#also wanted to practice different chibi/tiny styles

[nibbelraz]

little doodles

[syaolaurant]

Hello hello, I love your work and was wondering if you'd be open to making a little breakdown of your art style?

It's really interesting to me and I love taking bits of different artists art style elements and incorporating them into my doodles to get better

Totally okay if you don't want to! 💜💜💜

Take care and have an amazing life 🤗💜☺️

Hello!! Thanks for asking 🤗 I'm not making a little breakdown of my art style I already WROTE A WHOLE ESSAY ABOUT IT!!

Sorry I exaggerated it a bit🥲🥲...

I was very happy to receive this ask, but at the same time I felt worried. Honestly, I didn’t know how to give you a relevant answer because  I don’t even think I have a consistent art style 🥲. Except for my usual chibi style which I feel most comfortable with, I feel my style constantly changes. So after going back to review my old paintings, I think my style is a combination of children's book illustrations and Japanese anime style. Many times I have received comments about my paintings looking like they are from children's books, and I agree haha, maybe because I mostly draw small characters in big settings and I usually use bright colors. 

My favorite artists:

My drawing style is mostly influenced by my all time favorite artists Heikala and Koyamori, I stumbled across their Insta accounts during my 1st year in college (that was 10 years ago) and from then my drawing style gradually took shape. I also admire Paulina Cassidy, mostly because I like her whimsical nature sprites theme. Recently I’ve been investing in Stephanie Law’s artwork, her coloring technique is so god-like that I hope one day I can reach that level…

Ideas and Inspirations:

Japanese anime/manga culture has had a great impact on my childhood. It was a dream come true for me to be able to pursue my college study in Japan. I think this journey greatly affected my current style. I draw lots of things from small doodles to funny comics. I'd describe my drawings as “silly and cute” since I love to make people laugh and I also live for the fluffs (Sometimes I drew angst too but it still turned out cute haha..). Aside from that,  I prefer making “storytelling” illustrations with colorful backgrounds. My favorite things to draw are tiny characters in big scenery, I like to create peaceful static moments that when looking at them help warm my heart and calm my mind. 

When making game fanarts, I usually take screenshots as references for background and imagine how the character will act in that setting. I just do what I feel comfortable and use my own judgment for composition … which… sometimes results in weird perspectives (and you know what I’ve just discovered the rule of third recently 😅…). 

Characters:

When it comes to drawing characters, I honestly don't know how to explain my style. I think chibi is my most recognizable style, apart from that I usually draw characters in semi-chibi (is it the right way to call it??) or simple anime style. I don’t usually draw characters with dynamic poses or movements ( that’s why I still suck at anatomy and expression 😩😩). I think I’m shifting from anime to a more cartoon style since I kinda have same face problem and  I’m trying to practice face shapes.

I think my character drawing style is most influenced by Akihiko Yoshida (who is behind many FF/Nier/ bravely default concepts), as I always draw my characters with chubby round faces and dreamy eyes. I made an example of how I usually draw my characters below.

Technique: 

Watercolor technique is quite complex so I’ll explain how I always do my paintings in another sharing post. I’ve posted part 1 of my sharing here. Generally, I love using bright, saturated tones and black ink brush pen or color brush to paint line work. 

. I hope I could answer your question. I’m definitely no expert, all the things about art I've learn was self-taught but I'm happy to help anyway I can. 💕💕

And you 🫵🫵 yes you dear sweet anon! I wish you a happy life too!!!! 💕💕

[wishingstarinajar]

I love the way you draw anatomy. Got any tips or pointers?

Thank you. This is a cliche answer but... putting research into practice.

It's is very okay to use references to gain a grasp on anatomy; drawn, photo and figurines/models are all helpful references as long as you take the time to examine them. While examining, try and figure out how certain things work because just copying what you see isn't enough. For example, everyone can draw/copy a finger but while drawing one, do you also keep in mind it can bend at two places and that you can't shape a perfect upside down L-shape with just that finger because the finger muscles don't allow it?

There are tutorials everywhere that focus on anatomy too (color-coded sections of different muscle groups are super helpful!) but don't forget about yourself. For instance, your own body can be the perfect reference like your hands. Take a moment to look at them and touch, feel and squeeze them, see where the knuckles and tendons are and how the fingers bend. Do the same with your feet, your knees, etc, etc to get a feel of things. (Just don't hurt yourself in the process xD)

As for drawing the anatomy of the whole body... Keep in mind how joints bend (how far and in which direction) and where exactly they are located, how long certain limbs are in comparison to another, how big one's head is in comparison to the width of their shoulders and chest. Don't be afraid to look into different body types either. Fat (and muscle!) can be a complete game-changer when it comes to anatomy, no matter the amount; it adds different shapes and curves one doesn't quickly draw if they usually draw the typical smooth 'anime' style. Learning to draw different body types is important because not everyone is a sex bomb with huge tatas or a six-pack (unless you prefer drawing that, of course).

When it comes to skeletal anatomy, you better start burning holes into those bones visible in refs or models by staring at them and drawing them xD

That said... while anatomy can be important, a lot of various art styles don't rely on it too much and that's okay. You have a lot of artistic freedom and you are allowed to simplify things.... unless your art grades depend on accuracy. But for your own art? You like to draw big heads on tiny bodies (chibis)? Go for it! You like legs for days (like me)? Go for it! You want to draw big or tiny skeletons with simplified bones? Go nuts! Just always keep in mind how the body works, where and how limbs/joints bend, how far things can twist and so on, and you're good to go.

Remember, art takes time, chop big undertakings into smaller pieces, and failure is okay because you can learn from it.

