You might have figured out from the work so far that, a while back,  DracoJeff and I were close. This was back when he went by a different character, whom you can see here.
This was a birthday present to him, back when I was still toying with this notion of Terra In Color. You can still see a lot of spikiness going on, and indeed the jaw spines here are somewhat reminiscent of what he usually has today. Really though, I'd just come upon quite a pile of colored pencils and was having altogether too much fun trying them out.

DJ has been through a lot--way more than me, I'd say--and I have always felt honored to have had a hand in encouraging him to reach forward and grab his destiny, embracing the talent we all know he holds and using it to accomplish the works waiting inside him to be unleashed upon the artistic world. This piece was designed to reflect the strange "coincidence" that we should have been brought together as friends, supporting one another in what it is we intend to do as much as in the little everyday trials that make life a journey.
And because I'm a nerd, I incorporated some Japanese. I don't actually know how to speak that language; I'm not actually sure how I got the translation for this in the first place, come to think of it...
Someday, perhaps I'll get to make something a bit better, but for where I was artistically at that point, I have to admit I did a pretty good job.

DJ and I have moved in somewhat different directions since then, in part due to intervening circumstances, but I remain very proud of his impressive accomplishments. He's definitely moved up in the world, and I think the world's gonna be even more impressed when it finally realizes the kind of things he's capable of accomplishing.

Terra, art © me
"Phyco" © DracoJeff
As this was a gift I created, this is a work I particularly don't want people to copy, redistribute, or alter. Please respect my wishes.