| Fantasy Art | Jewelry | Other Art |
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Well, I'm officially launching this website of mine, though it's not yet finished. My goal is to get the important parts up by the end of July, in time for ConnectiCon 2009, where I'll be sitting at my own table in the Artists' Colony. As such, I'm initially focusing on those parts of the site which are relevant to the con - such as the fantasy & anime art gallery. Expect the 'Jewelry' and 'Other' galleries to come last.
That said, the Fantasy Art Gallery (which features all my fantasy, anime, sci-fi, comic, cartoon, etc.art) is up and running for your viewing pleasure, so you can preview some of the things I'll be selling prints of at the con.
Beyond that, the contact, commissions, and ordering pages are my next priorities, respectively. Expect to see those soon, as well as regular updates to the fanasy gallery as I expand my portfolio for the convention.
Welcome to Asuka Was Here Studios, the online art gallery of Amanda "Asuka" Wenger - so if you were wondering who Asuka was, that would be me, and if you want to know why she was here... well, that's because it's my site and I made it, so I had to have been here.
And who, you may ask am I? I am many things, but the most relevant answer is that I am an artist - which you've likely gathered - and more specifically, an artist with an interest in a number of genres and styles of art. I've occasionally referred to my activities as "artistic ADD" in that I never manage to focus on just one field. I'll be illustrating one day, making a necklace the next, and once I do that I'll be off doing graphic design work or something similarly dissimilar. Or, in other words, I'm an artistic Jack of All Trades.
At the moment, I happen to be a college Junior, working on a Bachelor's degree in Art & Design at Sacred Heart University, which has an excellent program in my field of study. I must, however, point out that just because I'm still in school doesn't mean I can't do a good job should you be looking for someone to hire for freelance art or design work. Speaking of which, you can find out more about that in the Commissions section of this site. For the most part, all my status as a student really means is that I work a lot more cheaply than people who hold degrees. I does, however, also restrict the timeframe of when I'm available for commissioning.
However self-praising it may seem, and contradictory to the universally-binding notion that all artists must hate their own work (this is not to say that it is bad artwork - I will point out that Monet, for instance, was well-known for destroying his pieces in bouts of frustration), simple business procedures dictate that should I ever want to be hired for something, I must present as many wonderful things about myself as I can as some form of reassurance that I am not an inexperienced twit. So, despite my inclination to let my art simply speak for itself, here's what I've done:
Areas of Specialization:
- Fantasy, Comic, Anime, and like genres (drawing &iIllustration)
- Wildlife Illustration
- Jewelrymaking, especially Beading and Wirework
- General Crafts (incl. ornaments, cardmaking, and some knitting and sewing)
- Single-Page Print Designs (i.e. business cards, flyers, letterheads, greeting cards, and more)
- General Illustration from photo references
- Nature & Wildlife Photography
- Photo clean-up and retouch
...and more. If you want to know if I can do something particular, ask me and I'll let you know.
Awards:
(Genre of award in parentheses)
- Southbury Lion's Club 2002 Peace Poster Contest Winner, Local Division (poster illustration)
- Easton Arts Council 2006 Nancy White Memorial Award (general visual arts)
- ConnectiCon 2006 Cosplay Contest Designer's Award (costume design)
- Easton Public Library 2006 Book Parade Award for Best Manga Costume (costume design)
- Sacred Heart University Student Exhibition 2007-08 Best in Foundation Class (drawing)
- Sacred Heart U. Student Exhibition 2007-08 Honorable Mention, Foundation Class (drawing)
- Sacred Heart U. Student Exhibition (2008-09) Best in Foundation Class (digital illustration)
Work Shown in Following Exhibitions, Displays, Galleries, etc.:
- 3-time work inclusion in Fan Art gallery, NewType USA Magazine (digital anime illustration)
- Easton Arts Council 2008-09 Member's Art Show (nature photography)
- Sacred Heart University2007-08 Student Exhibition
- Sacred Heart University 2008-09 Student Exhibition
Volunteer Work:
- FinTAStic, the newsletter of The Angelfish Society (TAS) (set of digital fish drawings)
- Easton Boy Scouts Blue & Gold Dinner (invitation design & production)