[et-lesailes]

high maintenance

pairing: frank adler x pregnant!reader

themes: fluff with grumpy but loving old man frank adler

word count: 1600

summary:   just a little fluff between you and your grumpy but loving old man fiance frank adler

taglist: @viarogers, @evanstush, @chibi-crazy, @chalamet-evans, @world-of-losers,@songforhema  @sebabestianstan101 @tanyam93 @b-val1 @wonderwinchester @little-miss-exo​

note:  i have like 532 requests to work on but had a sudden burst of muse for this, now excuse me while i watch gifted agaiN

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to my taglist of any chris evans related fics!

“Mary! Mary, the clothes are here, let’s open the box together!”

Your fiancé’s niece, practically daughter, immediately came rushing over to the front door, eyes wide with excitement. “Is Frank up in the nursery? Let’s look at everything up there, so he can see, too.” You told her with a smile, ruffling her pretty blonde hair as you picked up the package from the front steps. “Are you sure? You know he’s just going to complain about you spending too much money again.” The seven-year-old pointed out, and you laughed as you playfully made a face, nodding. “I know, but he’s going to have to get used to it, isn’t he? Babies aren’t cheap!”

Walking up the stairs of the new home the two of you had recently bought together, you turned into the first room on the left, right across from you and Frank’s room. The man was sitting on the floor, dutifully putting together your son’s crib, different parts scattered around him. “Are you sure you’re doing it right?” you nagged as you approached him, but the soft giggle afterwards told him you were only kidding; the man repaired boats as a living, so you were pretty certain he could manage a baby crib. “No. I have no idea if I’m doing it right, I’ve never even seen a toolbox in my life.” The native Bostonian drawled sarcastically, eyes still focused on the assembly before him. You laughed more, completely unfazed by his blunt attitude; it was one of the many reasons you had fallen for him to begin with, and considering you had never been the type to get offended easily, your relationship worked well. Frank had a habit of coming off as much ruder than he meant to be, but he was also incredibly straightforward and slightly gruff to begin with. He had a soft spot for you and Mary, and now, your son that was to be born in around three months. 

“Alright, let’s open up this thing,” you said with a grin to Mary, plopping down on the floor a little further away from the busy man. Reaching over to grab a pair of scissors he had used to cut the crib’s packaging, you slid the sharp edge through the tape sealing the cardboard box, opening the flaps and already squealing in delight as you peered inside. “Oh my God. This is all so cute already.” Mary reached inside first, pulling out a tiny blue Ralph Lauren polo, a look of awe upon her features. “It’s so small! He’ll look so adorable in it!” she spoke proudly about the boy who would basically be her baby brother, her blue eyes gleaming with excitement. “And look!” you exclaimed, taking out a pair of small boat shoes, giggling lightly. “His style is going to be impeccable, Mary, I’m tellin’ ya.”

The two of you were squealing over a onesie decorated with tiny cartoon raccoon prints when Frank finally decided he was curious enough to know what was going on, pausing in his work and turning around with arched eyebrow. “The hell is all this?” he scoffed in amusement, eyes flickering over the small pile of clothes on the floor. “Babe, did you order the entire store?” 

“How could I not, Frank? Look at this!” You pulled out yet another article of clothing, smiling widely. “Tell me this isn’t the cutest shortall you’ve ever seen!”

“I guess it is, because I have no idea what a “shortall” even is.” The male retorted with another scoff, but you could see that hint of fondness in his eyes as he gazed upon his son’s apparel, making you giggle as you moved closer to him to wrap your arms around him from the side in a koala bear fashion hug. “Oh, honey.” He clucked his tongue before you could even speak, looking down at you knowingly. “I know what this hug is. It’s the “I’m-going-to-shower-you-with-abnormal-amounts-of-affection” hug that comes along with telling me how much you maxed out my credit card.”

“Frank! I’ve never maxed out your credit card, don’t exaggerate.” You huffed with a roll of your eyes, but smiled at him cutely afterwards. “I spent ... about…. $250? That’s really not that bad, you have to admit.”

“Yeah, Evelyn spends way more on me!” Mary pointed out in an attempt to help defend you, referring to Frank’s ridiculously wealthy mother. The man sighed, standing up though playfully scooping you up with him, eliciting a happy giggle from your lips as he shook his head. “Evelyn is not a valid person to be compared to in this situation, and at least she’s spending her money on a child who has actually been born already.” Suddenly looking at Mary with his naturally stern expression, he ordered, “Out of the room. Go play outside or go over to Roberta’s or something, I need to talk to this little brat for a sec.” 

You blinked, watching as Mary turned and left before looking to him innocently. “Am I in trouble, Daddy?” you questioned in the silkiest voice you could muster, and a low scoff escaped his lips as he swatted at your ass, replying, “You’re going to be if you keep talking like that, baby girl.” He carried you over to the changing table, sitting you down and standing in between your legs. “Frank, if this is about my spending, I promise I’ll ease up I just--” you started to say, but he cut you off, pressing his lips against yours as he lovingly rubbed your baby bump. “I just wanted some alone time with my sexy girl,” he admitted in a husky voice against your lips, moving his mouth down to pepper your neck in kisses. “Honestly? I love seeing you already wanting to spoil our little man, princess. It’s cute when you’re such a fucking spoiled brat.” He smirked as he briefly glanced up at you, pulling at your skin with his teeth.

You whimpered softly but gave him a playfully hopeful expression. “Does that mean--”

“No, you still aren’t allowed to max out my credit card.” He scoffed, and you made a face as you corrected, “Our credit card, thank you very much, we’re in this together now.” He blinked and chuckled, returning his lips to yours to peck them sweetly. “You’re right, sweetheart. And now, Daddy’s going to be bringing a little more money home to help further spoil our two beautiful children ...”

