Anime/Manga fanatics and artists seem to go hand-in-hand and you definitely saw that this year at SMASH! 2013 in the “Art Room” which was a dedicated, let’s say, sanctuary for all us artists out there, a place where we could come in, sit down and bust out some awesome Anime and Manga style drawings. Let’s just say that I was lucky to have been able to spend most of my day in this place because it made artists and art-lovers feel right at home. There were tables of people just free-drawing all day in comfort and while surrounded by friends. The SMASH! team had set up large pieces of hanging paper for people passing through to doodle on throughout the day in the hopes that, by the end of the day, we’d see some incredible mixes of styles and artworks. Mission accomplished!
Alongside the free-drawing sessions that ran all day was the Cosplay Life Drawing sessions. The Cosplay Life Drawing sessions gave artists the chance to show a bit more of their skills, they did this by having a real Cosplayer head into the center of about six or seven tables, strike a pose and let the group of artists to their best. Anyone was eligible to draw and it was open to all ages and all drawing styles. As I took pictures I was even offered a seat by one of the SMASH! staff, unfortunately I didn’t hang around but had I had the time I would’ve definitely tried it out.
There were constant murmurs of people sharing how they go about drawing their style and how they could improve on it. People continuously flocked to the Art Room throughout the entire day for both the Free Draw and the Cosplay Life Drawing. It was nice to see the Anime and Manga-loving community come together so tightly to bond over something such as art and illustration specifically and I hope to see it in the coming years because it was a hit and everybody loved it!
