Doing Hanzi and Mukashi

#hanzi #kanji #demo #inkscape #unicode

I said this months theme would be hanzi and haiku

While you can use Special Characters to input Sinitic characters and kana and other non Roman fonts you can also use the Control U command in Inkscape

Next post I'll show you other things to do with mukashi and why I choose that character for a demo.

More Making Clouds

#clouds #rainclouds #inkscape #demo 

This is about 50% finished but finished enough to be a useful example?

I can think of at least 3 other edits I can do. Read on below the image.

Copyright Julie Vaux 2016

So what was my inspiration? I was thinking of the weather in Sydney and of Japanese book covers which require a space to be left on the right hand side and the top for kanji and kana. I created the clouds and the umbrella kanji separately and then joined them on one worksheet and added a couple of more filters.

I may have overdone the watercolor effect and need to add some shadow and seen in a different browser outside of Inkscape I can now see the clouds need another edit at the edges but I could also duplicate and flip the clouds and add a different color background or a landscape in the bottom layer so I'll be storing this image for future usage. I think also I'll look for a haiku that uses the words rain or umbrella in it. Enjoy.

Making Brocade ... well trying to

I've been trying to figure out how to combine #GIMP filters and plugins to create a effect that looks like #brocade.

Here's a few of my experiments Copyright Julie Vaux 2014 so please don't download them yet. I will share some of them when I finish the experiment!

Yes that is the kanji / hanzi for brocade JIN or nishiki in Japanese.

The closest I could get was a combination of three and no none of them were Clothify or Weave and Embroider is too slanted and stitch like!

Can try anything that alters horizontal rows of pixels and let me know if you find something that works better please?

Japanese Typography Example - ZI

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed Japanese typographers whether they are working with romaji or kanji fonts use color more than the chinese?

This image is based on the character zi or ji in an archaic form but a fairly well known textbook anyone who's read up on the history and development of chinese characters would have come across.

Some of the most playful and bold  Japanese typography I've seen appears in anime opening titles.

I admire traditional calligraphy too but perhaps Asian typographers really need to get over the black can express the five colors cultural bias they learn in calligraphy classes or from doing sumi-e?

Characters can have color and not be folksy or vulgar!

Kawaii and Miyabi poster for exhibition

Kawaii and Miyabi

Cuteness and Elegance in Japanese Design

I was looking of images of Cherry Blossom SAKURA to illustrate how Kanji are used in Layouts thinking this fits into this blog's theme however loosely because Cherry Blossom is a cultural symbol.

I found two very contrasting images.

Poster for show of Atomi paintings

This gorgeous poster as far as I can make out on the wierd translation of the website and my limited Japanese is for a show of late Rimpa ? Hasegawa ? style paintings by a Japanese woman painter called Atomi who was also famous for supporting women's education.

wonderful elegance layout that has yuugasa and miyabi and its just gorgeous!

however due to the large number of manga and anime pics online to find this image I also had to scroll thru a lot of images associated with a character called Sakurahime Princess Sakura .

It's extremely KAWAII and SHOJO and barely saved from being kitsch by the designers skilful use of cherry blossoms and a related color set in the background counter balancing the calligraphy to the right  and plainer text at the bottom.

If I understand the Wiki this was also created by a female artist?

It's not a manga / anime I'm very familiar with so if you are a Sakura fan accept my apology.

My idea of a shojo is more beautiful creative and brilliant Winfrey from Full Metal Alchemist.

Finally a example of Sakura rendered with elegance on a kimono possibly one of  the best and most beautiful way to display this national symbol?.

You're welcome to share other examples of Miyabi and Kawaii linked to Cherry Blossom!