You blinked, taking his face in your hands to make him properly look at you. “What do you mean by that?” you questioned, suspicious and curious at the same time. “Are you a stripper now or something?”

“What-- no, babe, God no.” He rolled his eyes but kissed your cheek, moving his head to mutter in your ear, “I’ve been working on something for a while now… I didn’t want to tell you anything until I was positive it would work out, and now, I am.” Taking out his phone from his pocket, he pulled up a photo and showed you, barely biting his lip. You had to squint because of his old school flip phone-- typical Frank Adler, completely uninterested in new and modern technology-- but once you realized what the image was, your eyes widened. 

“Is this… is this yours, Frank?”

“Sure is, doll. And it’s going to officially be open for business next month.” 

You squealed in delight as you wrapped your arms around him, feeling pure happiness and excitement for his hard work and endeavors. “Your own repair shop, Frank? You’ve been wanting this forever! How did you…”

“A friend from the bar was renting out a space he owned, he offered it to me discounted because it was a little shabby and no one was interested. I’ve been fixing it up for the past few months, got that sign ordered… and, well, that’s the whole picture you just saw. Frank’s Boat Repair. Nice and simple, gets the job done.”

You were too thrilled to even playfully roast him for such a plain name, though you knew it was exactly his style. He wasn’t one to be extravagant, he didn’t care for material things or having items-- he was a simple man who loved his work, his niece, his fiancée, his one eyed cat, and his newest child. Hugging him even tighter, you kissed him lovingly as you murmured, “I’m so happy for you, babe, this is amazing.” You playfully tapped his nose, adding, “And I’m too happy to yell at you for keeping this from me, so well played, Adler.” He chuckled softly and brought himself down, now face-to-face with your belly as he pressed his lips against the swelled curve. “Mm, don’t worry little man, I’ll teach you all the ways to get out of being in trouble with your high maintenance mother. You’ll practically be a pro by the time you’re out of there.” You rolled your eyes, playfully whacking his head. “I am not high maintenance. You know you wouldn’t have proposed to me if I was.” 

He smiled as he rolled his eyes-- a typical reaction in this household-- standing up straight again and leaning down to kiss you more slowly and passionately. “Mm. I would have. Because there are way too many reasons to be with you for the rest of my life than there are reasons not to be.” 

You smiled as you kissed your fiance back, wrapping both your arms and legs around him and letting yourself melt into his hold, mumbling, “I love you, Frank.”

“I love you too, Princess.”

[nint3ndraw]

Preorders for the Invincible Camus/archetype fanzine ( @invinciblezine ) are done (at least for now) and we’ve been given the okay to share our pieces! I contributed a sticker and an artwork for my husbando Camus!! I drew and painted the full piece first and then used the techniques I developed on that to paint the sticker. :D

This was truly a work of love, and of testing my personal art limits. My abbreviated workflow and thought process below the cut (if anyone’s curious):

Full piece:

I knew instantly that I wanted to draw Camus with an angel motif because “rumor has it that [he comes back from near-death so much that he] is watched over by a guardian angel” (blame my days in FERP, RPing with @gradiivus​). Precisely how I wanted to display that idea changed a lot in the first days of this project--for instance, there was originally going to be an actual angel figure where the cape-wings are now (and that angel was going to be Nyna because Shadow Dragon was my first game, but rules were no shipping or implications of); and the pose was originally going to be front-view with very little thought to background design, let alone using background as composition element. Then I experimented with the pose, figures, and composition (because something just wasn’t sitting right with the first versions), and voila!

At first, I was torn between Camus’s FEH (favorite and the easiest to reference), FE:SD (nostalgia), and BSFE sprite (unique) designs. Not only did we have to choose different designs for multi-game characters, I also knew the white cape of his BSFE sprite would lend itself best to the wings effect I wanted. My only real reference was a tiny sprite, so I additionally based my design off Camus’s old fullbody BSFE art and some elegant (Baroque? just FEH-like?) designs pulled from memory. I had so much fun making beautiful bishie hair, beautiful clothing designs, and huge, elegant wings, despite the extra time it took to digi-line them. (Even though I‘m much better with my Wacom (Intuos) now, I still always start my drawings in pencil because sometimes I’m too AFK and poses are “easier” to fix on paper in my head.) Time flies when you’re having fun, right? But the real joy here was painting everything and pushing the limits of my painting skills. I learned several new techniques here, played with so many different brushes, and also got a reminder of how I need to use higher-contrast values orz. This and my FE Compendium piece are some of the only digital pieces I’ve ever done where I actually gave a damn about how the background looked (mainly due to lack of practice--I tend to do “studio” pieces with zero background more often), and I think it really paid off! The back- and foreground elements together really make this piece pop--I can’t believe I initially thought to go without them!

Altogether, this piece only took about... a week to finish? Definitely under 10 days. This is the fastest full piece I’ve ever finished, and I’m still so happy with it, it’s currently my phone wallpaper. If anyone ever starts a fanzine that involves Camus or Nyna, please hit me up, because (time pending) I am definitely in~

Sticker:

I knew instantly (again) that I wanted to make it chibi-style, and having come somewhat recently off the first Camus Revival GHB and having my initial sticker plans blown by posting my entire Camus bust ahead of schedule, I thought, “Why not make it Heroes-style”? Camus canonically wields swords and lances in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery and he already wields a the lance in Heroes, so I knew I had to go with the other weapon. Never mind that swords are the most overused weapon class in FE. Camus nearly never smiles in his (canon) depictions, but I figured a >:O face would be much cuter. And of course, since my full piece used my BSFE design, I decided to recycle the design onto the chibi. This piece only took me a day or two to finish, and it turned out super cute! Way better than the bust I was originally going to go with, even if this is a pain to cut precisely XD

