Competition

Competition is a standalone illustration by Iron Eater. It originally ran in Issue 55 at http://s2b2.livejournal.com/307914.html, and is mirrored at http://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/competition/.

Media

This piece was created entirely in Clip Studio Paint (AKA Manga Studio 5) using a combination of default and custom Frenden brushes. The dancers' pose heavily references assorted professional ballroom dancing photography, though the dancers themselves aren't based on anyone in particular.

Artist's Notes

Mostly this was an excuse for a visual pun. I had to completely scrap and redo the coloring on this one a few times, including one version where the dress wasn't originally green! I had that AC/DC song in my head for a lot of it.

I also want to be absolutely clear this isn't meant to be mean-spirited "man in a dress" humor: the dancer in green is confident and comfortable in his frock, and the joke here is that it's a different kind of competitive sport that still involves the word "balls." He's the more hirsute of the two because it makes him more obviously masculine at a glance (contrast with his longer-haired but clean-shaven dance partner) and because I have a thing for huge bearded men in pretty clothes, so there you go.