Have a great holiday weekend everyone, and enjoy your Anime! :-)
RACS - Labor Day Holiday Hours
We will be closed on Monday, Sept 6th for the Labor Day Holiday. All orders and inquiries received after 3pm today (Sept 3rd) will be processed when we return on Sept 7th.
Media Blasters Update
With all the date pushes and missed street dates recently,a lot of you have been writing in asking me about what's going on at Media Blasters. Well, the rumors floating around of their demise (like those of mine) are grossly exaggerated.What is actually going on is that they have outsourced their warehouse operations, and moving their huge inventory plus ramping operations at the new facility is taking longer than they expected. Not only is this the reason for the recent date pushes, it's the reason for the late arrivals of several titles. Moves like this are supposed to be transparent to the customer base, but I can tell you (having done them) they NEVER work out that way.
I know this has been very frustrating for some of you, but I talked to the folks at MB in length yesterday and got a pretty good idea of where they are at with the move and what's going on with some of the titles you have been asking about. The two current late titles Genshiken DX and Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny, Vol #3 are both scheduled to start shipping late next week. Also, titles that haven't been available for awhile like the Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan Special Edition and the Ah My Buddha Complete Boxed Set are finally back in replication and should all be back in stock by the end of the month. Considering the difficulties they have experienced changing over their warehouse operations it's probably a good thing they did it mid-year so that everything will be back up and running before the holiday season kicks off next month (that's around mid-October for us).
So please continue to be patient a little longer while they get their schedule back on track.
Draw and paint mythology creature monster design Chimera
Draw and paint mythology creature monster design Chimera. This post is somewhat related to the previous post, How to draw lion head study. Intentionally I was going to do a creature tutorial and one of the creature that are often under represent is Chimera. So I am doing a step by step and video tutorial of how to draw and paint the Chimera creature from Greek Mythology. Well, originally it does have wings, but I put them in because I thought that would make it more powerful and such.
A brief statement about the creature, Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest surviving literary reference: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire".
Anyway, I usually started off with just line drawn to get a sense of shapes, forms and possibly composition. Then I will just go into the image and block out the big shape as a whole first. Then later I will define the main shape using values, most likely two to three values should be enough to get the illustration going. As an underpainting or speedpainting, you don't need much of values or color to represent your image. Just enough to make it read, but most of all the lighting is a crucial element. Because lighting is very much every thing (or it make image visible) so I am trying to painting according to the light. Whatever is in the shadow, will basically has similar values, not necessary exactly the same, but real close.
Here is what I have so far, it is still work in progress.
Here are step by step drawing then painting creature concept:
Here is the finale image so far:
to be continued
Also a larger image here: Creature concept design process
*Video tutorial is coming soon* Be patient :)
A brief statement about the creature, Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest surviving literary reference: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire".
Anyway, I usually started off with just line drawn to get a sense of shapes, forms and possibly composition. Then I will just go into the image and block out the big shape as a whole first. Then later I will define the main shape using values, most likely two to three values should be enough to get the illustration going. As an underpainting or speedpainting, you don't need much of values or color to represent your image. Just enough to make it read, but most of all the lighting is a crucial element. Because lighting is very much every thing (or it make image visible) so I am trying to painting according to the light. Whatever is in the shadow, will basically has similar values, not necessary exactly the same, but real close.
Here is what I have so far, it is still work in progress.
Creature design work in progress.
Here are step by step drawing then painting creature concept:
Here is the finale image so far:
to be continued
Also a larger image here: Creature concept design process
*Video tutorial is coming soon* Be patient :)
Download over 30 minutes of Free videos from idrawgirls.
Anime Word of the Week - Yamato Nadeshiko (大和撫子)
Yamato Nadeshiko (大和撫子)
...the Japanese ideal for a woman, being humble and skilled in domestic matters.
