart... my first fanart of any Naruto character at all...

Naruto had completely slipped under my radar until Otakon 2004, where I made its bewildered and resisting acquaintance. I couldn't imagine something based on a bunch of kiddie ninjas being any good. Well, less than a month ago I finally broke down and read the first manga... then the second... Before I knew it, I'd manage to track down up to volume 27, scanalated, and I still wanted more.

It was almost impossible for me to pick a favorite character since they're almost all great in their own ways, but I think Sasuke has done his best to fight his way to the top, despite his actions in the later volumes I've read. (Or maybe I just feel a need to be protective of him since I positively loathe Itachi and so many people Sasuke a world of pain.)

I shouldn't get away without mentioning the others, but it's certainly a large lump... Naruto, Gaara, Sakura, Kakashi, Hinata, Shikamaru, Haku and Zabuza... I have a tendency to pair off Sasuke and Sakura, as well as Naruto and Hinata.

Well, I'll stop rambling, but so far I give the Naruto manga a great big A and highly recommend it. Anyone who also knows the series and wants to talk about it, feel free to comment away.

The drawing for this only took about an hour and a half - the coloring perhaps eight hours or more. Photoshop 5.5 + wacom tablet. I have a tutorial on Photoshop coloring on my website, though I used a different style for this piece than I did in the tutorial.

Comments welcome, critiques accepted though I don't plan to change the picture at all. I'm looking forward to showing this one off in the Katsucon artist alley.