If you've been watching my journal, you'd have seen a recent artist identification request. The mystery artist turns out to be NeMAfronSPAiN, who was correctly suggested by alacDA. I'm grateful to alacDA for identifying the artist of the image in my journal because it was bugging me. I knew I had seen the artwork before, and sure enough, NeMAfronSPAiN is on my watchlist. NeMA confirmed that he was the artist of the piece, and I was happy to learn that he was available for commissions.

A few e-mail exchanges later, and he produced this sketch showing a few possible poses. I selected pose number 5, and he finished the sketch a few hours later. I was stunned with how quick the whole process was. He submitted this work in progress along with the final sketch.

I like the way the sketch turned out. The feminine pose contrasts pretty nicely with the muscles. Love the lowered arm, but I think the flexed arm has some perspective issues. Or maybe it's just not peaked enough. This is the first time I've asked an artist to depict Akiko in a bikini, and I think I should have started doing it sooner. She's looking pretty sweet in her two-piece outfit.

I'm going to try my hand at inking the piece, but I'm hoping to find an artist to help with inking and coloring it. I'm posting it here under a Creative Commons Share Alike license, so feel free to try inking/coloring if you like the piece. Drop me a note with your e-mail address and I'll send you a higher resolution version of the sketch to work from.

I definitely highly recommend NeMAfronSPAiN. He's a great artist and really fast, a nice combination.

Edit: Just realized it would be easier if I just allowed download of the high resolution version directly from DeviantART. Just click download for the 2372 × 5000 pixel version.

Related Links
Akiko by NeMAfronSPAiN WIP 1
Akiko by NeMAfronSPAiN WIP 2
Artist Identification Request
NeMAfronSPAiN
alacDA