Howdy y’all,
Today’s update features my very first gijinka. Exciting, isn’t it? It was inspired by Smizzley’s black and white pigs, ‘Monokuro Boo’, which are a merchandise (much like Hello Kitty). I felt as if I wanted to expand my horizons and decided that this would definitely be on the right track. So, without further ado, Monokuro Boo! Hold on! Wait a moment! I didn’t explain what the hell ‘Gijinka’ is, now did I? Well, you’ve probably already looked it up. Ah, well. I’ll explain it anyway since I have nothing better to do…
Gijinka (擬人化; western term “humanisation” and pronounced gee-jin-ka) is the Japanese meaning of “humanoid”, “personification”, or “anthropomorphic”. Rather than referring to just any animal with human characteristics, a gijinka is most often a fan re-design of an animal-like character in a human or humanoid form. The characters often seem to wear a cosplay of the base character rather than having real animal features, which can also be found back in real life cosplay of those characters.
Some examples:
I think I’ll make a page on gijinka. That sounded so good because I so did not copy someone else’s explanation…
Interesting Fact: ‘Monokuro Boo’ was not originally called that. It was at first “Monotone,” with “mono” coming from “monochrome” and “ton,” a word for pig. This was the pun that originally inspired the designer to create black and white pig characters. The name “Monokuro Boo” is also a derivation of the words “Monokuro” (“Monochrome”) and “Boo” (the Japanese onomatopoeic equivalent for “oink”).
Oh, and one more thing, if you don’t know what ‘cosplay’ is, here is the definition for your convenience:
Cosplay (コスプレ kosupure), short for costume play, is a hobby in which people dress up in costumes and fashion accessories as characters from (most commonly) manga, anime, comic books, video games, and films.
Some examples:
Anyway, so now you know what gijinka and cosplay is, as well as the origins of Monokuro Boo. You must be so happy to have learned quite a lot. Now, go enjoy this lovely picture of pig-people and think “Wow. Isn’t Chell just the best at gijinka?”
Note: None of the examples are mine… I wish they were
No one’s left a comment 🙁 Now I feel like I wasted a whole bunch of time getting it done. I only hope Smizzley likes it as I did draw it for her.
As crazy as it may seem, many of us have more pressing matters in life than checking art blogs.
However, I said I’d check, and I kept my promise (proud of me?). I’d have checked earlier but I was swimming.
And the picture is really good. The pigs are so cute! And wow that girl’s skirt is shorter than the one I wore when I dressed up as Miley Cyrus for Guides.
I love it! The incorporation and colouring is awesome! I love the clothes and that skirt is quite short…but it is still fabulous! Really like the pig heads at the bottom as well.
Why does everyone think the skirt is short? Look at the waistline! The shirt is just massive on her. *Sigh*
I think that compared to the other character’s pants, the skirt seems short. Though it could be a perspective thing.
PS. I did not go and search what Gijinka is..
YAY! Wait. That’s because you already knew, right? *Sigh*
Don’t worry, Chell. I knew what a gijinka was before you explained it. Very thorough explanation, btw.
Uh… No, I did not know. And my usual curious and inquisitive nature did not kick in an question what Gijinka is. PS>Curiosity killed the cat
You know the vocaloid thing, I am proud to say I actually know what a vocaloid is. And I even know that character. Though I have not listened to a vocaloid myself, I have read am article about it. PPS> I don’t even know why I wrote that paragraph. I guess I needed to make myself feel better about my non existent knowledge….
Because the shirt is long we can only see a bit of it, which makes it seem short. And also she has really long legs. I can’t see her knees, and a lot of thigh is showing. Hence, a short skirt. Even if the skirt started above her belly button, if it doesn’t actually go that far down her legs, it is considered short.