#kuri huang

[thecollectibles]

Art by Kuri Huang

[lowcountry-gothic]

King Arthur, by Kuri Huang.

[luminouslumity]

Again, Kuri Huang is the best! No wonder the designs looked familiar lol!

[dark-water-siren]

Kuri Huang

[ataurusinabookshop]

Kuri Huang book cover appreciation

[septembergold]

[bubblesandpages]

Everyone who’s freaking out as much as I am over Kuri Huang’s art in my notifications is so correct.

[booksandwords]

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Read time: 2 Days Rating: 5/5

The quote: My grandmother said it was her own grandmother who used to tell her the stories. After all, not all storytellers are grandmothers, but all grandmothers are storytellers. — Mina

When you stay up well past your bedtime to finish a book you know it is good. I cannot believe it took me so long to get to read this one. It's enchanting, the world is beautiful, the characters lovely and the writing just drew me in and held me. The plot is simple enough a girl sacrifices herself for her beloved brother's happiness and village and then goes about improving the circumstances for all the girls in the village, finding the source of the need for the sacrificing of the daughters of the village and stopping them. But as is the way with these things all is not as it seems. Along the way, she makes friends, allies, and enemies and reacquaints herself with a person from her past., even with any tropes and stereotypes that are involved I couldn't see them. There are some tropey elements but it feels like there is freshness or remixing too. Or maybe I just couldn't see the predictability for the beauty of the writing and I got lost in this story. I was just loving the characters and enjoying the world. The pacing is perfect to me there is no wastage of storytelling space. It starts with a bang and a choice and ends in much the same way. It is such wonderful writing and worldbuilding.

Mina is a slightly unreliable narrator and I like her for it, I like her emotional drive. Shin and the Sea God are the sort of characters I just want to care for. And Kirin and Namgi are just perfect and in need of love. The other ladies involved notably Hyeri and Mask have agency over their afterlives and choices. In the case of Hyeri that is a critical writing choice. I found that the relationships were well written, her relationships with each of the players are slightly different reflecting the different personalities and experiences in play. The three (arguably four) couples in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea have differences and individuality to them. As much, as it is a mythological tale, is a look at humanity and love. Everyone in the story experiences love of a form at some point family, pack, friend, romantic or power.

Have a thought and quote dump.

"The Sea God isn't angry, Mina. He's lost. He's waiting, in his palace far beyond this world, for someone brave enough to find him" — It is interesting the differences between the truth and the perceptions. (Grandma, p.12)

There is a lot going on in the early parts of the story that made me think that the Sea God and his people know of her future import to them. Her items are in pride of place.

From the second we see Hyeri for the first time and then heard some of her story I wanted a prequel. I want a novella of Hyeri and Shiki's story. Or a novel that starts with her story and runs longer through Mina's as well. Her perspective, what role did she play in getting Shiki to talk to Shin? Hyeri is a small character but she is really interesting.

Jesus what is Kirin? A beast of myth that we know, Rygugi refers to him as 'The Silver One'. I appreciate that it is left as a mystery. We see him but don't get a truth. Namgi is a beast of myth too, a 19-year-old water with aspirations of becoming a dragon.

"You claim the gods should love and care for humans. I disagree. I don't think love can be bought or earned or even prayed for. It must be freely given." (Shin, p.104) & And there is no hope, because love can't be bought or earned or even prayed for. It must be freely given. And I have given my heart to someone, (p.227) — I really appreciate these twin lines. I like the echoing through the book of free will.

I always felt that Mina being the only girl in a bloodline of boys was going to be important. It is certainly what gave her her strength and maybe her empathy. The empathy would be passed through the maternal line mother to daughter.

Dai floats on his back in the water with Miki balanced on his stomach, looking very much like an otter that's caught a Miki-shaped fish. — Look I love I just adore the imagery. (p.148)

"Don't chase fate, Mina. Let face chase you." — This is the quote that appears on the dust jacket. Fate is such an important to the story. (Mask, p.151)

I need to take a (long) moment as I have with others occasionally to talk about the gorgeous cover (which reminds me I want to make a fave covers or cover p*rn tag). First a question why are the covers for the hardback editions always so much more appealing and suited to the story than the later editions? I really would like to know, I mean the other covers aren't the worst they still use some elements of the story. But every element of the cover of the edition I read was relevant to the story, the cover tells the story in much the same way as On The Other Side. As with that review, I'm going to go into some light spoilers in my explanation here, so read on at your own peril. The artist for the cover is Kuri Huang/ @kurihuangillustration​ (same as the artist for Daughter of the Moon Goddess btw), the designers are Rich Deas and Kathleen Breitenfeld.

Can we all take a moment to bless the stand-alone YA novel. It feels like a freaking unicorn these days. I wrote this review quite sometime after finishing The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea writing this review mostly from my tagged book and 8 pages of notes. While I forgot a few details over time, I read quickly. But I have been left with an overwhelming sense of that is a stunning book, recommend it if it is raised in conversation.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

​The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

By Axie Oh.

