Solid stuff, dude.
Also, it's kind of funny that your friend had told you about the shoe bit, as Ryu's first design (from the original Street Fighter) had him wearing a pair of red shoes, as shown in this piece of character artwork:
[link]Also, I'm interested to see if you'll might have a design for a 25th anniversary poster for the Blue Bomber & his many incarnations. I wouldn't mind seeing that.
Take care.