What otaku couldn't appreciate a well put together collectible vinyl toy? Well! It just so happens that some dots connected between myself, Tharp (the artist of Ohiya Friends), and NYCC. If you don't remember the coverage of Ohiya that I posted from NYCC, be sure to check it out HERE.

In support of such a great brand, I took a gamble and signed up for a raffle, in which the winner would get a customized toy. Little did I KNOW that I would actually win. Below is the account, as seen by Ohiya artist, Tharp, as it all went down.

This is the result of the drawing we had during the NYCC at the Ohiya booth. After the show I took all the entries threw in a bag and drew the winner's name- Imani K. Brown and she even has her own website www.artisticsole.com. Once I contacted Imani we worked out colors, and any other theme of her choosing. She passed on her logo to me and I kinda used that for some inspiration. The result was really one of my favorites to date!! I was sad to send it out put it is clear that Imani will give it a great home. The fun part is working on a piece that is inspired by something that the winner is into . To me, it really drives home the mission of Ohiya "the art of making friends". Its a really fun way of getting to know someone...Enjoy!

Something also new and different about this one is I filmed the whole painting process and will be posting it on www.ohiyafriends.com &www.tharpsmart.com.

Here are some flicks after I shared with Tharp after I received my new boo. Can you believe it though!? Imani's ALREADY making friends ;-D