[darumarina]

One year with Takei - 2017 Summary of Art

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

This year has been the year of zines for me. I’ve applied to a few ones and spent basically half a year with doing zine illustrations (or procrastinating :’D ). They pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me achieve some new things. Let me talk about this year for a while~

Tabel of contents (since you know me, I like to talk nonstop :’D ):

Last year’s goals for 2017

Additional achievements in 2017

A little talk on 2017

My goals for 2018

My goals for this year (as I wrote in last year’s summary) were:

focusing more on my own style (accept that not everything is about realism!) - SUCCESS

doing more b/w & lineart art (w/o colours!) - little SUCCESS

use screentones to practice for dj - little SUCCESS

do studies to improve anatomy & backgrounds - ummm....

slowly learn more about colours (They’re scary D; ) - a tiny bit??

draw a doujinshi - FAIL

get used to CSP - FAIL

do zine illustrations - SUCCESS

inspire someone - SUCCESS (bless you @mephistahlpheles)

Additional achievements unlocked:

the FAPuary challenge (sketching one page everyday for the whole of February)

going wild with (chibi) designs

getting excited about a series of pics (which are only sketches, but it’s the idea that counts :D ) (pirate series!!)

getting inspired by other artist and created a bunch of new OCs (unicorns!!)

getting a pen display tablet which gives me a whole new drawing experience!! (It’s a Huion 220 v2 - it did come with some troubles, but all in all I like it? Just Sai is being a ... ^^;;)

started planning OC stories/designs some more again

getting back to drawing what I truly love and not what I expect people to like (welcome back multifandom me with all my problematic faves :’D )

started planning some amazing collaboration with @deciduice

My TOP 10 posts this year are in another post over there

This year I was still abroad for 8 more months, which were quite challenging concerning mental and physical health. Being in a foreign country where the doctors don’t speak your language can be quite difficult... 

My right wrist suffers from tendonitis since May (all because I tried to be healthy and do some muscle training sports :’D ) and I doubt I will get rid of it completely again (especially with university...), I’m truly afraid of carpal tunnel syndrom, I need to take good care of my wrist from now one, making this one new goal for 2018! My mental health hit rock bottom (or who knows how much further down it can still go... ^^; ) as well... I hope I’m getting better next year, it’s kinda scary.

But I passed my Japanese Proficiency Test Level N2, which was a huge success! I read more manga in Japanese and sometimes also a little in light novels (currently Haikyuu!! Shousetsu-ban - tho I’m still stuck at chapter 2 :’D ) Starting in April I will write my graduation thesis for 10 weeks, have a few more exams and then be done with university!! FINALLY. However, I have zero idea what to do, which is giving me some serious existential crisis. It’s frightening!! I hope to figure out something asap!

Art wise I think I made some great illustrations. However, I don’t really FEEL them? I feel like they’re not truly what is me... I’m still on unfriendly terms with colours and honestly really need to learn more about them or I’ll never be happy. Trying out new colouring styles would be a nice thing to do as well. But nevertheless, the fact I drew those zine illustrations (February-August) really taught me a lot of different things and it was a great (even though stressful) time!

My friends @dradra-trici and I, who for a few years distanced ourselves from each other in matters of art, slowly might come closer to each other again, which gave me very happy feelings!

The google hangouts crew is growing more and more as well! However, I need to practice reducing distractions, so I need to distance myself from them a little more when time asks for it OTL I also met @wildkittewrites and @aurigaearts this year which was one of the highlights for me :D

As for my goals for 2018:

take care of my wrist in all daily situations, including drawing!

improve mental health (also includes to stress less on art stuff, learn how to improve what bothers me with art or the community, how I see other artists and their art among others)

learn more about colours/colour theory

continue drawing more lineart/b&w art/screentones art

plan out that doujinshi, you fool! (it’s BokuAka ofc :D But I also started a Victuuri one... )

try out new things with art - brushes, colouring technique, sketchbook doodles, etc. GO WILD!! BE FREE!!

draw more original art (especially: finish drawing the pics for the OC ask that’s been in your draft for months!)

draw more scenes additionally to “boring couple art” - I just want to have more friendship or action art as well, I wanna GROW as an artist! (I love couple art tho, so I won’t stop drawing those XD)

and while we’re at it: FINISHED ILLUSTRATIONS!

get on with that pirate series

maybe try selling a thing one day...

I also wanted to organize a zine once... but maybe not this year :’)

overcome my hate for drawing clothes :’D

RESEARCH IS NOT WASTING TIME

WATCHING TUTORIALS ETC IS NOT WASTING TIME

This is quite a long list and nothing like a true “to-do list”, more like a reminder? Let’s see how much of it I can achieve while also having a private live with way too many hobbies besides art, and an university live that’s really hard on me :’)

Let’s make 2018 a good one together, spread happiness, positivity and love!

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Gacha Gacha crate July 19

Lately I’ve been wondering if I’m either being overly critical of boxes, or not critical enough. Am I just in the middle? It’s where I would like to be if anything, but I’m not sure. If you read the blog and feel like leaving a comment please do and let me know what you think.

In other news, it seems I might be missing a box. I don’t believe I ever got my June Tokyo Treat just yet, and tomorrow it’ll have been 60 days since it shipped and I can message them on it. I’m going to double-check first though, just to make sure before I do anything.

Wood Puzzles

First up is this sorta common gachapon I tend to see when browsing, I can’t say I was ever tempted to get it though. I’m not a big fan of puzzles unless they are flattened cardboard pieces making a big picture- or those really pretty crystal puzzles of characters and various items. I got a handful of those that I love to admire in passing.

