#because that artist tends to have a monotonous art style/techniques

[texeoghea]

btw i dont feel like making a whole art vs artist collage or a page showing my art across the year (thats what my monthly tags are for) but like i dont think my art style has necessarily changed very much

Like . comparing the roadtrip image from March with the rough draft of Wolf's design and the AU concept from mid-November, i don't see an actual change in STYLE (technique, linework) so much as simple improvement. I've started coloring almost all of the lines, I've been recently experimenting with actual color palettes to help with balancing and using unique palettes for each character on the page. in the roadtrip image, i experimented with using pre-existing images as assets in my work, which I have done multiple times since, including in the second image's background. I also played with expressing lighting by adding a soft brush in a lighter tone to the otherwise monotonous linework, which i don't do often (because i don't do lighting often), but i think it looks very lovely and works well. but when it comes to raw style I feel like it's almost exactly the same between pieces.

Which isn't a bad thing! I love how my art has looked this year, it's so smooth and elegant, I've been very proud of most of my works. It's just interesting to notice. I feel like last year, I was very indecisive with my style, so this is a nice change of pace.

also, I don't feel like posting a selfie. not that i'm not absolutely gorgeous (I am), but I'm fully aware that the way my body looks best and the way my art tends to look is usually pretty different. I'm very handsome, and my art tends to be more on the soft, cute side. Which I also like. I contain multitudes. Also, I'm typically nearly bald, and I've been drawing a lot of full-haired anime boys lately, which would look pretty silly side by side

[clasassist]

Hey, this probably has a rlly obvious answer and I’m just dumb but do you think there’s any reason that a lot of the art looks the same (regarding Greek gods/heroes)? Like just kind of the same nose, similar eyes and face shapes, and very similar bodies? Like - was it an art style back then, were the most famous Greek myth paintings done by the same or closely related artists, or did Greek people generally have some of those features? It’s always just kind of been interesting to me idk lol

Disclaimer: I'm not very familiar with ancient Greek art, especially potteries. I know a few terminologies and a couple of random facts but that's it. (Also this not a dumb question, it's actually interesting)

Anyway: was it because of the art style back the? Definitely, yes. At least as far as potteries were concerned, every artist seem to have had very similar art styles, especially with the poses that look...kinda static...like there is no touch of fluidity. But there are differences between art style of each artist, and there are around 2,800 ancient Greek artists identified based on those differences/ specific details they put in their works - like the type of dress they painted (for example, take Apollo - some artists draw him in almost completely naked and some make him wear extremely fancy clothings that cover his body), jeweleries (one artist drew Hera with simple diadem, the other with a fancy diadem with embedded stones) and such other personal preferences of the artist. The physical appearances also changed depending on the region. Like Athenian Artemis wears a plain hunter dress while Thracian Artemis wears a fancy robe, and often has a hat on her head.

Do the Greek heroes/Gods have similar features because they had some of those features? Well no, not all the features. Artists often depict the ideal beauty standards while drawing heroes and especially the gods. This might also be the reason why everyone seems to have almost same face, eyes etc (also because maybe 50% were descended from Zeus) So whatever the physical traits you're seeing is the ideal version, which may not always be the real one. Because not all Greek men had perfectly fit abs and small penis (which was considered ideal. It was a proof that the guy was not horny and thus in control of his emotions.) But there are features that are based on the actual traits of the Greeks which were common. Like the long curly hair, long beard, certain accessories like wreaths, diadems etc.

That's all I have to say. I think people like @apeollo and @alatismeni-theitsa can definitely offer more insight on this topic.

[tuchimuchibrainvomit]

My Thoughts On Neo Yokio — I Might Just Surprise You!

Since I have a little time before I power through a 4-5 hour drive to Maryland. I wanted to try reviewing something that has taken over my eyes and mind for the past few days (and no, it is not Madoka). A tangent before we start, I tend to be one of those “Main-Subculture Hating Hipsters”, that will wait until every high up, every gossip, every hipster and every anime fan has shut up about something they deem as good before I check it out. Hence why I hit Madoka much later — when no one was talking about it. I wanna go in as blind or unbiased as I can. Call it being an “Asocial Hipster”, but when the internet finally shuts up about something, I’ll experience it and then come back to see what happened on the net and explore my own experiences solitarily. But the thing I’m reviewing today is quite different from that usual attitude of mine. Today, we are reviewing Neo Yokio!

