I only started putting my work online around 2005. At the time, I was nervous since I was following the shadows of many great artists I found on Pixiv.

I was especially weak with character design. Something about the human anatomy always eluded me.

I did, however, get better because I just kept practicing, I enjoyed it and I just watched more anime for inspiration.

Gradually, I also got better at illustrating cars as well. The picture above was drawn on paper, and then I added a glare effect using Photoshop. One of my first forays into Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

Another thing I also enjoyed drawing was military jets. My brothers and I made a hobby of knowing all the military aircraft used in any major war. An odd hobby I know.

Overtime, I also got better at drawing them, and I started coming up with my own unique concepts. A lot of my inspiration came from shows like YukiKaze, and the Macross series.

I could go on showing more of my artwork. But I think you get the point am trying to make. A lot of people have asked me in the past how I got to this level of skill. But I write this to show that it took a while. 

In anything, be it art, programming, martial arts, or comedy, when it comes to honing your craft, most of us will benefit greatly from consistent practice. It also helps significantly to enjoy the process of getting better. The journey is also a reward in itself.

Jason Allen won 1st place at the Colorado State Fair with this piece titled “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” generated on Midjourney.

That’s right, AI technology can now create “art”. Though that in itself may not be surprising, the implications raise many fascinating questions. For starters, it does suggest that, quite simply, there is no profession out there that cannot be replaced by a machine. Whether you’re a mechanic, an engineer, a priest, a designer, nothing is safe from the impending takeover. The truly shocking thing is not that it happened, but how quickly.  Apple introduced Siri to the world in 2011, and though it is not the original AI, it is certainly one of the first AI technologies accessible to the public. Fast forward 11 years and AI technology is now winning art contests (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html)! Of what will the machines be capable in the next 11 years? This writer is frightened to even imagine it.

I decided to reach out to art professionals with the following prompt:

“Do you think AI generated “art” is, in fact, art? How would you feel seeing a table with AI art in the artist alley?”

It was fascinating to see different takes on the subject. What's yours?

Shin, our first mascot, symbolizes my friendly side;

Yuki, the second mascot, represents my (rare) outgoing moments.

Aya, the third mascot and one of my favorites, is my more quiet, stoic side. Her character design is meant to exude quiet strength. 

02, my fourth mascot, is probably my most public persona; shy. 

Zell, my fifth mascot, is probably closest to me. One of my favorite pastimes is drinking some good tea and just watching my garden.

Drake, my newest and most enigmatic mascot, symbolizes an aspect of myself; I rarely show anger or / a short temper. (I want to draw this character more)  
I tend to infuse a part of myself in my illustrations (I think most artists do in some way).  

Are you ready for #Inktober2022? Whether you follow the official prompts or create your own, we love to see people motivated to get up and draw! Check out our collection of pocket notebooks.

This particular t-shirt has been a long time coming. We're happy to announce the arrival of Pacifist. 

Pacifist was inspired by an old anime that I enjoyed called Infinite Ryvius. In the show, a friendly, easy-going character, Ikumi Oze, was pushed over the edge by the atrocities around him.

I am sometimes similarly affected by the atrocities in this world that I wonder if, given the opportunity, it would be tempting to use extreme force to shape society.

But I am aware violence or force is only a tragic failure in human interaction, and only communication can lead to lasting peace.

You can get the shirt here.

Hello everyone! We hope you are as excited about Anime Expo 22 as we are! This will be our first con since 2019 and our only con of the year. Needless to say, we needed to make sure it was special, and we are excited to announce that for the first time at a con, we will also be taking orders by fulfillment. What the heck does this mean? Well, I’ll tell you!

Fulfillment means you can now place an order at the convention, receive an email confirmation of this order, and have the order shipped to your specified address. With fulfillment, you can enjoy the convention without the hassle of having to walk around a crowded, 4-day convention with your valuable merchandise. How exactly is this changing the game, you ask?

Free shipping!

Well, gee Boomslank, how is fulfillment any different from buying online? Well, here it is! All fulfillment orders at AX ‘22 will have free shipping within the continental US! Boomslank’s goal has always been to give our con patrons the most stress-free, low-pressure buying experience. Fulfillment with free shipping is just our small way of making this easy for all of you.

