Hi there! I'm Sol, and I love art books of all kinds! I've been collecting them for quite a few years now, and each book holds a very dear place in my heart. I use art books for my own artistic inspiration and studying, but also as entertainment and language development... as one does with books.
Most of my art books lie in the genres of manga and anime, as that's what I'm most interested in, but I also have quite a few in the realms of video games, contemporary art, and art history, and I am always looking for more variety to add! But if you've come here for any academic topics or discussion, you might want to look elsewhere. Sorry!
I'll be using this blog to document, discuss, and categorize the books in my collection, and will be updating this pinned post frequently with easy-to-navigate tags and links both around this blog and to various sources across the web (created sometimes by me, sometimes by others, but always curated by me!)
Above all, I really wanted an excuse to get to write more, and what better way to continue to exercise my cognitive function as an adult then by talking about the things I love the most!
My current scanner is a Canon LiDE 300 set at 300DPI and JPEG image format
COMPLETED SCAN PROGRESS:
4 / 27
If you notice anything wrong in any of my links, PLEASE reach out to me! I'm trying to archive with accuracy and would appreciate all the help I can get!
DROPBOX LINK FOR ZIP FILES OF MY SCANS
MY INTERNET ARCHIVE LINK
ARCHIVAL SPREADSHEET LINK
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PERSONAL INTRO
Name: Sol
Age: 24
she/her
Check out my primary blog for my own artwork!
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TAG LIST
Japanese Art Book Tag
[English Art Book Tag TBA]
Chinese/Taiwanese Art Book Tag
[Magazine Tag TBA]
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WISH LIST
Anime CG Web Banner Collection
(1999, Aki Ito)
This book is extraordinarily rare and I've hardly been able to find any information about it online! This is, without a doubt, my Holy Grail right now.
Hatsune Miku 16th Anniversary Special Commemorative Album- "Echo"
So my scanner is currently a Canon LiDE 300, or something along those lines... I can never seem to remember the exact model number. But this is relevant to this book, because I made the horrifying discovery that this art book is actually too high quality for my scanner to be able to reliably pick up the images! I haven't encountered scan lines to this degree before, but considering I have no other options for scanners right now, I simply have to grit my teeth and bear it. But rest assured, someday, I will have to re-scan and re-upload everything in order to present this book in this best possible way, because it is truly one of the highlights of my entire collection!
Known in it's original Chinese text as 初音未来16周年官方纪念画集：拾光回响 (Chuyin Weilai 16 Zhounian Guanfang Jinian Huaji: Shiguang Huixiang- as is written on the very last page), this artbook is a compilation featuring nine well-known Chinese artists in celebration of Hatsune Miku's 16th birthday!
(Additionally, my knowledge of Chinese is EXTREMELY limited. If I get any information in this post wrong, I would really appreciate corrections, clarifications, or any advice!)
For more information, including direct links to each artist featured in this book, please keep reading below the cut!
Language:
Chinese (I believe Mandarin)
Publisher:
Zhejiang People's Publishing House
Date of Publication:
August, 2023
Where I Got It:
Kinokuniya, NYC
Publicly Available Scans:
My scan on the Internet Archive
Dropbox link of the ZIP file
I'll start the discussion on this book with the technical review to get it out of the way. This book is absolutely gorgeous, high quality, and pristine, as was mentioned previously, since my scanner can't even fully grasp how perfect the prints on each page truly are! The cover is protected by a transparent plastic sheet with the book's name, barcode, publisher watermark, and artist info printed on it, and when it's removed, it reveals the perfect front and back cover artwork on it's own, protected from potential scuffing.
The book itself is fabric-and-glue bound, rather than being just glue, which makes it both durable and easy to scan, as I was able to make the pages almost completely flat without fear of warping the spine too much, which has been a fear I've been trying to overcome since beginning to scan my collection. The pages themselves are thick and semi-glossy, a perfect texture to accurately present the artwork in the highest quality possible. It is, without a doubt, the best presented book I own in every conceivable way, and for a price tag of about 50USD from a Kinokuniya Bookstore, it was well worth the money!