Netflix’s, Ezra of Vampire Weekend’s and Jaden Smith’s anime... And... *sweats* Why I think it is a good show. In fact, I liked it a lot! Let me add a point of bias: in most shows, I don’t watch it sober on my first viewing. When I tried Neo Yokio sober, I was disgusted by the art style — but when inebriated, I could take in little moments and the bigger picture. Before watching it again whilst sober, taking in more detail and falling in love with it. It may have a role in why Madoka Rebellion was PERFECT THE WAY IT WAS AND DON’T CHANGE IT, HOMURA WAS IN FUCKING CHARACTER, FIGHT ME!! ... Ahem... Anyway, Go ahead boo now. I’ll wait... ... Now, LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!! Firstly, Neo Yokio tells the story of Neo Riche “Magistocrat” Kaz Khan, played by Jaden Smith. And honestly, the series is just a short slice of life. Simple and very clear that it’s just not anything special. But that’s the brilliance — in my opinion — of the series. With a kind of similar attitude as The Boondocks but less focused on Black Culture (Excluding Kaz and his posse Lexy and GollieB), and more on parodying both anime of the 90’s and early 00’s and the 1%. I want to focus on this 1% idea, and why it was very interesting and successful angle to attack with comedic parody.

We are in 2017. The political climate worldwide is ABSOLUTELY unbearable — hence why I live my life as a 23 year old loser artist as apolitically as I can. Even if it’s practically impossible... — And this is why Neo Yokio genuinely made me chortle the entire way through. So, let’s start with the main character: Kaz. Kaz is dubbed by the masses as “Neo Riche”, the highest class of Neo Yokio, and while he does his damnedest to deny it, he proves quickly that he IS Neo Riche in the first 3 minutes of the series — and it works. This aspect added a lot on my second sober viewing — where the jokes and satire made a bit more sense after I had my time with the laughs and visual insanity that Neo Yokio is. That’s when I found something charming and actually worth my time. Kaz — is the perfect MC for this ridiculous world. I like fashion. My boyfriend really likes fashion. And the idea of being the 1% is insanely charming and a way we love to playfully act together. And Neo Yokio plays into that — Kaz being just as flamboyant and unconnected in one way as his rival Arcangelo is flamboyant and unconnected in another, both stereotypical yet enjoyable plays of the 1% that many people despise so much in the political spectrum. Kaz doesn’t care about politics, and this is a perspective I rarely see about the 1% until Kaz and his friends start observing it, serving to — while confused in tone ending — comment on what often goes unseen by the 1% that is not focused in politics but in their day to day life. And it’s petty, stupid and hilariously over-the-top, as many people see the idealized lives of the 1%. Let’s talk about Kaz. I feel like Jaden Smith’s monotone mannerism and voice fit ABSOLUTELY perfectly for the kind of character Kaz is. He’s overly dramatic in a drab, pretentious way. He’s from an almost alien lifestyle and he is presented as such. Jaden fits personally with this and adds charm to it. Look at one of the BEST bits from Episode 1, where Kaz — depressed over being dumped AND failing an exorcism goes to a graveyard with his OWN grave just to lay there and wallow in his despair. This moment shows how we should see throughout the show Kaz — as weird, inconsequently rich, ignorant and yet funny and lovable. This makes him a great character to experience the world inside of Neo Yokio’s other classes. He is ignorant and therefore he is called out for it in many funny ways that can add some depth to him. Charles works in that manner, being a robot butler, who snidely chastises his master’s lack of consequence. But has a similar charm and enjoyment at Kaz, almost playing the role of audience proxy. And the more characters that come, play off of Kaz very well comedically. And from Kaz as well the references to Toblerones, high fashion like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, and the absolute joke they make out of Kaz’ bachelor status make him very personable. Next, I want to talk about the animation. When I first saw it, my gut reaction was “TRASH, BURN IT!!”

