Hey, I thought - anime is art, right? So who are your favorite artists?
One of my favorites is Tony Taka. Apparently the guy does H-doujins and cgs, but that doesn't really interest me. However, his normal drawings are amazing. Examples:
Saber "fanart" scan (http://mduo13.no-ip.org/gfx/fatestaynight/tonytakasaber.jpg)
wallpaper of "After Sweet Kiss" (http://mduo13.no-ip.org/wallpapers/tonytaka-daydream_after_sensations.jpg)
Takehito Harada, the main artist for Nippon Ichi Software:
Disgaea artwork (http://mduo13.no-ip.org/gfx/disgaea.jpg)
wallpaper of miscellaneous girl (http://mduo13.no-ip.org/wallpapers/takehitoharada-sunshineafterrain.jpg)
I'm sure there are more but I don't know all that many of them by name.
Itaru Hinoue. She does character design for Visual Art's.
Mitsumi Misato (Comic Party, Utawarerumono, Tenshi no Inai Jyuunigatsu, ToHeart2) - basically Leaf's most prolific illustrator and my overall favorite. She creates the most moetic characters. <3 Her circle is known as "Cut A Dash!" and she works with Amaduyu Tatsuki, who also co-illustrated for all the above listed games. I choose her over Amaduyu cause I prefer her distinct, however minor, differences. And yes, I can distinguish between the two.
Samples: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/danbooru_unf-p-113462019978846.jpg), 2 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/2004_10_31_1099153903581.jpg)
Nanase Aoi (Seraphim Call, Samurai Spirits OVA 2, Angel/Dust, Asuka 120%) - my former favorite illustrator. I fell in love with her Samurai Spirits stuff more than anything else. Nako rabu~!
Samples: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/1126624522753.jpg), 2 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/danbooru_unf-p-114420556612488.jpg)
Taka Tony (Shining Tears) - I'll let mDuo's description and samples take care of this one.
Komatsu "CO2A" Eiji (Tristia of the Deep-Blue Sea, Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu, Maburaho, planetarian) - Cute. What else can I say?
Samples: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/pla1-wall-1280-1024.jpg), 2 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/1110327011205.jpg)
Carnelian (Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Kao no Nai Tsuki) - Some beautiful stuff. It was basically her design of Lilith for Yamibou that put her on my list.
Samples: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/20040910-0131-502.jpg), 2 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/20050227-0100-657.jpg)
Honorable Mentions:
-Nanao Naru (D.C. ~Da Capo~, Sakura) Sample: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/20050215-1656-172.jpg)
-Sasaki Mutsumi (Happy Lesson, Memories Off) Sample: 1 (http://tsubasa.nu/images/1109574717515.jpg)
Those are the ones I can think of for now. I may post more later.
Iisaka Yukako among others...
Narumi Kakinouchi; The artist that does Vampire Princess Miyu
And the artist that does Sakura Taisen....
I also like most of the stuff from Leaf...
So far, I like a lot of those artists you guys have mentioned, most of whom I didn't know by name until reading your posts. Knowing is awesome.
Oh, I also forgot my favorite manga-ka and character designer for video games, Kosuke Fujishima (Oh My Goddess!, You're Under Arrest!, Tales of Phantasia, other Tales games, eX-Driver, etc.)
Samples: I wish I could find a scan of one of the amazing black-and-whites from the AMG manga, which are truly gorgeous.
Koge Donbo (Di Gi Charat, Pita Ten, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Kamichama Karin) is also someone whose character designs are so good, I can't help but enjoy her works.
Too lazy to find good samples. It's frustrating 'cause I used to have a ton but I lost them in my hard drive wipe.