Now, I want to take the time to highlight each artist contained within. Every featured artist is differentiated by a double-spread separator page and each feature a single WIP page with their Hatsune Miku 16th Anniversary artwork, among brief portfolios of the rest of their Miku-themed art. While much of the art is fanart, many of the artists have also done official art for Miku With You or the Snow Miku series.
The format goes Art->Artist Name->Links->Blurb.
Liita
Twitter | Pixiv
Liita's art is the perfect introduction to this book, as her masterful use of soft colors and painterly strokes conveys a sense of high polish and an almost fairy tale-like whimsey in each and every piece. When I look at her art, I feel like I'm running my hand across a bush of soft flower petals, velvety while also being silky soft. It truly feels like her art has no focal point and encourages your eyes to drift to every corner of the screen in order to consume as much as possible. Delicate facial expressions are complimented by soft colors and bold poses that make her art feel especially unique.
She was in charge of the main visual for Miku With You 2021, which also happens to be my favorite Miku With You design, so perhaps I'm a bit biased!
Kieed
Twitter | Bilibili | Pixiv
Perusing through Kieed's Pixiv shows off a massive portfolio of masterpieces, as well as a lot of Kasane Teto which is always a plus! Their works contained within this book, however, solely center around one big theme: brass instruments and orchestral compositions. (You can see the full scale of the works in this series on the second page of their Pixiv in the highest quality). I was utterly blown away the first time I opened this book and saw these illustrations for the first time. Just like a massive brass orchestra, each piece is loud and bold with vivid metalic tones framing Miku's small and girlish body with a beautiful contrast. I feel like I can hear an orchestra as I gaze at each piece, enveloping me into a world of powerful trumpets and baritones masked with the crackling of an old music player turned up to full power. Their works in this series contain a unique sense of nostalgia that I haven't ever experienced before.
西名
Piapro | Twitter | Pixiv Fanbox
It took me quite a while to gather links to Nishina's art when drafting those post, as at first, I had no idea what I was looking for. Thankfully, I found their Twitter thanks to an ad-filled moe-themed wiki-esc blog and the rest was easy!
Nishina won the 2017 design contest for Snow Hatsune Miku, and if what I was able to read was correct, they were the very first mainland Chinese artist to win the Snow Miku design contest on Piapro! Since then, they have submitted multiple Miku designs for various contests including Snow Miku, each displaying Nishina's unique grasp of bright colors and warm expressions. Their art is simply a joy to look at, and they have mastered Miku's joyous and welcoming demeanor, as if to invite you in ever closer when looking at their art. Despite Snow Miku taking place in the winter, their art fills me with a sense of warmth and comfort that beats the frigid winter days.
绀屋鸦江
Pixiv | Twitter
KonYa's art, whether Miku or otherwise, is powerful, alluring, and mysterious, which is displayed exceptionally in this book. Each drawing seems to tell a masterful story through visuals alone, from tender embraces to realistic expressions, flawless use of composition, simple text, and this sci-fi inspired aura that fills each and every piece. Placing Miku in outer space is itself a powerful motif. She comforts the lonely and brightens even the darkest of spaces. She's able to gaze past the veil of sadness that consumes you and fills you with comfort and warmth no matter where you are. Her aura is mysterious and yet you understand her perfectly. KonYa's art is the kind of art that leaves you yearning and hopeful for more, and I can't get enough.
混合可可
Twitter | Bilibili | Pixiv
Similarly to Nishina, it took me a little while to find Rumoon's accounts and definitively pinpoint them as authentic, but goodness am I happy I did. Rumoon's art is ethereal and captivating in every possible way, making it understandable why their art was chosen as the book's front cover. The way Miku stares directly into the viewer's eyes in many of their pieces conveys an alluring sense of intrigue that makes you keen to discover her secrets, her desires. Added to Rumoon's perfect anatomy and composition, their art is just so gorgeous, plain and simple. The art of Miku lying on her back, somewhat contorted onto her right side with her left arm draped over her chest, her right hand up by her head, and her eyes looking toward the viewer makes me feel like I stumbled upon her in a moment of awakening from a peaceful nap, her calm aura and velvety flowers surrounding her creating a vibrant contrast amidst the duller tones of teal and gray. It's serene.