But after really seeing what the show tries, I started to understand it was —consciously and unconsciously — parodying: Shitty anime from the 2000’s, lazy techniques in anime as a whole and it made for a charming exterior. Seriously guys, Sailor Pellegrino’s name written in Sailor Moon’s title font, that’s hilarous! And whether or not, Ezra or the community says “it’s a serious story”, I’m basing this review after my experience and things I saw. In that, I want to talk about some of the social commentary. It all doesn’t work. They have an interesting episode showing Kaz’ ignorance in his inherent misogyny — but also, I feel like it doesn’t know whether it wants to comment on it or make fun of it. I saw it as really a mix of both. Some successful, some not successful, nobody’s perfect and yet I enjoyed it. There are some bits that I liked — being gay and all, Arcangelo’s VERY FLAMBOYANT portrayal was absolutely hilarious, I loved it! I love when they play up flamboyancy comedically, it often makes me fall love with a character. I loved Lexy chasing after the hottest lesbian in the town, knowing he wouldn’t make much out of it — even if he got Ranma’d to being Kaz’ date. I liked him calling out Kaz’ bull misogyny as both a good moment for Kaz and an interesting commentary, and using Ranma 1/2 as inspiration. I think that’s why I like gender benders as a whole. They tend to be wacky, campy and bring up new perspectives. But that’s just me, whether you take offense or not, is up to you. I can’t dictate that and I don’t judge people for their reactions to things. I just personally find most campy portrayals too ridiculous to be taken seriously, even if it is meant to be derogatory. Sure, they’re not great for LGBT or Women’s civil rights, but for the sake of a show that makes me laugh, I don’t take it seriously. If I wanted a serious commentary about more real life issues, I’ll go outside of anime and comedy films. As for other comments and the one’s it tends to get right: The ignorance of the Neo Riche. Kaz doesn’t even think of himself as Neo Riche, yet he is. And the character, Helena plays with that — while also making an army of fangirls, who follow everything she does in a completely hysterical manner. They are a nice poke at the masses that follow someone famous to the ends of the earth. Charles also plays with that around the penultimate episode — not spoiling. ;3 On to sound, while I didn’t pay much attention, classical style music is everywhere. No tracks stood out to me because classical is not my forte, but I think it fit with the Neo Riche-style. The acting is hokey, plays the gamut from Jaden Smith monotone to Lexy’s VERY black mannerisms — it made me feel remarkably at home. My family is absolutely like that in voice styles and ranges. It made me laugh even more. I personally liked the acting, seeing it as intentionally “bad” for the sake of comedy. The story itself plays between slice of life and a serialized story, which kinda mucks up the sudden tone shift in the end. Unlike Cowboy Bebop, we don’t have as much time with the cast as a whole to feel much for them in the end. But I’d hope for a Season 2 to really explore more of the side characters. I want to know more about Lexy and GollieB’s hole-in-the-wall bar, I want to see more of Helena’s followers — especially after the ridiculous things they do to be just like Helena, and the ending kinda shook me in a way I didn’t expect that was very cute going forward. I could go on, but I think it is time for me to sum up my thoughts on Neo Yokio: “It’s very good at what it does, but it’s not for everyone. It’s audience is like the Neo Riche, small and niche.” That is the best way to put my thoughts on it.

Some people will get it and enjoy it. Most others, will write it off as trite. And I understand that point while also saying: “Try watching it inebriated. Take in the campy ridiculousness of it all.” No matter what the creators and critics say, everyone’s personal experience will be different based on where they come from. I read it as a parodic farce and enjoyed it very much as such. As a serious story or social commentary — it fell a lot more than it rose. And that’s OK. The best parts of the show are when Kaz is with Helena, the Helenists, and his boys, Lexy and GollieB. Laughing when he’s dealing with his aunt (voiced by Susan Sarandon, so yes!) or wallowing in the “misery” of being privileged bachelor. I recommend it for those who want something that you can make fun of — as I found it making fun of itself. To people who love the fabulous rich lifestyle of fashion, fame and camp! And I recommend trying it alone or with friends, but most importantly — drunk and/or baked as hell! Always bloom proudly guys, —Tuchi OUT!

[jamiekturner]

Vintage Logo Design: Inspiration, Tips, And Best Practices

Vintage logo designs are all around us nowadays.

Each and every day you will find new, impressive collections of retro logos, old school logos, and some pretty amazing retro logo designs.

Vintage logo elements are also incorporated into modern projects, just to add that vintage touch.

Regardless of whether you want to get a vintage logo or retro logo for yourself, or you’re looking at vintage logo ideas, you do need to know what’s in and what isn’t. There are a lot of options, from a vintage circle logo, to a vintage badge logo, and even a modern vintage logo.

