083. Kimonos

This is the twenty-fifth submission for my attempt at looneytunerian's Pokeshipping 100 Theme Challenge.

83. Kimonos

 Yay, this piece of work is finally finished! 8D I can't believe I was able to get through this monstrosity without throwing myself into a fire out of sheer frustration! Ugh! D: And no, it's not because the poses took me long to create or draw, and it wasn't the background either (another story for later), it's because of the freaking kimonos themselves. I don't understand myself sometimes, honestly, because after all the grief these kimonos have given me, I don't know why I didn't just give up on the idea I had for the theme and start anew. Like, a tea ceremony or an outing in Meiji era Japan. Hell, I could've just gone with Western robes that fold like a kimono and just say it counts since it would have been 10,000 times easier than dressing up Ash and Misty as kids for Shichi-Go-San!

(Segway time! 8D) So, yes, I chose to have Ash and Misty as kids for Shichi-Go-San for this theme since kimono are more often thought of as special occasion attire rather than everyday attire. Also, I wanted to draw them as little kids more. :3 Granted, though, that kimonos can be worn as normal clothing in Japan but most Japanese folks wear Western stuff instead. Probably because it's easier to put on and they grew up wearing Western stuff. ^_^;; But I'll stop with this little tangent.

So, along with a Shichi-Go-San, I also wanted to go with an old photo look to the picture, and looking at some old Japanese photos, I noticed that a lot of the photos have different shades to their sepia color (which sounds incorrect, I know). One included a rosy sepia instead of the regular golden yellow-brownish color, which is the color I chose for my drawing. As for the background, I didn't know how to make up the background for old photos, so I just went with whatever looked good. Which, looking at it now, it might be too chaotic and war-like for a cutesy photo of kids celebrating a child's holiday. Oh well! ^_^;;

Oh yeah, to anyone who doesn't know what Shichi-Go-San is, it's a holiday in Japan that celebrates the ages of girls 7 or 3 years old, and 5 or 3 years old for boys held in mid-November. The age numbers are considered lucky and kids that get to celebrate the rite of passage can get what is called "Chitose Ame" or "thousand-year candy," which is long and thin candy given in a bag of similar size that's all decorated with cranes and turtles. The purpose of the holiday is pretty much for good luck and longevity, par course for most Asian holidays, really. ^_^

And that's all I really have to say about this bit. I haven't seriously started on any other themes yet, but I hope it won't take me long between posts again. I know I hate neglecting my blog more than anyone else. ^_^;;

Art © Yours Truly, Hakui-Kitsune

Kimono & obi patterns © Aitoh Origami
Misty & Ash © Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Gamefreak Inc., OLM Inc., The Pokemon Company (& International), & Pokemon USA
Pokeshipping 100 Theme Challenge © looneytunerian