Anyhoozles, there are 5 different types featuring their own difficulties, and the brand is Koro Koro. Mine is “mystery difficulty“, which I found to be quite strange since as a pyramid it looks super easy to put together. In fact it came together already.

But... as it turns out, it’s not easy. I can see how it’s supposed to look, but the pieces want to keep sliding and won’t hold still. So I’m not really sure what I’m not getting...

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’m not a big fan of this one- but I do know that there are people who like mental puzzles like these and would probably love this set. The pieces are clean and perfectly shaped, and I could see maybe coming to enjoy it for what it is if I played with it a few more times. I kinda lost interest after the first few <3<

Hungry Kirby

Kirby must be trending right now because he’s been appearing a lot in these boxes; not that I’m complaining. I love Kirby. If only they would start giving us some Mario Brothers now~

This series is by Takara Tomy Arts and there are 5 possible variations you can get: 2 kirby, 2 waddle dee, and 1 chef kawasaki serving as the rare piece in the collection. The figure was assembled, although you do get to put the little fork in his hand and I assume the other figures share that feature. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Besides the collection being ultra-cute, this would be perfect for re-ment. The details are really nice. The fork seems a teensy bit flimsy but I don’t think it’s really a problem or anything. This is also a minor detail but there are visible seam lines in various spots but some figures are just made that way. It’s not extremely noticeable to be an annoyance.

Kingdom Hearts Figure

I was extremely excited when I saw this one :3 who doesn’t love Kingdom Hearts? I have the games and manga, and I LOVE this series!

This is another collection of small, but detailed figurines. This series is by Bandai and includes 6 characters: Sora, King Mickey, Maleficent, a Shadow heartless, Donald, and Goofy. The included little sheet lacks detail and images and is full of some Disney information, so I suppose it’s from there, or is a collab or something?

Anyway I can’t say my favorite Kingdom Hearts character is included in this line (but we’d be here for like 10 minutes if I wrote down everyone I liked), but I always had a soft spot for Sora and he is who I would have wanted to get out of the options here. 

The figures feature a chibi anime style and a few of them include an item and a small base with their name and series logo on it.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I love this little figure, but it leaves me with some confusion. From the top to the mid-section is extremely detailed, including the metallic keyblade. But from the mid-section down (I know its probably hard to see in the picture) I feel like they started neglecting detail; but with a small figure it’s probably expected right? The rest of it is very impressive.

Cat Wind Chime

(Sorry for the blur, I couldn’t get it to stop moving)

As a lover of both cats and wind chimes, this is the purrfect combination :3 Wind chimes are popular in Japan during summer, when people put them outside to listen to the jingle of the bells and feel the cooling breeze as it blows through them.

This series is by Epoch, and there are 5 kitties available; and all but 1 of them seems to have a gold bell. The 1 has silver. The dangle part, as you can probably see is the kitties tail, and each kitty has a clear bead on top to keep the string from falling through the hole.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The detailing is really nice and simple, it looks a lot cuter than my horrible picture makes it out to be. The bell has a sweet little chime, but I did notice that when it’s hung up the tail piece becomes stiff? But when holding it, it moves fine in the breeze so I feel like it should still work fine.

Pokemon Paint

These paint palette gachapon have been pretty popular as of late I noticed. They either feature a variety of characters with art supplies, or a specific color theme- or in this case both. This series is by Kitan Club and each costs 300 yen, which I feel like is a bit expensive for such a tiny figure...

There are 5 pink adorable Pokemon to get in this collection, and if I had to choose I think I would have liked Mew or Clefairy the most. But they’re all very cute, and as you can see I got Chancy (whose Japanese name is “Lucky”).

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

As cute as this is, as I stated above the price has me a little iffy. I mean I can see why it’s that because it’s Pokemon- but I’ve gotten cheaper gachapon with more detail/bigger size. I noticed mine has a fair amount of color issues (there not visible in the pic at all), but at the same time it doesn’t detract from the general cuteness of the concept. The seams are fine and the figure is overall smooth, and while the colors are right, they could have been applied a little better.

Dragonball Z Figurine

Our last item.... is in pieces!

That’s right, our final item is a Dragonball Z figurine that you get to semi-assemble.

Yes that is a cat next to Frieza. He wanted some attention and wouldn’t leave me alone so at this point I decided to hurry up and finish to focus on him.

Anyway, this series includes very detailed figurines from Dragonball Z and is the 3rd series/wave of the collection and includes Frieza, Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma. I definitely wish I got Bulma or Vegeta, or even Goku would have sufficed, I wasn’t a Frieza fan. There is also another sheet in the gachapon, I think hinting at another possible set of characters you can get for this series. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The detail is obviously there, which is why I’m giving this a high rating. I also like the little put together detail and how it includes a small base piece. I’m not sure if I used it right though cause it looked like it could fit on a few places...

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality: 4 out of 5. I feel like it was very easy to see in each and every piece. There was no major complaints other than the color touch-ups I feel like my Pokemon needed.

Items: 2.5 out of 5. Don’t get me wrong, I did like them; especially the Kingdom Hearts figure, my cute little Waddle Dee, and the kitty wind chime. But in comparison to our previous box I feel like this one was a little bit of a letdown and pretty much was full of figurines that are just set for display. There isn’t too much to do with them and I feel no sense of practicality in this box (which isn’t you would think isn’t normally a thing with gacha, but so far our boxes have been including it and there are actually a lot of practical ones you can collect) other than the wind chime. Plus a lot of the items were on the tiny-small side and for the price we pay...