However, not all of them work everywhere. Read on for a few vintage logo design tips and tricks, and see where to get that retro logo design inspiration you need.

Why is the vintage logo design popular?

Retro and vintage designs aren’t affected by time, taste, age or style. The web design templates with a vintage logo are very well received by a lot of people with different backgrounds.

The vintage logo design, be it a badge logo or any other old school logos you might run into, often focuses on a certain ear or culture, however they also enjoy a loyal follower group around the world. The color scheme is usually a middle ground between a colorful and dull one.

When you’re combining things into a modern vintage logo, you do get a vintage appeal.

Old things are usually associated with value, and retro logo design tends to keep this tendency alive.

The “value” part will draw in visitors, and the modern design elements will keep them there. Therefore, retro designing will get you the best of both – a vintage look and modern design.

There is also a touch of romanticism in web design that has been brought here, and many web surfers can be found guilty of romanticizing such old things. Most of them have that feeling that when they were younger, in college, life was much more relaxed, less stressful, and that is exactly where a retro design will take you.

Back to those memorable days when everything was more relaxed.

There are several approaches, and you will find repetition with certain elements. For example, a very popular element here are handwritten scripts.

There is also a rapid rise in the usage of old cars, old fashioned photos, as well as early electronic devices or other retro product models, just to perfectly recreate that retro look.

Some might opt for pin-up girls’ images, others go for military themes, such as old badges and war planes. There are a couple of crucial elements here, so let’s take a look at them below.

Shapes and illustrations in vintage logos

For a retro look, simple shapes can do wonders. One common element is different sized circles, and if you go through the designs of some famous eras, you will find how those simple shapes were used back then to achieve maximum impact.

Bright colors and floral backgrounds were used in situations where you wanted to draw attention, and the techniques are pretty widely adapted by a lot of designers.

Color schemes for retro logos

The most noticeable thing about retro designs is the limited use of the color palette.

Since full color printing used to be very expensive, designers limited how much colors they used in their designs.

The most commonly used setting was two-toned coloring, where usually a focal color was selected, and then blended with another color to create a pretty unique theme.

Typography in retro logo design

Typography has always been present when designing a retro site. The designers tend to use pretty simple techniques, such as duplicating and pixel strokes, as well as repositioning of fonts, to add a pretty unique flavor to their design.

Borders

A pretty fascinating part of retro logo designs, and retro site designs as well, is the use of borders.

You can use them for a lot of things, from creating a focus area, to framing a picture or highlighting content.

You also get the option to choose between matching, solid colors, or ornamental designs.

Textures and noises in vintage logos

If you want a visually appealing retro design, you can always opt for a subtle, discrete use of noise and texture in the background.

Some designers here opt for a background with a worn out look, and others go for a poster artwork with more subtle colors.

These vintage designs are stunning, from the stained structures to the blending of the brush works.

Pattern overlays and drop shadows are also commonly used, and all of them are usually very easy to create with Photoshop and other design tools.

Logos and badges

A vintage logo, be it a vintage badge logo or a vintage circle logo, is a crucial part of the whole design.

They tend to have a round shape, and have a fluttering slim banner as well. The colors used are commonly subtle and contrasting, and they can easily be created with Photoshop, just like the noises and textures we were discussing a minute ago.

Vintage badges

At the core of vintage logo design is the badge concept. The goal for a badge is a simple shape that looks nice, and you can still stamp it on just about anything, anywhere.

You will find a lot of shields, hexagons and diamonds, but by far the most popular shape, are circles.

Hand drawn items

The hipster, retro movement has a love for everything handmade. Logos with a hand drawn look, or a sketchy look, will fit really well here, and you will be impressed by the artistic talent in this specific category.

Industrial design

If we turn back to the 20th century design, you will find that those logos manage to convey a bold visual statement, yet there are no feathered shadows or gradients, even 3D renders, to be seen.

There is, however, a strong use of graphical icons, such as hammers, wrenches, axes and factories, unlike the Wi-Fi signals and clouds of today.

It is pretty natural for this generation, which is actually a pretty tech-savvy one, to be drawn to these icons and visuals that truly remind us of this industrial revolution.

We sit at our desk, and we actually have a quiet respect for all the people who built us this world we’re living in, through sweat, not keystrokes or mouse clicks.

