Contest Entry: True Rivals

...Kakashi, however, was out next to the lake by himself. His zori, or ninja boots, laid comfortably next to him as he waded his feet in the cool water. Kakashi’s eye moved back and fourth as he read his novel, while sitting on a rather large rock. He occasionally glared to his right as he observed a fishing rod that he had stuck into the ground. Kakashi was too engrossed into his novel to be holding the fishing rod. He gave a small sigh in boredom as he returned to his text... ~from 'Kakashi's True Rival' by =outerglow

This is an entry for 's Hitteki Scrolls Manga Cover Contest, which was brought to my attention by ~P260even. It sounded like a fun challenge and I couldn't resist trying my hand at it.

Now, I love Kakashi, but usually I avoid drawing him because, quite frankly, his hair terrifies me. All those spikes at unusual angles, and you have to get the curves just right or it either looks limp or too tamed… It’s enough to drive me mad. So therefore I am quite pleased at how this one turned out!

I tried to do something different with the colouring this time, and I think I partially succeeded with Kakashi and Toshi...although I reverted to my normal colouring style on the tree. Oh, and if you're wondering where his zori are, they got cut out of the final picture to make for a more dramatic composition. But they were there, honest!


<sub>Technical Details:
- Digital colour (OC and PSP) over trad. inks.
- Time: about 5 hours (I'm obsessive about details... )
- Reference for Kakashi's pose: Naruto chapter 8, page 7, bottom panel (the one where he's squashing Sasuke...)</sub>

Critiques are encouraged!

_{*Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
*'Kakashi's True Rival' belongs to =outerglow.
*The artwork belongs to me!}