Motomachitencho, who has been kind enough to translate my Toho comics into Japanese, asked me to write a message for all of my Japanese readers.
If you have followed me on pixiv, or bookmarked, rated, linked to, or commented on any of my works on pixiv, thank you. I am honored to receive your feedback.
Often I visit the pixiv page of a person who bookmarks me, to see what interests they have that line up with my work. Once, my book Autumn Children, starring Lunasa and Shizuha, was bookmarked by an artist named Harusame. When I visited his page, I saw that he had drawn over 300 pictures of Lunasa. It was easy to conclude that he had bookmarked Autumn Children because of his love for Lunasa. I am proud to be bookmarked by a super-fan like him.
Sometimes I know the name of someone who follows me. For example, I once saw that I had been followed by Gensoukoumuten, who Western Toho fans consider one of Gensokyo’s master storytellers. I am flattered that he would find something to like in my stories. I am proud to be followed by a highly regarded creator like him.
Most of the Twitter tweets that link to my work on pixiv are in Japanese, and I can’t read them. But I am proud even of tweets that I can’t understand. It means that my work made a strong enough impression on someone that they want to share that work with their friends.
On the English forums where I’ve shown my work, many of my mistakes have been pointed out. The flow of the dialogue is weak, and the characters don’t differentiate themselves by their way of speaking. I’m not good at drawing character expressions, and often the faces of different characters look the same. My line art is sloppy, and I seldom use screen tones. Whenever I get a low rating on pixiv, I wonder if it’s because of one of my known weaknesses, or of some other fault I’m not yet aware of. But even a low rating is an honor to me. It shows that a user cared enough to tell me to do better next time.
Again, thank you for everything. Thank you for the comments, the bookmarks, the follows, the links, and the ratings, high and low.
I put a lot of effort into my works. I try to make each new work better than the previous one, by overcoming my weaknesses as an artist and a writer. And I do this because people like you are waiting to see what my next work will be.
Adrian Ferrer (Sixten)
Seattle, Washington, USA
PS. Once again, thanks to Motomachitencho, who translated Fairy Ring, Autumn Children, and Use Your Illusion into Japanese. I wouldn’t be getting all this feedback from Japanese readers on pixiv if he hadn’t made it possible for them to read my work.