The sea and land

Vintage logo designs also often tend to come with animals which have antlers. Regardless of whether it’s a deer, moose, elk – if it has antlers, it can be used here.

This works well with the outdoors trend noticeable in these types of logos, and you will also find a rise in popularity with nautical themes.

Ropes, fish and anchors can be used for great graphical elements.

Coffee and alcoholic drinks

Some things never change, and one of those things is mankind’s love for coffee and beer. These two liquids are excellent subjects for vintage art, in great part due to the shared affinity with our ancestors.

Photos with logos

A few years ago, when you wanted to see at how old school logos were displayed, you would notice that there were bright, complex and colorful logos, displayed against a gradient or a solid background. This was mostly because they looked too busy for anything more complex.

However, nowadays we have monotone logos, which are dead simple, and when you put them on top of a good photograph, they look stunning. If you want your shop’s logos to look even better, you should definitely give this a try.

Line art

Current design trends severely change the way in which we create vintage graphics.

Back when skeuomorphism was something to follow, you would see heavy textures such as rust, leather or paper, as well as ink brushes.

Nowadays, flat design is taking over, and retro logos often go for simplified illustrations and thin lines.

Be yourself when designing a vintage logo

The design community both drops and latches onto certain ideas, in tandem, and this is somewhat fascinating for a lot of people.

If your clients prefer a trendy, popular design, you can use other ideas as an inspiration for your own vintage logo design.

Or, if you want to create your own path, you can go ahead, you already know what has been done already.

How to create a retro logo

Rendering is a very powerful skill – it helps designers convey their ideas, feelings or moods to their clients.

The style of vintage faded logos is easily explored in the tutorial below. You should note, though, before beginning, that rendering is actually an art form in itself.

The steps of the tutorial below aren’t to be explicitly followed, but you could use them as an introduction to the rendering process.

This process consists of a lot of trial and error, as well as experimenting with a design until you think it’s successful.

If you want to achieve individuality and creativity, you should keep this process at least slightly different.

There is a thing to be noted, though.

Rendering is very helpful to morally sound designers, but there are people who may resort to abusing it in order to impress a client with a weak design.

This is an abuse that is discouraged pretty strongly, in order to fill the world with strong designs.

Start with a vector design

Having a strong vector design to begin with is a pretty important thing.

Oftentimes, that vector design is everything that the client actually uses in their process.

As a designer, you should know that only when you have strong vector art, can you move to rendering. Since this is usually done in Illustrator, here are a few things to do, and why.

Effect > Stylize > Round Corners. This lessens the digital corners that don’t really exist in the vintage aesthetic you’re aiming for.

Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen: Rough edges are easier to achieve in Illustrator, and they help towards “aging” the design.

If you want to beat up the design in some way, you can always pull in random anchor points.

Rendering in Photoshop

Now that you’re done with illustrator, get the logo in Photoshop. The background, logo and textures have layers, and organization for them is pretty important, since projects often become pretty layered.

You can choose your texture and copy it to the clipboard. Which texture you choose is completely up to you. There is no right way, and these things are often based on feeling and instinct, which also adds a touch of personality to the design.

You can go ahead and play with the design in Photoshop as much as you want. As said earlier, there is no tutorial to doing things “right”, and therefore, this results in a pretty personal design that fits your design style and aesthetic.

Wrapping things up

Opting for a vintage logo design, and including vintage logo elements in your web design is an interesting way of bringing back your past memories.

When you purposely develop a vintage design, and you incorporate new technology and services, you get the true retro effect.

If you liked this article about vintage logo designs, you should check out these as well:

Tips On How To Design A Great Logo

Letterhead Examples and Ideas: 60+ Cool Stationary Designs

Restaurant Logo Designs: Tips, Best Practices, and Inspiration

Logos on Pinterest

The post Vintage Logo Design: Inspiration, Tips, And Best Practices appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/vintage-logo-design/

[robertxtokyo-blog]

Tour 18/1: Osaka.