Total Rank: 6 out of 10 cuties. Detail was there, as was the cuteness with the exception of 2 capsules. I feel underwhelmed by this box though and I can’t say it’s the best representative of gachapon or Gacha Gacha Crate.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Cat Wind Chime - I mean come on, this should be obvious :P

2. Kingdom Hearts Figurine  - I love my little Sora~ I’m very happy I got him. The tiny keyblade is even cuter.

3. Hungry Kirby - Pretty simple, but very adorable. The whole collection would be great for a Re-ment display! Or to add to the other Kirby re-ment series.

4. Pokemon Paint - It’s cute and I like the metallic paint tube. I just wish the base looked more like actual paint, like I’ve seen the other paint series do.

5. Frieza - Even if he isn’t my favorite, I really appreciate the detailing put into him. The tail part is even missing its tip like in the actual anime. I remember that part, but I can’t say I remember it extremely well, I saw this series when I was like 6 or 7. I’m thinking of giving it to old babysitter, he was the one to introduce the series to me.

6. Wood Puzzle - It’s okay, but I just don’t feel any sort of desire to do anything with it.

[elsbethvanparidon-blog]

Playful, cool, fun, witty, cute with an edge streetwear. Cool, but not icy. Cute, but mean. Playful, but not OTT. Most of the MØPSI brand‘s visual elements and art direction have been influenced by founder Kai-Li Ma‘s 90s upbringing, as well as by her personal taste and style. MØPSI is basically Ma reincarnated as a little unipig. Temper Magazine calls on this German-Chinese creative centipede for a little chit chat and shares the hate. Verdammt ich lieb dich.

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Beats by Dre, shoots with Chen Man and a lil’ Diesel style set against the backdrop of that stunningly tall Shanghai Skyline — since 2014. Straight outta Hamburg she hails: Model, TV personality, certified yoga teacher and now designer Kai-Li Ma. Ma never did have a whole lotta of love for humans. She considered them a strange species and one hard to understand, at that. Humans frustrated her and made things difficult. Even as a little Leila bun booting Schwein she’d yell “I hate humans!” as she smashed her 90s GameBoy on the floor, upset at whoever created Tetris level 12.

Fast forward 25 years and together, we strap on that “when pigs fly!” fanny pack and get on that soapbox so without any further ado…

Time to dish out the MArching orders!

Socks, Slogans And Headbands

Temper: Socks, slogans and headbands. We see MØPSI, we see quirky edge. We see Kai-LI, we see 100 percent non-Kardashian ultracool. What do you see?

Ma: Quite literally I see how my once upon a time childhood nickname has now become the name of my brand with the unipig which I drew as a tattoo outline a few years ago, now the logo of my brand. This MØPSI brand is highly personal to me; I have poured my all into it and it is an integral part of me. My favorite animal and my favorite clothing pieces are now sitting in front of me, it’s just crazy — and really is a dream come true. I have always dreamed of kick starting my own clothing brand, always wondering what it would look like and…. Tadaaa! Here we are!

Take the Pig Pocket T-shirt. It might look like a standard white Tee to most, but I did in fact create it from scratch. I chose the fabric and exact weight of the preshrunk cotton, the type of collar, the stitching on the sleeves, the pocket sizing, etc. Zee design n*zi, ja?! HA

Founder Kai-Li Ma models for her baby brand MØPSI. Image courtesy of MØPSI

You’re In The Army Now

Temper: Given we too signed up for the newsletter… Who else is in the MØPSI Army now?

Ma: Our MØPSI Army ranges from heavy metal musicians to anime lovers to the millennial streetwear enthusiast to that hard-editing creative director and the occasional Kai-Li supporter. [insert wink] It can be anyone who identifies with the message of “human hating”, loves MØPSI the unipig because it looks cute or those people who just love the products because of their design. I love the fact that MØPSI currently boasts a larger male than female following and the sheer fact that the boys are confident enough to rock a unipig-emblazoned piece. All in all, the MØPSI Army forges a collective of confident, strong, cool, fun individuals.

Temper: What is the MØPSI design and brand philosophy — in three sentences. Go!

Ma: Alright, in three bullet points, we shall do this:

When it comes to the products: I like to keep it clean with much attention paid to detail;

When it comes to the brand image: I try to stay authentic and bring my personality into MØPSI

When it comes to the philosophy: I only create items that I personally love and would wear myself.

I am admittedly quite German when it comes to design — zee design n*zi ja?! HA! I want everything to look and feel (in every sense of the word) a very specific way. Take the Pig Pocket T-shirt, for example. This piece might look like a standard white Tee to most, but I actually did create it from scratch. I chose the fabric and exact weight of the cotton, the type of collar, the stitching pattern on the sleeves, the pocket sizing, i.e. the exact fit to make it that exactly right perfect T-shirt in my opinion. Needless to say, there is a lot of back and forth (samples-wise) until I get what I want. [insert muahahahaaaa evil grin]

I have purposely opted for a unisex collection. I have always worn both mens- and womenswear and I believe that, especially in streetwear, there is no line between what defines men’s versus women’s clothing.

A MØPSI Story. Image courtesy of MØPSI

Skaters And Haters

Temper: What is the ultimate unipig outfit?

Ma: The ultimate outfit would include wearing MØPSI from head to toe HA. Put on the dungarees, the cap, the shirt, the socks and voilà! You have become a true unipig — yes, I do do this sometimes [insert wink].

Temper: Do you have a preference for any artistic era in time, artists, urban environments?

Ma: The 90s. By far. I m just a little N.W.A. and still listen to Biggie like he just came out yesterday. I love overalls and have been wearing overalls my whole life. The artistic era for 90s kids and teenagers involved doodling in you notebook, doing small sketches and cut-out collages, all of which I have integrated into MØPSI. Sub-street cultures such as skating, graffiti, anything hip hop related (music, dance, fashion), now those were my steeeeez!

