These pieces are listed in no particular order of quality. Rather, the pieces that made it onto this list, did so because I believe them to be the most indicative of my progress as an artist this year.

ONE- Roza on Leave: Number one features my own OC Roza Delacroix. Before I made this piece, I was endlessly experimenting with different forms of rendering. The stuff I was making looked fine, and surely anyone who saw it would've said so as well, but none of it ever satisfied me. It had no bite, no visual distinction from anything else (IMHO), so I finally told myself, "Dude, you're going to have to buckle down and settle on SOMETHING." I wanted to make my art to where, if someone saw it, they would know, without a doubt, that Bombs Ahoy made this piece. So, with that in mind, I decided to center my rendering around the use of the default spray tool in Clip Studio Paint. I turned the anti-aliasing all the way off so my spray particles were extra jagged. What this gave me was a very grainy result whenever I finished a piece. For the longest time, I was trying to emulate the soft rendering style many other artists have nowadays, but I discovered this year that the same kind of art you enjoy CONSUMING is not the same kind of art you may enjoy PRODUCING. From this piece onwards, my art has only gotten grainier, and it makes me very happy whenever someone compliments the texture of my work.

TWO- Batman Saying Odd Things: With my new form of rendering finalized, I wanted to see what I could do with it in a variety of fashions, from full-color to stark black and white. Batman, in a way I'm not sure how, came to mind as a good subject for this test, and during the rendering process the idea of Batman saying a variety of odd statements came to mind. I was pleasantly surprised to see this piece get frontpaged and all the good humored comments in regards to Batman's bizarre claims.

THREE- Meranda Esquire (by Ennuikal): Fanart of an...unconventional nun. The style of this piece has been a kind of sub-development in relation to my rendering style overall. For many of my pieces, I go full throttle and give it the full colored, fully rendered treatment. However, as you might be able to guess, this can be pretty time consuming, and sometimes I just have a funny idea in my head that I just want to get out. So, I developed a "sketchy" style that lets me make stuff quickly whilst still having it look cool and appealing. I found deliberately leaving gaps in the coloring of the drawing, can somewhat add to the overall texture. Also, very proud of the action of the gun, with the top sliding back as the trigger is pulled, with a casing being ejected from the top in the process.

FOUR- Valerie Vasquez (by HeartisttheArtist): A cybernetically enhanced MMA fighter! This piece was part of an event I did called "Bomb's Swimsuit Summer" or something like that. It was something I wanted to do in tandem with the NG Summer Festival, but I only ended up being able to do three pieces (I wanted to get at least five done). Looking back on it, maybe I should've just done my sketchy style to save time. This piece makes it onto the list for the primary reason of it featuring the first well-rendered pack of abs I'd done up until then, as well as being very happy with the shiny rendering of her gold bikini.

FIVE- Julie Fawthe: A fun little piece I made for the Fourth of July, the U.S.A.'s independence day. I call this form of art Uber-Americana, an over-the-top brand of humorous American imagery. This piece belongs on the list for the sheer amount of detail I worked into Julie's character design. Flag colored skin, a 10-gallon cowboy hat emblazoned with the pyramid from the one dollar bill, a t-shirt that features a map of the mainland states with a faded Jesus printed on top, camouflaged short-shorts and stockings, a belt buckle engraved with the image of a burger, an M1911 pistol tucked into her belt, a classic cowboy repeater in her left hand, brown and white hair like the feathers of a bald eagle, and a bottle of delicious corn syrup in her right hand. Oh, and a gold tooth for a little bit of flair. I encourage everyone to make a mascot of your country like this, because it is just a lot of fun just to see how much you can fit in there.

SIX- No Demons Allowed: This piece is when I really felt my aforementioned "sketchy" style really started to come into being, like I really started to feel that I knew just what I was doing. I love her intense expression and the dust rising with the blowing wind!

SEVEN- Bunker Selfie XD!!!: A pic of my three primary OC's together in a bunker! This piece was an especially difficult challenge, because I had never really made a drawing where the characters were this closely packed together. I had to make sure that I fit all three of them in frame to where their expressions and demeanor could be communicated, as well as making sure there was enough room for the world bubbles. Their dirty faces and attire played well into my rendering style!

EIGHT- Kiki (Ongezellig): Some fanart of a background character from the indie Dutch cartoon Ongezellig. I worked to give Kiki a super intense, but beautiful kind of stare. Very happy with how the pose and her hair turned out. This piece also features one of my favorite things: A strong shadow cast by the nose. It's something that I feel just adds so much dimension to the human face, and I like to include as often as I can.

NINE- Bleach as Dark Riku (Kingdom Hearts): Another artist's OC cosplaying as Dark Riku from Kingdom Hearts! I think my rendering works the best in dark environments with super intense shadows and lighting. Something about those elements really just makes the grain POP. I've also come to enjoy adding those little bits of shimmering light you see on her keyblade and belt buckles. I just think it looks cool XD.

TEN- Big Boobs Christmas Elf: Um....Boobs...Thank you for reading.

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