Design by Rich Deas.

Cover art by Kuri Huang.

[shijiujun]

Artist Kuri Huang releases TGCF CN censored print cover arts in full today 🔥🔥🔥 Originally posted by the artist here

[gaywaren]

official cover illustrations from the tgcf simplified cn revised edition!

kuri huang, the illustrator, who also did the covers of strike the zither, posted the HD cover illustrations of the revised edition of tgcf on twitter! here's the link to their post on twitter~ make sure to leave comments on their tweet ♥️

here's the bonus illustrations for the book box made by 黄油天际 on weibo ♡

[yet-another-haven-of-dollya]

can i ask advice ;; drawing wise ? how did you start to anatomy but also w stylization? did you bruteforce by studying every bone muscle etc in art school?

hmm...

First, you must distinguish between two completely different concepts: gesture and anatomy. The stylization and dynamic you often see me doing with my dancing practice is "Gesture". This is an excellent tutorial by Proko about gestures. I practiced gestures very soon when I started drawing, simply because I wanted to draw dynamically, lucky for me it was the right thing to do. This was the main reason why I'm so fast at sketching.

This is my gesture practice, 1 min, 2 min, and 5 min sketch. It's about the flow of the body and which direction each part is going, use "sharp and coherent lines". I practice until it becomes a "natural reflex", a habit when I look at people's interactions.

This below is something I drew 3 years ago (my anatomy was not good sorry), notice how I use many many coherent lines? At the thigh, shin, arm stretching,... all the bigger areas? That's the remaining of gestures.

It goes without saying. Try to find the flow of gestures, even for the hair or clothes. Heh, I drew this 4 years ago, how nostalgic.

You can see how I just create the flow with Lya's hair and body movement in the dancing pics too. Like with Kylar's pic her body is straight up one quite hard mass from head to toe. You know she's leaning forward, seemingly wanting to abandon Kylar with a "pathetic loser like you? With me?" attitude (ouchie sorry Kylar nation). While in Sydney's pic she seems much more relaxed and enjoys how her body parts seem to loosen and more in sync with Sydney's movements. Her hip and legs sway more, and her hair also sways back at Sydney's body, hinting that her moves are relatively close to his body. I don't think I have enough vocabulary to describe, gestures are always just "feelings" to me. If people see what I want to show, that's the success for me.

I know many self-learners started by finding random tutorials that have muscle breakdown or box-like proportions to try and mimic. Mimic is good, drawing is mimicking and remembering what you saw, but without good gesture practice, many people tend to make anatomy very stiff.

Then, you start to apply anatomy to the gestures you've practiced. One way to do it is by learning about muscle position first, and then trying to apply it to a figure, or a model. This is my homework and it's HORRIBLY WRONG IN MANY WAYS. My teacher fixed it for me but I don't have the after with me right now, so take this as an example of how to do the apply thing, DO NOT USE IT AS MUSCLE REF it's very wrong.

In my opinion bone structure is not strictly needed like muscles. Bones are for muscles to hang onto. You only need to remember some important "landmarks" like the collarbone, elbow joint, anterior pelvis, knee, and ankle,… to hang the important muscles to it. After you're familiar with muscles and gestures, you can start to stylize. Applying your knowledge to animated characters with cartoonish design is one great way. THESE HOMEWORKS OF MINE ARE STILL WRONG but ye hope you get the idea. I'm still struggling with anatomy.

One of my all-time fav are AFK ARENA artists and what they do for the game. Aki as the main artist, Kuri Huang, and another artist I suddenly forgor the name as home screen illust. I recommend researching their works if you want a direction on how to stylize your character with great dynamic gestures and shapes.

And

As much as I hate to say this, I was particularly considered a failure, a stone-head, who couldn't be changed for the better when I was still in art school - uni. My chosen major was digital graphic design, not specified in drawing but in designing, that's one thing I regret. I traded 5 years of my youth for doing the things I don't want to do. That's why the moment I graduated, I immediately went and signed up for an advanced art class specified in drawing. I'd be lying if I said the uni didn't teach me anything about drawing. They did, but almost everything I learned during 5 years of uni was self-learning from outer sources. I encourage self-learning the most when I talk with younger artists. Proko is a very trusted source to learn from, go to their YouTube channel, and you might figure out something too.

[lowcountry-gothic]

Dream Eater, by Kuri Huang.

[luminouslumity]

[rockislandadultreads]

Fantastical Book Covers & Asian-Inspired Fantasies

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, "These are the hands that buried my mother." For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it's her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu. When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom's greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning's only chance to save her sister's life. But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, Kuri Huang (Illustrator)

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm. Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince. To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, Kuri Huang (Illustrator)

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering. Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead. Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all. But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions — much good it did me.” So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear. Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her. But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak — and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

[aroaessidhe]

okay but like have people seen the illumicrate editions of girls of paper and fire illustrated by Kuri Huang?