Lolitas, Brolitas and Alice in Wasedaland 2013

You will notice that I've posted about Wasedaland last week, however, since there are only as many Sundays available, the actual video footage will have reached you today.

That day me and my newly won friends Cake, Harriet and Gizzy went to KERA snap. (At KERA snap you can get your picture taken and have a chance of it getting published in the KERA magazine.) In the same shopping center we met a Bolita called Onpu-chan.
From there we went our way to Waseda campus to see the annual "Alice in Wasedaland" event hosted by GLP (Gothic Lolita and Punk no kai).

My full blogpost about "Alice in Wasedaland" is HERE ☆

And of course, the brandnew video about this frilly fun day is HERE:




I had my editing tool dying on me several times but in the end all worked out.
I am actually really curious how my lovely subbies like the intro I made since my 5000 video.
Personally, I think it gives it a  nice touch and shows what other things I do too. I hope it will inspire more people to share my videos around and spread the message of fashion and fun!

Mentioning channel, the GLP Club has an own channel now, and it's also in English,
so I'd recommend you having a look! You will also see the "Alice in Wasedaland" event from a different, more in depth, point of view! Find the channel link HERE

I think I deserve some sleep now, I've been editing for over 7 hours straight!

Love and Frills
x
Cat

How to turn yourself into a Manga - Otaku Camera!

 

 If you are like me, and you like manga, then sooner or later you will have picked up a pen and tried to draw (insert favorite manga/anime character of your choice) or, well, yourself.
Now, for all those who terribly failed at the drawing yourself part, there is now an App for that.
It's called Otaku Camera

My Friend Lo. Caption: "Ugaaa"

 I had just found an app that made it possible to enlarge eyes on a taken photograph and decided to give my friend Lo the Anime-eye treatment. Lo did a counter combo with a manga picture of herself (see picture on the left). That's how I started venturing deeper into the Google Play store to find that certain app.

That hair would be awesome for Hime Lolita!

Otaku camera is one of the largest mangafy-yourself apps with 1,000,000+ download. Currently, in certain selected countries, if you buy a toothpase you get a code that enables you to have free Kyari Pamyu Pamyu frames. Nice one.

 Well, for all those other ones, there are a few selectable frames, and the rest you can pick and download from online.

Villain Google Plus being wanted for: Forceful behavior on innocent youtubers and stealing my bed

I first decided to give me character Google Plus the Manga treatment.

 

Probably best matching shot of the day.

Original picture

 I then picked a picture of me and my friend plushy carrot and tried to work out more of the extra frames.

I had to download some more minutes and then I was good to mangafy me and mister carrot.

You can select how dark you want the picture to be and how much of the original will be visible with two bars on the bottom screen. The more you add of your original picture, the less manga-like you will look though.

 Playing around with those two bars, make a change, but sometimes it's better to just re-take the picture to make sure you got the right lighting. Especially for the hair pieces, it's advisable to re-take picture until your head fits in the frame.

Nicer effects if used with other picture apps

 All in all, it was a good laugh using Otaku Camera, but the features are limited to only a very few frames, which is surprising because Otaku Camera is one of the largest manga-fy-yourself apps on the market. This unfortunately means that using the app can get a boring soon, after you've shared a couple of pictures and had a laugh. But it's free and Lo and I definitely had a good time using it.

Lo superpuuunch!

SUMMARY

OTAKU CAMERA APP REVIEW 
(as on the 16.11.2013)

Price: Currently for free

Downloads: 1,000,000+

Available: Google Play Store and Iphone store




  

PLUS:

Easy to use, easy to share

Can bring out fantastic effects if photo fits into the frames

MINUS:

A very limited amount of frames

pictures might have to get re-taken several times to fit into frames

some frames expire after certain dates

VERDICT:

Free and fun, but hopefully will be updated with more frames

 


So that's it for today!
Tomorrow is SUNDAY which means there will be a video up!
I hope you are all looking forward to it, I am looking forward to your comments! Don't let google plus troll you!

Love
x
Cat

Meanwhile in Japan - Totoro and the Ghibli Museum

Meanwhile in Japan...

I've met my neighbour Totoro at the Bus stop in Ikebukuro the other day, and he recommended me to go to the Ghibli Museum Mitaka. He's cool like that, Totoro is.

If you always wanted to know how a perfect fairytale Europe looks like, you should visit Japan. Why? The Ghibli Museum Mitaka is designed with Europe as inspiration (as in many of Miazaki's films), made by a creative mastermind and embodies so many things the fascinating worlds of studio Ghibli stand for. 

Just like Alice in Wonderland you are invited to get lost in the wonderland of animation, art, stories and nature. There are no strict rules on how to venture through the museum, as there isn't one way to look at the marvels inside. There are no time limits (apart from the times of the mini-films) and you can roam the area to your heart's content once you've entered.

