Tag: art

Art Gallery – Spy X Family X Kimono

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What’s this? I drew an actual male character in male kitsuke for once? Alert the presses! I was in the mood to draw more comfy anime kimono fanart, and ended up with these three perfect precious idiots. Very capable idiots,  but idiots nonetheless.

My original plan for this was just to draw Anya because I love her so much. But as I started on it, I realised it would be even cuter if it I took a riff on a traditional family portrait. I like to think they’re celebrating Anya’s shichigosan (even though we don’t know exactly how old she is, we know she’s in the right range).

Once I had that in mind, their outfits sort of fell into place. Anya’s in a bright and cheerful pink furisode (which admittedly I should have tucked at the sleeves as well as the shoulders, but I realised it too late) with a cosmos pattern. She’s holding them in the first season closing credits, and they fit the pink theme well. They’re also said to represent pure and innocent love, which is what Anya feels for her family. If you look closely at her obi and zori, what initially looks like a fairly traditional black and gold obi with a geometric design is actually a tessellation of her favourite snack; peanuts!

Yor had to be red and gold with a rose motif, of course. Nothing less for our Briar Rose Princess. Her updo hairstyle already suits kimono so well, she was possibly the most natural fit for this picture. I gave her a yabane motif obi as a nod to her secret life as an assassin; I know she doesn’t use a bow and arrow, but I wanted something a bit less literal. Maybe she’s got some daggers tucked into her obi?

Loid was a bit more of a challenge, since he’s such a blank slate. In the end, I stuck to the usual colours of his clothing and think it works well. He provides a nice neutral counterpoint to Yor’s elegance and Anya’s vibrancy. Of course, as much as I don’t condone piercing holes in your kimono, I had to include his WISE lapel pin.

Art Gallery – Kuromi & My Melody

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Full confession, I am team Kuromi all the way. With her resurgence in popularity lately, I am over the moon with the amount of merch and cute art floating around, even if it does occasionally have her best frenemy involved. I started this piece intending to just make cute papercraft-style art of Kuromi in kimono by herself, but have to admit she felt a bit lonely so I did the two of them. They’re so darned cute together I don’t regret a moment of it. Also, the pom-poms on Kuromi’s collar are actually cute little official My Melody bells. I couldn’t help myself, even if nobody else would have noticed!

 

Hina-Matsuri 2021

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Typically for Hina-Matsuri I do a somewhat thematic coordination or DIY a set of dolls. This year, however, my motivation hasn’t been where it should be, and I was worried I’d let the day go by without anything. But then I remembered that somehow last year I managed to get not one, not two, but three separate sets of Obina & Mebina dolls! I’ve posted some of them on Instagram previously but this seemed like the perfect time to share better photos and details.

First, I have this lovely traditional hakata ceramic set. These were totally unexpected – I found the Emperor on a shelf mixed in with the other “decorative clutter” at the local Goodwill-owned thrift store. I nearly didn’t take him, since he was alone, but then it occurred to me the Empress was likely somewhere nearby so I went hunting. I found her a few shelves over and I’m so happy I was able to reunite them and give them a home where they can be appreciated and treasured. Unbelievably, they were only $1.50 each! I don’t think they’re particularly old or “valuable”, but they’re incredibly charming and were such a treasure to find.

Next up is this cute (and slightly ridiculous) cat set by Decole Concombre. They’re quite tiny and made of resin, so they’re nothing fancy and not particularly elegant, but they are adorable and I love them to bits. Like all of Concombre’s figures, they look a bit like they only have one brain cell to share between them, which only adds to their charm, I think. I also have a kimono-clad bride and groom set that are very similar, and I think if I were ever to get married, they’d make a hilarious cake-topper.

Last, but certainly not least, my favourite anime power-couple, Haruka & Michiru (Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune). I actually ordered these quite a long time ago and had them shipped to Keith’s, so I was finally able to get them when I went a few months back! They were absolutely worth the wait; they are too cute for words. It’s my first time seeing a lesbian couple as Emperor and Empress, but it totally works with these two! Their outfits are accurate to typical hina dolls, but include references to their characters and Sailor Senshi powers which is a really nice touch. I also love that they also came with the little raised dais and byobu screen backdrop.

I know you guys want more kimono coords, and I promise I’ll have one sometime later this week!

Z is for Zen, Zoge

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Zen, 禅, Buddhism
Zoge, 象牙, Ivory

Celebrating the last day of this challenge with a two-for-one. Zen, the Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasising the value of meditation and intuition, and Zoge, the Japanese word for Ivory.

Rather than dump more info on you, I thought I would just let this statue speak for itself. There’s a grounded beauty in its simplicity I could never hope to explain properly. This ivory Buddha belonged to my grandmother. Both my father and I grew up playing with it. The texture on his head is incredibly soothing, and I have strong tactile memories of running my fingers over it whenever I was allowed to take it off the shelf where it was displayed.

Please note, I absolutely don’t condone the sale, trade, or collection of ivory. This piece is from a time when people had different mentalities and knowledge about this sort of thing. It’s treasured by our family and we appreciate it for what it is, and have no intention of ever letting it go back on the market.

Art Gallery – Eeeveelution Girls

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What’s this nonsense? Pokémon fanart? I was inspired by the Kimono Girls who are present in both the games and the anime and manga. I thought it would be really cool to do a series of them inspired by each of the evolution forms of Eevee, who is one of my favourite pokemon. Hopefully it’s obvious which one is which, but just in case it doesn’t come through clearly (or you’re not familiar with Pokemon), we have, in order:

  • Eevee – Since Eevee is the original/unevolved form, I wanted her outfit to be basic and versatile. Eevee’s distinctive fur ruff and tail formed the starting point for her kimono.
  • Vaporeon – For the water evolution, I knew a seigaiha obi would be perfect, and I’ll never pass up the opportunity to include Kanagawa’s Great Wave when I can!
  • Jolteon – Modern lightning motifs for the electric evolution, of course.
  • Flareon – Hot colours and traditional flames suit the fire evolution perfectly.
  • Espeon – The psychic evolution is hard to convey visually, so I chose to do a base kimono in a subtle gradient of Espeon’s colours, and the sakura motif obi as a nod to the trainer Sakura in the anime, who has an Espeon.
  • Umbreon  – Like psychic, dark is a hard concept to convey, so Umbreon’s style was inspired directly by the visuals of the game.
  • Sylveon – The pastels and bows of the fairy evolution seemed perfectly suited to tabane noshi. This is actually the first one I made, and inspired the rest of the project!
  • Glaceon – Yukiwa motif for the ice-based Glaceon just made sense. The diamond pattern of the obi helps reinforce the crystalline feel.
  • Leafeon – Swirling vines and shades of green and brown were the clear choice for Leafeon’s grass form.

I had a lot of fun finding the right colours and patterns for each of these little ladies, and I love how they look all put together! If you get a kick out of them too, prints are available in my Society6 shop.