In this post I am going to reflect on my tales of the city project I have dubbed the #Brightercityproject, for this project I made teru teru bozu's which translates to shine shine monk in Japanese which are traditionally made out of white paper or cloth and resemble ghosts. The cloth or paper dolls are considered amulets that bring good weather (or rain if hung upside down) and were/are commonly used by farmers trying to insure the correct weather conditions for their crops. They started becoming pouplar for urban dwellers in the edo period, Traditionally if the weather is indeed good the day after the teru teru bozu is displayed then eyes would be drawn on them, this is comparable to the Japanese tradition of the daruma in which you have a daruma statue you draw in one eye when you have made your wish and draw in the second eye when the wish has been completed. So I made the teru teru bozu as a metaphor for bringing happiness and I tried to achive this by leaving encouraging messages and words of wisdom on pieces of card hung from the teru teru bozu.
So was the project a success? Short answer not from what I can tell. I attached a hash tag #Brightercityproject to the teru teru bozu but nothing has come up when I search that tag.
Do you think there is something you could have done to make the project more successful?
I could have made more and hung them in more heavily occupied places but I got too nervous to hang them in densely populated places. I liked what I did though putting them in less traveled places quite a few in darker corners of alleyways and places like that because it seemed more apt and like it made more of a statement.
I also made a video of all of the places I put them and hoping people can see by the video why I decided to place each message in the place I had put them. I am not disappointed with the outcome of this project in a strange way part of me didn't want to gain from it more than I have done by taking pictures and drawing from my inspiration to do this. It was supposed to be a selfless act if I got too much back from it, it wouldn't feel selfless anymore.
If I was to do it again what would I do differently?
I would probably think more about the construction because the string even though it looked pretty was so hard to get to work and on one of the teru teru bozu it kept coming undone. Apart from that I am satisfied with how the project went.
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Monday, 4 May 2015
Book review: The art of Howl's Moving Castle
I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli and my friends have helped me build up my collection of Studio Ghibli art books by buying me them for Christmases and Birthdays.
So The Book I will be talking about today is The Art Of Howl's Moving Castle. It is a collection of Sketches, illustrations, concepts, backgrounds and character design from the making of the film.
Part one of the book shows Hayao Miyazaki's concept sketches, unlike western film directors Japanese film directors more specifically those dealing with animation are expected to draw concepts and the storyboards for the film before passing them onto other artists.
Part two of the book is all about character design finalizing concepts and what went into each part of the film.
Hayao Miyazaki's concept sketches are normally pen and watercolour or pencil and water colour. Some are vague some are detailed.
"Howl's Moving Castle is set in a world conceived by late 19th century European neo-futurist painters where magic and science co-exist."
"On a research trip for Miyazaki's new film Howls moving castle. The staff visited Europe for 12 days and, although their research centered on the eastern province of Alsace in Francewhere the film was set, they also spent time in Heidelburg (Germany), and Paris, Visiting the Alsatian city Colmar for its colour and atmosphere proved to be a productive experience for the staff.
A drawing of one of the scenes from the film.
In the film there is a parade going on which seems to be based around the military, People are waving flags and having a good time.
The main protagonist Sophie is cursed by the witch of the wastes turning her into a 90 year old woman, she flees the hat shop where she was apprenticing under her step mother, and stumbles across howls moving castle.
Some storyboards drawn by Miyazaki as you can see they vary from detailed to rough sketch.
Concept drawings of howl's castle.
Concepts for 18 year old Sophie (pre-curse)
Concept are for The Hatter's House at night (the hat shop).
This is how it looked in the film.
Grandma Sophie concepts, there was a lot of thought put into older Sophie's appearance.
"I was determined to make the aged Sophie look, cute, but I had to dismiss that approach almost imminently. She simply wouldn't look old without her skin being wrinkled and blemmished. She might appear plain, but I made sure she would have the appeal of a refined old lady."
Michiyo Yasuda discusses the subtle changes in colour through out the film to convey emotions.
Howl's room concept
Howl's room in the film
Howl's room (cave) concept
Howl's room (cave) in the film
Part three is a write up of the screenplay/script. It shows all of the characters lines and how they are supposed to be spoken any calls to action the voice actors might need to convey the lines correctly. It's really quite fascinating to look at.
Friday, 27 June 2014
My Artwork and Inspiration
Here are some framed paintings/drawings of Pokemon characters I did recently in the style of Okami, Okami is a video game based on a range of Japanese folklore.
Here are some art and screenshots from the games Okami and Okamiden
I love the art style of these games, which is based of traditional Japanese ink paintings
I also did this commission for a girl who contacted me through Facebook this will be being shipped out to her as soon as she gets her next pay check.
Friday, 20 June 2014
Prep for the Headlander Festival
RaelDanger will be attending the Headlander Festival
on the 21/06/2014 from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pmLocation:
Stockport Rugby Club
Headlands Road
Bramhall
Stockport
SK7 3AN
Headlands Road
Bramhall
Stockport
SK7 3AN
Here is some of the products I will have for sale.
Poison Status Effect Needle Felted Earrings £4
Customized Ring Binder £5
Ruled Notebooks
A4 £4
A5 £3.50
A6 £3
A7 £2.50
Mini canvases and Small canvases
Mini £3.50
Small £5
Small Drawstring Bags
perfect for gifts or cosmetics
£2.50 each
Tote bags £7.50
Needle Felted Kokeshi Doll £8
Alice Bands £2
If you are interested in any of these items please contact me on my facebook page. I also do custom orders check out my price list or drop me a message for more info.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Needle felted Kokeshi doll
Today I decided to make a needle felted Kokeshi doll.
Kokeshi, are Japanese dolls, originally from northern Japan. They are handmade and tend to be made from wood.
Several things inspired me to make my Kokeshi doll.
I was on YouTube and I saw this video pop up in my recommendations, I found out the YouTuber Maqaroon/Joanna Zhou actually designed some of the Momiji figures/dolls I own.
Kokeshi, are Japanese dolls, originally from northern Japan. They are handmade and tend to be made from wood.
Several things inspired me to make my Kokeshi doll.
The three at the back are three out of five dolls I own which has been designed by Joanna Zhou. Under her YouTube/Brand Name Maqaroon she makes craft tutorials my favorites being needle felting video's.
In my mind I must have put two and two together and thought hey maybe I should try and needle felt a Kokeshi doll. I didn't use any tutorials to aid in the creation of my Kokeshi doll.
I used this picture as reference for the size, shape, hair and details of my doll. I didn't want to use Momiji dolls as a reference because they are a pre-established brand.
This was the end result
Idea's for next time
- Animal style
- Lighter colour Kimono or Yukata
- Less traditional
- More detail (on the Kimono/Yukata)
- More hair accessories
- Unfelted elements could be added such as beads, buttons and ribbons
- Photograph outside for nicer background and lighting
Other Kokeshi images that inspire me
Useful links:
DIY wooden Kokeshi -There is plenty to chose from on etsy
Needle felting supplies I used
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