Yamato Nadeshiko is a complex Japanese concept meaning "personification of an idealized Japanese woman" - "ideal" in the historical context of the patriarchal, traditional culture of Japan. This floral metaphor combines Yamato (an ancient name for Japan) and nadeshiko (Dianthus superbus: large pink or frilled pink carnation) literally translated as "Japanese Dianthus".
The term is often defined as figure of speech for the beauty of Japanese women who are neat and tidy. Per Confucianism, it revolves around acting for the benefit of the family and following instructions or acting in the best interest of patriarchal authority figures. Virtues include: loyalty, domestic ability, wisdom, and humility.
Today, in most cases, the term "Yamato nadeshiko" is used in the context of nostalgia, referring to Japanese women with "good old" traits, as they are critically endangered.
Western Anime fans often mistake this type of characterization as a sort of 'doormat' type, but this is a very ignorant assumption. The nadeshiko is a 'wildflower'. A properly crafted Yamato Nadeshiko will show a subtle, but present 'touch of iron' in that she is unwilling to let circumstances hurt the ones she cares about or distract her from her goals. This is often accomplished very subtly. Older Yamato Nadeshiko are better at this, while a younger one will make up for it in determination - especially when it comes to the man she loves, because that trumps every other consideration.
Some Anime characters that are said to personify examples of Yamato Nadeshiko include Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Yakumo Tsukamoto from School Rumble (who exists as a sort of deconstruction of the concept), Sawako Kuronuma from Kimi ni Todoke, Ruka Souen from Vampire Knight, Belldandy from Ah My Goddess (after all, if she wasn't the universe would cease to exist), Cherry from Saber Marionette J (who is also a Tsundere), Juli Mizrahi from Xenosaga, and of course - my personal all time favorite and the best example of them all - the beautiful Aoi Sakuraba from Ai Yori Aoshi. Kaoru Hanabishi is one of the luckiest men alive - even if he is an idiot sometimes.
More information on this complex concept can be found in the sci.lang.japan FAQ.
...the Japanese ideal for a woman, being humble and skilled in domestic matters.
Yamato Nadeshiko is a complex Japanese concept meaning "personification of an idealized Japanese woman" - "ideal" in the historical context of the patriarchal, traditional culture of Japan. This floral metaphor combines Yamato (an ancient name for Japan) and nadeshiko (Dianthus superbus: large pink or frilled pink carnation) literally translated as "Japanese Dianthus".
The term is often defined as figure of speech for the beauty of Japanese women who are neat and tidy. Per Confucianism, it revolves around acting for the benefit of the family and following instructions or acting in the best interest of patriarchal authority figures. Virtues include: loyalty, domestic ability, wisdom, and humility.
Today, in most cases, the term "Yamato nadeshiko" is used in the context of nostalgia, referring to Japanese women with "good old" traits, as they are critically endangered.
Western Anime fans often mistake this type of characterization as a sort of 'doormat' type, but this is a very ignorant assumption. The nadeshiko is a 'wildflower'. A properly crafted Yamato Nadeshiko will show a subtle, but present 'touch of iron' in that she is unwilling to let circumstances hurt the ones she cares about or distract her from her goals. This is often accomplished very subtly. Older Yamato Nadeshiko are better at this, while a younger one will make up for it in determination - especially when it comes to the man she loves, because that trumps every other consideration.
Some Anime characters that are said to personify examples of Yamato Nadeshiko include Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Yakumo Tsukamoto from School Rumble (who exists as a sort of deconstruction of the concept), Sawako Kuronuma from Kimi ni Todoke, Ruka Souen from Vampire Knight, Belldandy from Ah My Goddess (after all, if she wasn't the universe would cease to exist), Cherry from Saber Marionette J (who is also a Tsundere), Juli Mizrahi from Xenosaga, and of course - my personal all time favorite and the best example of them all - the beautiful Aoi Sakuraba from Ai Yori Aoshi. Kaoru Hanabishi is one of the luckiest men alive - even if he is an idiot sometimes.
More information on this complex concept can be found in the sci.lang.japan FAQ.
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