Sooo, I had nothing to do, so I went to Osaka. I left on Friday morning, hopping on a Shinkansen at about 9am, so I arrived in Osaka at midday. Having been kicked out the train in Shin-Osaka, I took the metro to the next best, most sensible-seeming station. First, I strolled around that neighbourhood, a very businessy, Shinjuku-like part of Osaka. Then I kept walking towards my hostel and bumped into the National Museum of Art (I guess they’re referring to the Japanese nation in that title), which I happily entered – it was a bit cold and windy, North Sea conditions almost. From there, it was only a short hop to reaching my hostel and relaxing for a bit. In the evening, I headed out to take a look at Dotombori, Osaka’s fame nightlife district, where in a rush of cultural adaptation and touristy immersement I had 21 Takoyaki balls. Oh yes, a slightly fatty affair. Then I looked around some more, and eventually headed back home.

So, that was the short intro. Now, some more depth on some more details. Such as: Planning. I think I should mention that I had had the idea to even go anywhere on that weekend only three days before, on Tuesday – until that point, I had planned to just hang out with Japanese homies. As they turned out to be hardly available at all for that specific weekend, I was facing what looked like utter boredom. In an outburst of life-dominating proactivity, I decided to take fate into my own hands and to take action towards working down my bucket list. I decided quite quickly that I wanted to visit a city, because I wasn’t really up for much preparation (and just very late too), which I assumed would have been necessary for off-the-beaten-path destinations. Also, I didn’t want to go long-distance, e.g. Sapporo was off the list – plus, I’ll be spending time in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in March, so that wasn’t a sensible target either. 

All of this left me with Nagoya and Osaka, both being quite accessible, and suitable for a weekend trip in size and fame. For quite a long time, I tended towards Nagoya, mainly because a (Nagoya-)local friend had been advocating that as a destination for some time – however, Osaka seemed to be higher up the priority list, so I thought that to be more ‚pressing‘ of a journey. Also, the Shinkansen to Osaka is 14-something-thousand yen, that to Nagoya about 12000, however if you go to Osaka you get twice as much train-time – in other words, the per-kilometer and per-minute price to Osaka is much more economic. So, decision taken. Finding a hostel was surprisingly easy, even on that extent of short notice, and I found a nice and cheap one at that. 

All of these basic arrangements done, I left day-by-day and destination-planning to the weekend itself. I was (and still am) doing an internship at the time, so I didn’t have that much time to google around. Also, I’m not a big supporter of high-preparation trips, because a) you never know what happens anyway, b) you never know if travel guide writers share your interests, c) usually recommended places are packed and mainstream and d) it’s much more interesting to just stumble upon things. As a back-up self-assurement, I kept telling myself that I’d do some ‚research‘ on the train. Well, I didn’t really, looking out the window was much more interesting. I did google a bit though, however couldn’t find too much – ironically, that’s how the situation turned out to be in reality, too, there just isn’t that much to see and do in Osaka (apart from business, possibly). All I could find really was the National Museum of Art (done on day 1) and Dotombori (also, done on day 1) – there were some mentions of secondary good-to-see areas and spots, but that sounded more like vague suggestions. Overall, therefore, I felt confirmed that just rocking up and keeping my eyes open was the most sensible thing to do.

One more important thing to mention: I went on my own – partly because I just didn’t feel like asking dozens of people at such short notice and stress myself about finding someone, partly because I hadn’t done a loner trip in a fairly long time, so I wanted to practice my self-reliance and experience independence and singularity. Retrospectively, I think I’d say that I would prefer traveling in company in the future – it’s fine being on one’s own for a weekend, but it does get a bit silent after some time. Also, the strategy of meeting people on the spot doesn’t really work: one, most people travel in groups or pairs, so they’re not very much open for socializing, and two, even if you could theoretically and practically find others, chances are they become annoying after some time. I personally am a bit picky about companions, and quite strict about my own ideas, i.e. if someone requires me to adapt a lot then that does piss me off quickly – I might be happy to adapt to a long-time life partner, but am definitely not very open to making major concessions if I met the person in question only 20 mins earlier in a hostel somewhere and have not yet any meaningful relation to them. Effectively, I spent the weekend roaming around on my own, which I didn’t mind, but, as said, which would have become a bit monotonous after some time. Still, worth trying!

