The cast of Naruto is incredibly colorful, energetic, and largely is what drives the plot forward before and between major conflicts. One of the most driven that fans meet early on is Ino Yamanaka, the daughter of the head of a flower shop who's anything but how one might picture her based on her background alone. Ino is outspoken, confident, and practically leads around her teammates Choji and Shikamaru, who would rather eat or take a nap than devote themselves to training.

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Despite having a bit of a temper and being slightly judgmental of others, she still possesses a caring nature and will go especially far for her teammates. She even fought to protect Sakura's life while the two were still rivals, and this nature of hers combined with her memorable, bright appearance made her quite a hit with fan artists.

10 'Family' Portrait

At the end of Naruto Shippuden, most of the main cast were shown to have settled down and had young children of their own. It's a heartwarming sentiment even if it wasn't immediately well-received by fans- no matter how much hardship and turmoil one's gone through in their life, some aspects can still maintain a sense of 'normalcy'. Ino looks absolutely overjoyed to be sitting with Naruto and Hinata in this piece by annria2002, and having their sons play-fighting over Naruto's Hokage hat is incredibly cute. The shading also makes this photograph seem to be right out of the show, which is always an impressive feat.

9 The Flower And The Avenger

Although Ino didn't end up being the one to get together with Sasuke in the end, her rivalry with Sakura involving him was a big plot point of Ino's for quite a while. In this colorful re-imagining by Kaara, Ino is seen being pulled closer to Sasuke, who seems to be holding his blade up as if to defend her from whatever his gaze is locked on. With Ino's outspoken, loud and driven personality, it is interesting to imagine how the two might act if they had ended up together, but she also probably wouldn't put up with him being gone as often as he is. The coloring style is adorable, and it's a fun visual touch to not have dark outlines.

8 Petals In Darkness

Ino is typically depicted as being a bright go-getter even if she can be somewhat snappy as well, but it's not often that fans are given a glimpse at a slightly darker-seeming side to her. In this piece by FireEagleSpirit, while Ino's expression is confident, she also gives off a hint of mystery. The entire piece invokes this feeling of intrigue from the viewer and it's simply gorgeous to boot. The coloring style is wonderful and Ino's hair stands out as being especially well-done.

7 Moment Of Respite

Ino possesses charm, beauty, and grace in spades, all of which manage to remain on full display even when she's taking a moment's break from training. Moonarc manages to capture her clear, intense expression well, and she looks as if she's contemplating the best way to make the most out of her training, which is pretty fitting for her character, especially after the time-skip.

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Both the coloring and background are absolutely gorgeous and having the outlines match the shading instead of being one solid color is also a nice touch. Her pose, that of brushing her long locks out of her face with her fingers, is another nice sprinkle of character.

6 Heat Of Battle

Although it isn't usually captured as much by fan artists, the reality of battle is unavoidable for young shinobi, and there's a ton of emotion captured in this explosive piece by crepusculae. She's dressed up in typical shinobi attire rather than the colorful outfit she donned as a genin, making the higher-stakes atmosphere immediately noticeable. The coloring is dark and fits the atmosphere quite well, and Ino's tense, high-strung state is clearly visible from her expression and the dirt and scratches that cover her hands and face.

5 Blooming Courage

Back before the rivalry over Sasuke entered the picture, Ino and Sakura had one of the most wholesome friendships in the entire series. The incredibly self-conscious Sakura was being bullied over the size of her forehead, and rather than joining in, the bold and loud Ino stood up for Sakura and taught her that courage in herself is the most important thing. Their bond is captured absolutely beautifully in this piece by johannathemad, and was done for one of the last days of a month of Naruto-based prompts.

The post also includes some zoomed-in shots to show all of the details within the linework and even a speed-video of the drawing process itself at the end!

4 Girl Power

Although they were caught in a jealous quarrel as genin, by the time the two are post-time skip, Ino and Sakura are back to being decent friends. They back each other up when trouble strikes and their re-kindled bond is honestly incredibly inspiring, as they could've easily been made to simply continue having petty fights throughout the series. Both of their fierce, determined natures are captured perfectly by angielaurasart, and the coloring style is pretty visually pleasing.

3 Blooming Illusions

Genjutsu is arguably one of the coolest abilities that ninja can possess within the Naruto universe, but it's sadly also one that gets the least exploration and showcasing compared to the other ninja arts. It's capable of putting enemies to sleep, trapping them in a painful alternate world where time passes much slower, or even convincing people of false realities.

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Witchynadeart captures the visual aspect of genjutsu quite well with the petals floating around Ino as she concentrates on honing her art. This piece is the fifth of an entire month of Naruto prompts, where the artists state they only use Ino and Sai for their pieces, which is some dedication!

2 Ino VS Sakura

The fight that takes place between Ino and Sakura during the Chunin Exams is an incredibly pivotal moment for both of them. Sakura had to cut her hair back in the Forest of Death which was a hugely symbolic moment for her character, and Ino cuts her own during their fight, making a very similar shift forward for her character. This re-draw by frachan_art is simply fantastic, with all of the dramatic manga lineart remaining intact. The coloring pops as well, and it's quite impressive how well they managed to shade using dark markers.

1 Accented With Flowers

It's one thing to highlight Ino's character by including flower petals or flower silhouettes in the background, and it's another creative leap entirely to showcase that with real-life flowers. Artt_roz's take on an Ino portrait is a visual delight, both in the thick linework and the colorful shading. The real flowers that dot the top-left and bottom-right corners are a wonderful artistic touch, and to top it off even further, the colors suit Ino perfectly.

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