巴巴巴拉冰
Weibo | Pixiv
Balabling's art is so inspiring to me, and scrolling through their pixiv gallery truly makes it seem like not a single color is left untouched. From soft and peaceful compositions to vibrant and explosive pops of color and pattern, Balabling perfectly combines styles and aspects of all kinds of art to form something that is truly unique. Sometimes their art is more painterly, with soft brush strokes, pastel colors, and a feeling of warm springtime air. Other times, they use solid lineart, vibrant colors and cell shading to create a sort of pop-art experience that differs from their other works in the best way. No two works of their's are perfectly alike, which makes flipping through their segment of the book, or scrolling through their online gallery, such a pleasure.
猫鱼
Twitter | Their Website
(It was around this point in my search for links that Twitter decided it didn't like my IP address constantly opening and closing profile links, and I needed to pause for about an hour before continuing to remind it that I am indeed a real person and not a bot.)
Ulenardis's (which is their twitter handle, I believe their actual online name translates to catfish?) art is the very definition of happiness to me. Most of their illustrations are in this chibi style, which not only sets them apart from the other artists in this book, but also gives them a brand new identity among their fellow features. Bold cell shading and clean lineart give their art a style that truly stands out among event advertisements and merchandising, which they have done lots of work of in the Miku space, including doing promotional art for Miku With You, Magical Mirai, and some other anniversaries and events. Their chibi Miku is also featured on the back cover of this book. When you look at their drawings of Miku you can't help but smile with her, as if her energy conveyed through each line is infectious.
KIKI & 冷蝉
Pixiv | Twitter | Bilibili | RenChain's Bilibili
I must be honest, when I was picking apart this book while writing this post, I realized that KIKI and RenChain were grouped together in the index on one of the last pages, so I truly don't know if they're the same person or not. This was where my limitations when reading Chinese really started to shine, much to my chagrin. Despite this, I tried my best to link whatever I could find, both with KIKI's name and RenChain's. RenChain's Bilibili profile picture is the same exact profile picture featured in the book, so I have to assume it's the same person at least in that aspect.
Regardless, KIKI's art is a brilliant send off to an otherwise perfectly presented art book. Their confidence in coloring shines the most to me, with strict palettes contrasted with bright pops of reds and warm tones or saturated blues and cool tones in many of their works. Their art feels soft like an evening in early autumn where the air is cooling down, but not so much that it makes you too chilly. The faces in their illustrations are soft and welcoming, and add to the whole compositions in a way that encourages your eyes to move to every part and digest as much as possible. I always see something new when I look at their art, even if I've already seen it countless times. Their art is warm and welcoming, like a hug after a long trip away.
And as a bonus, I ended up finding this Weibo link that credits back to RenChain's account, although their profile account link is dead (at least on my end). It's a walkthrough of their fanart drawing of Racing Miku 2016 with each step of the process in GIF form, as well as some additional artwork by them at the very end of the post! It was one of the first links that appeared when I searched for RenChain's name, and was one of the only things that appeared to work that also had a direct route back to them, so I wanted to include it here!
Currently spreadsheeting my entire collection for ease of access and archival purposes, so I'll be adding a link to that once it's completed in my pinned post! In the meantime, I have a few more reviews in the drafts and have been waiting for a good day to take page photos. I've also started scanning a bunch of my copies, but that's taking longer than I'd like. Unfortunately, I do have other obligations... if I could scan art books all day, though, I definitely would </3
What better way to start off this blog than with the first art book I ever added to my shelf, the 20th Anniversary Kirby Encyclopedia!
