Friday, April 15, 2016

ColorFeelFul Challenge: Blue


This is the seventh (7th) of seven (7) submissions for Bruedance's ColorFeelFul Challenge.

For me, the color blue makes me feel calm, meditative, and peaceful.

Here we are, the final color theme. I'm glad I decided to end this quick theme challenge with probably the prettier of the results. Granted, I didn't do much besides gradients and changing layer properties in Photoshop to get the rich blues but that doesn't make it any less beautiful, right? I really love the color scheme of this. Blue is honestly my favorite color. :)

Reason being for why it is in part because of how tranquil of a color it is. It has a calming effect on the mind, it's the color of water, the color of the sky, it is the antithesis to what some call red as being the most enraging and exciting color. Blue is the color that I could fall asleep under like it's an expansive canopy over-top my bed. It's the color that makes me think of ocean waves. It's the color that reminds me of the sky that breaks through an overcast of clouds. It's the color I associate with underwater aquariums that make you feel like you've entered a completely different realm as you walk under the light reflections on the water. It fills my heart with such peace and wholeness that I can't help but love this color. It's just wonderful. I can't say much more than that.

The pose for this one (yay let's all celebrate that I won't be saying this anymore~) is based off an official Fushigi Yuugi illustration by original creator Yuu Watase herself. In the picture, Miaka and Tamahome are laying in the grass, enjoying a nice warm afternoon together. It's a very calm and happy picture that depicts a scenario that wasn't too often a reality for the couple, given the circumstances throughout the story. (Sketchy and melodramatic as they may be.) Miaka and Tamahome was one of my first diehard ships that I knew full well I was in support of. Y'know how if you had childhood ships, you may or may not have been aware that what you were in love with was the relationship between two characters themselves? That wasn't the case for me with Fushigi Yuugi. I knew full well what I was rooting for and was none too happy throughout the series every time they attempted to throw a wrench into to my ship. ("Get out of here, homewrecker!") I guess it was because of how much the series spoke to my id at the time. It was fulfilling a need that I wasn't aware of, and to this day I still very much love the relationship between Miaka and Tamahome. They are just so in love with each other and willing to go as far as the road can take them and beyond just to be together! Oh, how my childhood heart ached for when they could finally be happy.

Now, if my spotty memory serves me well (which it usually doesn't and probably never will), Fushigi Yuugi was one - if not the first - anime I ever watched while knowing it was anime. In fact, I remember the exact moment I first came in contact with the series. It was at my local Blockbuster where I was browsing through the new releases and I saw the VHS tape sitting at my eye level (age 7-8 at the time). I picked it up, never having seen this series before, and being drawn in by the art style on the VHS cover. My mother rented it for me, we went home, and we watched it. By the end of the tape, I was feeling so blue-balled by the fact that it was only the first 4 episodes on the tape and not just a movie (not to mention that Episode 4 ends on a bit of a cliffhanger) that I nearly screamed out of greedy frustration. And that was my introduction to the series. It's been a guilty pleasure/nostalgic love of mine ever since then despite its problematic content throughout the entire series (triggering content like attempted rape, domestic abuse, and attempted suicide) that I only recognize now as an adult than when I was as a kid. ^_^;; So, if you ever take it upon yourself to watch or read the series, be sure that you're wary throughout as stressful situations are strewn all over from beginning to end. It can be very upsetting for those going in blind.

So, I hope you enjoyed this not-too-long diversion from my regular theme challenge. :) I personally really did enjoy it for all its complexity and simplicity. It was a really great change of pace despite the same subject matter and everything. Now, if you don't mind, I think it's time for me to get back to work on the regular theme challenge. ;)

Art © Hakui-Kitsune
Ash Ketchum & Misty © Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Gamefreak Inc, OLM Inc, The Pokemon Company & International

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