There’s a huge sense of individuality showing across the streets of first-tier China now compared to three years ago. I actually love the Chinese millennial street style which is a mix of streetwear and punk meshed with an ugly pretty style. 

A MØPSI Story. Image courtesy of MØPSI

Temper: How have you seen people’s individuality and style in China evolve since your Shanghai-touchdown in 2014?

Ma: I can definitely see that over the last few years, people across China’s first- and second-tier (third, even) cities have become more confident and open when it comes fashion. I actually love the Chinese millennial street style which is a mix of streetwear and punk meshed with an ugly pretty style. These guys have now developed their own mix and match, pulling it from whatever outside-influence they can get.

There’s definitely a huge sense of individuality now compared to three years ago when I first got here. Being different used to be a lot harder in China given this wasn’t as accepted, but nowadays the Chinese are becoming increasingly adventurous in their style-ways and manners of self-expression.

I believe there are no fashion NONOs. Just personal NONOs. The fanny pack is always a good accessory because not only is it practical, it just looks supah kool. 

Founder Kai-Li Ma models for her baby brand MØPSI. Image courtesy of MØPSI

Packing UniPig Style

Temper: What’s your deal with accessories? What do accessories mean for an outfit? What’s your biggest accessorizing NONO? 

Ma: I personally like to have only one or two pieces of key accessories. I’m not into the Christmas tree look; over-accessorizing is just not for me. [Here at Temper we admittedly do at times rock that Christmas boat/ Thanksgiving float]

I believe there is no such thing as a fashion NONO anymore. Just personal NONOs.

The MØPSI cap is always one of my go-to accessories because it can give any outfit a bit more flair and you can basically wear it with anything.

The fanny pack too is always a good accessory  not only because of its mere practicality, but also because it just looks supah kool. I like to have my hands free — to judo chop people in the neck ha — and the fanny pack features numerous little pockets so that small items are easy to find and quick to take out. Like my chapstick. And I sometimes just like to pet the bag because it’s so soft. That young, virgin, organically fed sheep skin is definitely the smoothest. It’s MØPSI.

  “Kai-Li’s eyes transformed into hearts, pumping with love and admiration. A human hating unipig for human haters, MØPSI was perfect! Her tiny horn capable of stabbing humans, and wings to fly away! The two connected eyes just for a moment before Mopsi jumped, flipped, and flew off into the distance ready to spread her human hating message to the rest of the world.”

And they lived hatefully ever after.

                                                                  All images come courtesy of Kai-Li Ma and MØPSI

Contact MØPSI via 

email: hurro@mopsitheunipig.com

Facebook: MOPSITHEUNIPIG

Instagram: @mopsitheunipig

Copyright@Temper Magazine, 2018. All rights reserved

    MØPSI: Human hating quotes, the chibi comic style brand story, the fun collages, the animated gifs,... All these details are little pieces of founder Kai-Li Ma's personality that have come together to create a millennial brand. Playful, cool, fun, witty, cute with an edge streetwear. Cool, but not icy. Cute, but mean. Playful, but not OTT. 

[recentanimenews]

The 10 Best Faces of Anime: 2017 Edition

The human face – one of our species' most entrancing, fascinating traits. Capable of revealing the depths of the bearer's soul or hiding a person's true intentions, the face is the external cradle of emotion, the heart's fairest and yet most complex messenger. Tonight, on NOVA...

  Just kidding! You're not here for a deep dive into the nuances of human faces and delicate insights into what the expressions we make say about who we are, what's important to us, and the human psyche – you want some gosh dang goofy anime faces, and I'm here to provide. Good anime faces are one of the medium's greatest treasures, with each new season of anime bringing with it a brand-new set of contenders reaching for the crown of best anime face. Some of these contenders bide their time, breaking out truly stellar faces for a moment of ideal impact, while others seek to make their mark with torrents faces.

  Let me tell you, it was no easy task to break down an entire year's worth of quality anime faces to a list of just ten of the best contenders, but I have tried my darndest and present before you the fruits of my labors. You can either read all the reasoning, or just look at the pictures and start yelling in the comments. Your choice! And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the top 10 best faces of 2017 anime!

  #10. Aguri Dies (Gamers!, Episode 3)

Gamers! (Pine Jam, Summer 2017) was sneakily good in a lot of ways, feeding us rich material on the smugness of nerd self-deprecation, touching little reflections on romance, and a late bounty of dunks on video games courtesy of my favorite character in the show – Aguri. But there was one area where Gamers! needed no subtlety: its excellent face game. Trying to narrow down the faces from this show was a truly daunting task, but this one wins out for a number of reasons. First, the mismatched combination of heavy, marker-like lines and traditional thinner lines provides an odd contrast that frames Aguri's deformed facial features – her mouth trailing off her face is probably the detail that makes the whole thing work. But the most impressive thing about this face? I don't have the foggiest clue what it was in reaction to, but it still works devoid of any context. In many ways, that's emblematic of what makes silly anime faces great – their ability to stand on their own apart from the context of their show. How about that? Weren't expecting actual analysis on silly anime faces here, were ya!

  #9. Jean's Smirk (ACCA, Episode 12)

  This shot of Jean Otus from ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. (Madhouse, Winter 2017), on the other hand, is one of the most context-rich faces in today's list. While those of you who haven't seen ACCA might be able to appreciate the smug upwards tilt of Jean's mouth and his coy eyes, the people who did watch the show have the privilege of appreciating that this smile is the culmination of an entire show's worth of political intrigue, spywork, and plotting. The twist and triumph this one smirk represents gives the audience a sort of deep satisfaction that offers an entirely different sort of appeal from the instant amusement that your typical anime face grants – and that earns it a spot on this list.