Why hello Totoro!

Once inside you will find yourself embraced by a real wonderland of all sorts. Animation techniques and lenses are explained, original sketches and illustrations from Mister Miyazaki are displayed, cute and elegant pieces of art are all across the area. Part Museum, part European house, part play zone, part exploration, part movie theatre, part magical is the Ghibli Museum.

Look closer and you will see the museum's crest

 

Even if you are not an adamant Anime fan, you will still come to enjoy your journey out to elegant Mitaka. If you are one with a love for detail, a soft spot for fairytale and animation, a day out there will be a real experience for you. I always take a whole day off, just so I can take all the sights and details in. Don't rush yourself, there is often much more to see, once you dare to look twice.

And indeed, this cat will remind you maybe of Kiki's delivery service and was just sitting on a tab near the outside restaurant.

If you dare to stop and wonder, you will start to see your surroundings with the eyes of a young explorer again.

Guess what this could be?

A house?

An UFO?

A piece of art?

It's a water fountain for drinking water to stop your thirst during your day out.

These and many other delicate little pices of art,

that are reminiscent of Miazaki's breath and style,

can be found all across the museum.

IF YOU WANT TO GO:

You will need to make a reservation BEFORE going to the Ghibli Museum. Some travel agencies offer help with booking, which might be helpful if you are only there for a week, as you might not be able to get places at short notice. The Ghibli museum is a very popular place to go, so book on the first to avoid disappointment. If you are in Japan for a longer time, you should try and reserve tickets on the first of the month. You can reserve the tickets at LAWSON convenience stores so maybe ask the attendants if they can help you if can't read Japanese.

You are also not allowed to take pictures inside the building, only outside, what explains my choice of pictures.

Dare to look twice, take your time and explore, while finding back to your inner child.

No matter how old you are, it's not too late to believe in fairytales.

The museum's webpage is HERE if you are interested.

 Love

x

Cat

What to do on a Vernissage?!

 For some new visitors, all that counts is to find an inconspicuous way to get to the buffet table and stuff themselves with hors d'oeuvre, while trying to understand the art that is displayed around them and feeling like they're either underdressed or overdressed. 

Art and candles, lighting up the entrance of the gallery

I have had that chance to go to a vernissage several times, but I am still far from being a pro.

This time, I had the pleasure to be invited to the vernissage of artist Angela Sommerhoff. She's been exhibiting her pieces of art for over 10 years now, and some of her tools are Gouache, Acrylic, Japanese Paper, and metals such as silver, gold and similar. The gallery was lined with those impressive paintings, the rooms full of colours, light and conversation.

I decided to approach the artist to ask her for a tip on what to do on a vernissage.

Cat:  What would you recommend

to someone coming to a vernissage?

Angela Sommerhoff:  You should look around and find the one picture that speaks to you.Once you find it, stop and find out WHY that certain picture speaks to you.

You will thus enter into a dialogue with the picture.

I've come to the conclusion, that the reason why people find a certain picture speaking to them is because that picture is connected to the story of the viewer's life. 

Lights, colours and conversations in the new art gallery

I thus set out through the gallery to find that one picture. Interestingly, I didn't have to think long. Even though I appreciated the colours and techniques of the other pictures, finding them all equally breathtaking, I still went without hesitation to the picture "Schreiben - Ein Wagnis" (Writing - a venture) below.

"Schreiben - Ein Wagnis" by Angela Sommerhoff

 

I've written several novels and short stories, and I this week I've been writing youtube scripts and this blog, thus the art of writing is still one of my mayor passions. Standing in front of the picture, I realised that there were several pen nibs integrated into the artwork.

 

It reflected to me the process of writing and rewriting, new ink, new and old pens, writing and re-writing. Pen nibs I also find are a fascinating symbol for writers and artists. I turned to look even closer and saw that certain sections of the picture were strong enough to tell their own story. Taking pictures of those scenes, made me realise that there is a whole novel in one picture, told in several parts eg. sections of the artwork.

 I am still far from being a vernissage professional, but that certain insight revibrated in me, and it inspired me to keep in touch more with my writing side. I've recently stopped writing short stories, and this has reminded me to pick back up my pens and venture into the art of writing again.

Great thanks to  Angela Sommerhoff for her invitation and also for answering my question so kindly and letting me take pictures of her artwork. My camera doesn't do the artwork justice, but the act of taking pictures of the art was in-itself another adventure for me.

If you're curious now, Angela Sommerhoff's webpage is on this link here. 

Today has been quite a change to yesterday, but that's life, right?

Love and Colours,

x

Cat