Back to day 1 as it went. I had taken the Shinkansen once before in December, going to Nagano with my parents for three days in a hot pot (= Onsen), so I kind of knew how to float that boat. The one-way trip to Osaka was, by most sensible standards, rather pricey, clocking in at 14700 Yen original price and about 12000 Yen with student discount. However, the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka is the fastest service in Japan, doing flat 300 km/h for most of the way, and that seemed like a fun thing to experience. Also, I didn’t want to arrive after a night bus journey, so the plus in civilizedness and minus in post-journey devastation was quite appealing, too. I really like the Shinkansen, they’re fast and comfy and quiet and have nice windows and great toilets (love the toilets), so I can recommend them at the temperature of an Onsen (i.e., warmly). This particular journey on Nozomi 213 – which I think can be a good name for one of my many cute children, without the „213“ though – was a positive one, too, so I was dropped off in stellar condition at 11.something in Shin-Osaka. It’s called Shin-Osaka because it’s not a part of Osaka that really matters, I think… or so it seemed. I didn’t bother looking at it, just took the metro to more epic cultural epicenters.

Because I hadn’t done any preparation, I was left googling and thereby trying to figure out where I actually was – after some of that, I decided to just walk from the station to my hostel, which would also allow me to have lunch and do sightseeing on the way. The station’s surroundings were very businessy, as I said initially, very resembling of Shinjuku, perhaps even more progressive in aesthetics. That was nice to see, but also a bit, well, one-dimensional. At the end of some strolling around, I ended up bumping into the National Museum of Art (which actually was not intentional, proving the genius both of my intuitive route guidance and my clueless approach to tourism). 

They had an exhibition about a Belgian painter, which I left me quite skeptical at first – considering that I don’t see much point in looking at Belgian art in Japan, coming from Germany, next to Belgium. I then googled a bit about the guy and found out that he draws much of his inspiration and technique from Japan, using Japanese calligraphy paper, ink, brushes and techniques for his painting. That did sound appealing, so I went in. Indeed, the exhibition was very ‚enriching‘, and I really liked that artist’s style – using the very, very black Japanese ink widely in writing, drawing and painting, his art does have an edge over, well, whatever could be considered the mainstream of art. Especially his technique of outlining paintings before colouring them, i.e. of adding black edges to all shapes, lets them appear much more vibrant and sharper than normal, just colour-on-paper/canvas techniques achieve. Good stuff.

After that intense cultural input I headed on to my hostel, which was only about 15 mins walking away. Check-in was smooth, the hostel was modern, quiet, empty, all good. The beds had all-around curtains, so were very privacy-providing. I then just napped for two hours, because I had begun the day quite early, and because the walking in icy wind does fatigue quite strongly. 

In the evening, I headed to Dotombori, which as mentioned earlier was one of few clearly recommended destinations in Osaka. Even though often those highly recommended places turn out to be rather boring, overflowing with tourists, mainstream, un-edgy, standard places, Dotombori has an interesting, funky vibe to it. There were many tourists, even at this off-season time, but there were also loads of locals, especially young ones, who gave the area a greatly authentic feel. Even though I didn’t enter any bars or restaurants, but rather limited my consumption to loads of Takoyaki from street stalls, spending some time in the area was very enjoyable. Only issue: Takoyaki does really get a bit fatty and fishy after about 15 balls, maybe 10 if you’re not well assimilated to Japanese food yet – not actually suited for covering one’s daily calorie intake requirements. So, Dotombori is good. Then I went back to bed basically, quite early, but who cares, yolo.

That was day one – I hope this wasn’t far too much detail. Now photos.

Shinkansen.

Boarding Nozomi 213. Sorry, I really hype the name. 

A shopping- and eating mall near Umeda Station.

Backstreet I suppose.

Backstage?

DVD.

Kanjikanjikanji.

Mystery shop.

They always have those eating streets...

Lost people.

Businessy, as I said.

More of it.

And more. There is a beauty to this shininess, though.

Well.

Twitter.

50 Shades of Grey.

graf studio was supposed to be hipster, well, turned out to be hipster, but didn’t help me to find a hipster neighbourhood at all – it was completely empty and boring all around. mmmmpf. 

dodgy attempt at architecture photo.

this is graf studio.

this was in the evening, on the way to Dotombori.

hold on

golden light.

DOTOMBORI

them colours

funky

so light

fortunately, they do have some quiet side streets with cosy bars

and not so quiet main streets

late school returners

into the brightness

Fuk-U hostel, haha

This is the romantic part

Organic!!!

So, this was day one, I hope you liked the lengthy intro and the photos. Fortunately, the trip was only three days, so not much more than two more posts are coming up. I’ll try to be quick.