  #8. Sana's Pout (Alice & Zoroku, Episode 7)

  There's your typical anime girl pout, and then there's filling up the entire darn screen with your pouting. Leave it to an actual sulking child, like Sana from Alice & Zoroku (J.C. Staff, Spring 2017), to pull a feat like that off. In fact, Sana pulls a plethora of fantastic faces throughout the duration of Alice & Zoroku, including a ton from my personal favorite anime face genre, then > <. That being said, there's no way a pout this powerful, which conveys both her childishness and her earnest cuteness in one shot, could be anything less than the show's best face – and one of the best of the entire year.

  #7. Takao Melts (Tsuredure Children, Episode 3)

  What other sort of face are you supposed to make when a pretty girl seems like she's about to confess to your extremely low self-esteem self? It was pretty much all out war in the Tsuredure Children (Studio Gokumi, Summer 2017) camp for this spot on the list, as the show's face game was, frankly, unbelievable – with wobbly mouth smiles, tears by the gallon, blushes so numerous they probably contributed to global warming, moments of shock, embarrassment, and awkwardness galore. But Takao's face here topped them all on two specific strengths. One, his head is very round. Two, the mix of sweat, full-face blush lines, pitch-perfect pink shading, and his huge mouth are a truly phenomenal combination that make it look like he's just about to melt. #relatable.

  #6. Todoroki's Rage (My Hero Academia S2, Episode 7)

  Todoroki takes a page out of All Might's book as he storms away from Endeavor in this scene from My Hero Academia's second season (BONES, Spring 2017), complete with the intense lines and dark shadows – except, in his case, it's a face chiseled by rage instead of heroism. Pretty much everyone knows about famous BONES animator Yutaka Nakamura's contributions to Todoroki's fight, but the figure behind this epic face is anime character designer and chief animation director Yoshihiko Umakoshi. Although this shot is based on mangaka Kohei Hirokoshi's excellent original drawing, Umakoshi's distinct style still shines through in the inky lines and sharp angles. In the end, the anime version isn't hugely different from the manga version, but it's got just enough extra style to stand all on its own. You can really feel Todoroki's fury!

  #5. Drunk Chain (Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond, Episode 3)

  What's better than a sexy werewolf lady who can crush your heart with her hand while it's still in your body? How about one who can drink you under the table without batting an eye, like Chain Sumeragi from Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond (BONES, Fall 2017)? While not the most intricate offering on the list, the simple chibi-like design is actually part of the face's charm. There's a pleasing asymetry to the whole thing, what with the back-and-forth linework of her mouth and the goofy puff of her left cheek. The empty shot glass of otherworldly liquor is just the chaser that makes the face irresistible.

  #4. Gabriel's Stare Contest Face (Gabriel Dropout, Episode 10)

  I didn't watch Gabriel Dropout (Dogakobo, Winter 2017) myself, but that doesn't mean I'm not familiar with the show's inescapably good face game. The studio behind GabDro, Dogakobo, has made a name for itself doing cartoony comedies with fun animation and great faces, and Gabriel Dropout is just another in a prestigious ouvre that includes cult favorites like Love Lab, widely beloved offerings like Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, and transcendent meme shows like Himouto! Umaru-chan, but on faces alone GabDro certainly stands on level ground with the rest of the studio's productions!

  #3. Mikasa's Death Glare (Attack on Titan S2, Episode 11)

  Can an anime face be just one eye? I'm not sure, but I'm sure as hell not going to argue with Mikasa Ackerman when she's looking at Eren like that! I'm not the biggest fan the show, but this chilling moment from Attack on Titan S2 (Wit Studio, Spring 2017) got my attention in a big way simply because of how much intensity and emotion was packed into a single open eye. The much-discussed makeup animation crew (more on that here) appeared many times during Titan's second season, but I'd argue this moment is their crowning achievement – if only for how impactful and terrifying it is. 

  #2. Sagiri's Bleh (Eromanga Sensei, Episode 6)

  At this point in the list, we're well and truly into meme face territory, with Sagiri's infamous "bleh" face from the middle of Eromanga Sensei (A-1 Pictures, Spring 2017). I didn't watch the show myself, so I have basically no idea what the context is, but as we've discussed with some faces on this list already, many of the best anime faces are accomplished because they can be divorced from their shows. And, in the case of ones like this, they go on to become memes in their own right, ways of expressing emotion and feeling through our computer screens. Ah, for the face of an anime girl that expresses my true heart...

  #1. Kazuma Looks Dumb as Hell (Konosuba S2, OP)

  As much as it physically pains me not to have an Aqua screencap in this spot, was there ever any doubt that the most memorable anime face of 2017 would be this incredibly goofy Kazuma face from Konosuba S2 (Studio Deen, Winter 2017)? The face was an instant legend among the community as soon as the show aired, and went on to be discussed at length on Twitter, Reddit, and pretty much everywhere else for the entire season. As for the merits of the face itself, the bulging eyes, tiny pupils, streaming tears, garbled mouth, the general upwards slant of everything including Kazuma's hair, and the hilarity of the moment itself all pull together to make the best anime face of 2017.

  And with that, I sincerely apologize for the fact that I could not fit more anime faces into this post. As a token of my regret, here is a small album of some of the runners-up that I compiled for you all. With that out of the way, it's time to hear from you guys! What was your favorite anime face of the year, and which anime had the best overall face game? Chime in down there in the comments!

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Isaac eases his compulsive need to write about anime on his blog, Mage in a Barrel. He also sometimes hangs out on Tumblr, where he mainly posts his drawing practice as he seeks to become a renowned idol and robot fanartist. You can follow him on Twitter at @iblessall or on Facebook.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com