Phone Cases are Coming Back to the Con!

For the first time since...the olden times, our popular phone cases will now be available at the con! You can view our catalog of iPhone, Samsung, and Google Pixel phone cases, place your order, and it will be conveniently shipped to your home.

Access to Our Online Inventory!

Though we will still bring merch to the con (duh…), you can still order that same item at the con from our online inventory. So even if we have sold out at the con, you can still grab that product from the same stock we use to serve our online store!

No need to carry your stuff around!

Worried about losing that sweet shirt you just picked up? Anxious about ripping that new print? Stressed about how to take all that merch home even though you swore you would not “go crazy” this year, but we all knew you would because you always do, Kevin?!! With fulfillment, you can place your order and leave the rest to us. Your item will be packed and shipped to you, and you will be free to roam the con and show off your fabulous cosplay unencumbered by your loot!

We’re excited to be back on the road and that we get to see you all again, and we are excited that we can bring fulfillment to the con to make the experience even better! Take care of yourselves, and we will be together again very soon!

Work in progress for our next design. Just a preview of our next design. Not sure if it should be a shirt, a hoodie, or something entirely brand new.

We're thrilled to announce the arrival of our first t-shirt drop for 2022! It's called Paper Plane!

One of my favorite aspects of Anime is its ability to take one on a journey. When I watch immersive Anime, especially those of the "Isekai" genre, it feels like I am on a journey with the characters.

I am thrilled to announce the return of the Leo anime hoodies!

I can honestly say I never thought this day would ever come. We've made some upgrades to the hoodie.

Hope you guys like the upgrades!

You can get them here.

A print that sums up the last couple of years.

 
Unless you've been on a 2-year mission to Mars, you know 2020, 2021, and so far 2022 have been profoundly difficult years. These surreal times were the inspiration for our next print. David felt the need to articulate how he's felt about the last two years in this upcoming print.

We hope to have this ready sometime in March. 

If you've ever wondered why the Leo Hoodies aren't available, that's because we got scammed out of a lot of money to get them made. We had planned on relaunching Leo with more attention to detail. We wanted to add some design elements we couldn't pull off with the usual screen printing process. We thought we found the right person for the job. But it turned out we only found a pathological liar whose only talent was extending deadlines with infinite excuses. The whole ordeal is a long story, but we've got an attorney involved. The cost of doing business. SMH.

We also dropped the ball when it came to dropping new designs. Arsenal was the only new design we managed to drop in 2021. We seriously hope to rectify that this year. We're also looking into other product segments. But we can't say anything about those just yet. Please stay tuned.

It can be overwhelming thinking about everything that's gone wrong. So every now and then, I seek out things to be grateful for. And whenever I look at our customer review page, I feel nothing but pride and hope that we're on the right track. It's incredibly encouraging.

Here's hoping 2022 is a better opportunity for us all. Happy New Year!

Hi everyone, happy to say Arsenal is ready! This new t-shirt happens to be our boldest design yet as David wanted to try something a little more subtle.

You will notice that the fighter has a green camo pattern on a green/teal-ish shirt. I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but we ended up loving the finished product.

Long before I discovered and became inspired by anime, I loved drawing machines. I found aesthetic beauty in them and would design cars, planes, even entirely fictional machines. In my family library was a book titled "Russian World Power" that introduced me to the fascinating world of  Soviet-era warplanes.

 But the people at the Artspace and the culture of the space are so welcoming. It was also lovely to work in such a beautiful building (that used to be a horse stable!). The workshops turned out to be an absolute joy. It's a bunch of anime fans meeting together and drawing anime (what was I scared of?). 

I share some of my techniques for creating Anime characters, like using real people as inspiration (which makes great gifts for my students!). 

If you're ever in the Raleigh - Durham area in North Carolina, feel free to follow the Artspace as I will be teaching more classes, including an introduction to digital anime art! ^_^  

Rui is a 26 year old illustrator based in Canada, but her artistic journey began in earnest at age 6 after she won a contest at school. She took that passion to the next step, earning a degree in illustration at Sheridan College. Today she is a full time illustrator and can be found in a con artist alley on most weekends. Though she’s admittedly not a fan of traveling, she’s a con warrior through and through.