Boasting 240 pages of densely packed Kirby lore, game development facts, key art, concept designs, and spinoff series information, the Kirby Encyclopedia is one of my most treasured possessions, and something I have been very proud to own all these years later!
For more information, please keep reading below the cut!
Language:
Japanese
Publisher:
Shogakukan
Date of Publication:
8 August, 2012
Where I Got It:
Japanese Seller on American Amazon, for about 30USD
Publicly Available Scans:
Imgur Upload by Meteorz
Repost on the Internet Archive
I originally got this book for myself back in 2017 for my 16th birthday, and it was my first time buying a Japanese import on Amazon, of all places. Frankly, I consider myself lucky that I managed to get away with not getting scammed... is there even a scam market for Japanese Kirby media?
Regardless, this has been one of my favorite books on my shelf ever since. Kirby has always been on the top in terms of my favorite video game franchises, with my very first personal video game being Kirby Super Star Ultra for the Nintendo DS, which I got for my 7th birthday way back in 2008. I still have my original save file 19 years later, completely 100%-ed! Ever since then, I've been a ride or die Kirby fan, playing almost every game, watching the anime front to back multiple times (even in the regretful English dub), consuming as much Kirby media as I possibly can, and drawing many, many Kirbys (Kirbies? Kirbi?) in as many places as possible.
Prior to this book, the only Kirby book on my shelf used to be the small art book packaged with the Special Edition of the Kirby 20th Anniversary Collection for the Wii, but that somehow got lost, and most likely discarded, as our house was renovated and reorganized over the years. I would love to get my hands on a copy of that again, but I'm content with what I have now, of course! And, thankfully, I do still have the music CD bundled with the Wii game, as well as the game itself, so I truly have nothing to be complaining about.
As is publicly available, the Kirby 20th Anniversary Encyclopedia has 240 pages documenting the 20 years of Kirby games and media up to 2012, with the final game documented within the book being Kirby's Return to Dreamland for the Wii. The book is split up into well-organized sections, starting with main character introductions before transitioning into segments about each game up to 2012. Each section features key art, concept designs, game renders, screenshots, trivia, and commentary about each one's development. Around halfway through the book are sketches directly from the development room, featuring my favorite pieces of Kirby art on page 120, where his poses are sketched next to a drawn human model to get the dynamics of his movement down.
Following the games, there's a very generous section of the book dedicated to the Kirby Right Back At Ya! anime, with the same assortment of content- concepts, keys, still frames, screenshots, and developer and artist commentary about the show. I'm not entirely sure about the general consensus of the Kirby anime, but I personally enjoyed it quite a bit on my first few watches, and certainly prefer the original Japanese dub over the English one, so being able to see glimpses into how the show came about through this book was a wonderful read!
The final section of the book is dedicated to Kirby's various manga spinoffs, including "Kirby of the Stars" by Sakuma Yoshiko, "Kirby Manga Mania" by Hirokazu Hikawa, and "Kirby of the Stars! Moretsu Pupupu Hour!" by Asami Taniguchi, these artists of which, among others, also provided celebratory illustrations for Kirby's 20th birthday at the start of the book. Segments of the manga are available for each, as well as artist commentary and notes!
Overall, I truly feel like Kirby's 20th Anniversary Encyclopedia is the best piece of Kirby media that stands today, with just how much information is packaged into such a small book. But 240 pages is really nothing to sneeze at! It's one of those books that you notice something new from every time you flip through it, and it takes multiple reads to truly digest everything... at least for me. But I cannot state enough just how much I love this book and how much it means to me.
It is a mild shame that this was never localized in English, and it doesn't seem like there's any intention to bring this to western audiences now that so much time has passed. Just a bare minimum amount of research brought me to a Reddit thread from 10 years ago about a translation project for this book on Kirby's Rainbow Resort, but it doesn't seem like any further development on that project has taken place, nor did the thread get much overall attention. Which does suck, at least to me. I'm very happy that scans exist of this book, but if anyone has any current progress or wants to kickstart another attempt at mass translating this wonderful book, I would love to have a part in helping out!