“Favorite part is seeing that no matter where you go in the world... all weebs are the same!”

Her style is very much anime inspired, drawing from her favorite shows which include One Piece, Mob Psycho 100, and My Hero Academia (she’s all about her best boys!). Similar to our very own P-Shinobi, her pieces start as pencil sketches which she scans and finishes digitally. Anime has defined her art from the start, however she found that the traditional art schooling of the time did not share her enthusiasm for it.

“....they really discouraged (it) and the professors didn't think of it as a viable option which is why I didn't really like my first 2 years…..it's hard for them to grasp that people can make a living out of anime since to them it's like the unknown.”

Sadly this seems to be the case with a lot of institutional art education. Thankfully we have recently seen a bit of an evolution in what is offered by our colleges, like growing support for E-sports and even schools that host pop culture cons. I personally am optimistic that the culture is changing.

I would say my favorite part of Rui’s art is the light heartedness of it. Her pieces have this ability to disarm you with wit, humor, and charm. Her booth is the one that stops you in your tracks as you walk through the artist alley aisles because you just saw the most hilarious Arataka Reigen print ever. I’ve always believed that good art reflects the artist’s personality, and that is certainly the case with Rui’s work.

Of course these days you will not be seeing Rui, or anyone else, at any con. As a full time artist with the bulk of her income coming from artist alley tables, she is quite anxious to get back to doing what she loves, like all of us. I was curious to hear her thoughts on the current COVID situation. Like many others, artists have been severely affected by the necessary social distancing measures. How are they coping? How are they staying motivated? Well in Rui’s case….

“I’ve been coping by playing Animal Crossing all day! You should come over to check out my island!”

Can’t say that I was exactly shocked. Along with anime, one of her other passions is gaming (hardcore Fire Emblem). She did have some wise words for some that may be perhaps a little complacent about the situation.

“I'd follow the WHOs recommendations. Your life is more important than anime conventions. I know many people are saying ‘If I die I die’ but think about it, if you die now you won't be able to go to future cons!! You'll miss out on new animes! So stay safe everyone!”

Like most other artists, Rui has definitely felt the strain of the social distancing measures, but she remains hopeful that things will soon return to normal. We all miss our cons and our artist alleys, but they are still out there and you can still find them. We encourage you to check Rui out on the outlets below, and I’m confident you will be pleasantly surprised.

Web: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Ravefirell/

Twitter: @ravefirell

Insta: @ravefirell

We took the plunge and set out to create our very first anime-inspired hoodie. It had its inaugural launch at Anime Expo.

The reception was far more positive than we anticipated. We're in the middle of trying to get it ready for its online launch. Hope to get things ready in a month at the latest.

We tried something new. We thought we explore the idea of collaborating with another brand known for making really cool bags. This collab is hopefully an experiment that might be a reflection of what's to come in the future.

That said when you get the chance to check out our collab on an anime-inspired backpack with EquilibriumUSG.

Triad Anime Convention

Date: March 15 to 17

Location: Winston Salem, NC

Tora Con

Date: March 23 to 24

Location: Rochester, NY

Anime Boston 

Date: April 19 to 21

Location: Boston, MA

Anime Central

Date: May 17 to 19

Location: Rosemont, IL

Animazement

Date: May 24 to 26

Location: Raleigh, NC

Momocon

Date: May 23 to 26

Location: Atlanta, GA

Anime Matsuri

Date: June 13 to 16

Location: Houston, TX

A-Kon

Date: June 27 to 30

Location: Dallas, TX

Anime Expo

Date: July 4 to 7

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Otakon

Date: July 26 to 28

Location: Washington DC

Crunchyroll Expo

Date: August 30 to September 1

Location: San Jose, CA

Colossalcon East

Date: September 13 to 15

Location: Poconos, PA

Anime Weekend Atlanta

Date: October 31 to November 3

Location: Atlanta, GA

Anime NYC

Date: November 15 to 17

Location: New York, NY