New Character: NPC

This is a minor non-playable character from the video game Chinese Paladin 5.

watercolour

The robe he is wearing is known as shenyi (lit. deep garment;深衣). This hanfu style is more than 3000 years old, and is a formal wear.
Generally there are two types of shenyi: zhi-ju (lit. vertical-wrapping front;直裾) and qu-ju (lit. diagonal-wrapping front；曲裾).  The one shown here is the former, because the front piece of the garment is straight and flat.

Zhiju-shenyhi might look similar to a Japanese kimono. However, they are very different in terms of making and wearing (this is a bit complicated, I might explain it in more details in the future).

Different parts of zhiju-shenyi. Retrieved from Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Chinese_clothing>

Headwear

New Character: NPC with a Fan

This is a minor non-playable character from the video game Gujianqitan. This painting is closely based on the original design of the  character.

watercolor, white gouache

In this painting, she is also wearing the qixiong-ruqun (chest-level skirt with a short garment). The outer skirt is slightly shorter than the under skirt, and it allows the latter layer to show through. This design is commonly used in the making of some modern hanfu.

A similar qixiong-ruqun from an ancient painting by Zhoufang

The hairstyle is called luo-ji （literal meaning：shell-like bun; 螺髻), because its shape resembles a seashell.

From an unknown book about ancient Chinese hairstyle

Hybrid Media Update v1.0: Mac and PC don't get along.

I had finished filming the hybrid footage yesterday, and I was planning to work on my actual video today. Unfortunately, I realized that my flash drive couldn't to be read on Mac, because it was formatted for PC.

Guess I will need an extension because I really want this video to be great. Furthermore, the footage I had taken looks surprisingly interesting, I honestly don't want to waste them.

Anyways, the video shooting was actually a lot of fun, although the editing process was frustrating from time to time. The reactions between the pigments, ink, and water were very magical and breath taking. I am actually very excited for this project now.

I had tried out different  methods to shoot it.

Below is one of the methods of shooting.(Thank you for the custodians who had rearranged the studio)

Method 2: with the three most important equipments

What a mess!

One of the results (.gif animation, click to play)

Finally Done!!!

NOTE: the following work was made for a discussion forum. I thought it would be fun to share it here since the blog was a sketchbook. Moreover, it was completed recently.

I started this watercolor painting last August, but then I procrastinated for nearly half a year, probably because I got scared and had a lot of homework during last Fall. Finally, I finished it last weekend.

This painting is part of the Traditional Clothing and Fan Art series. The clothing she wears here is a hanfu style known as qixiong-ruqun. She also wears a jacket-like garment on the outside, with a long sash which serves as decoration.

• Qixiong means being at the chest-level, because the long skirt is tied above the chest-line. 
• Ru-qun means, respectively, the upper garment and the skirt. It is a general term used to describe such combination.

This particular style had been popular in the Late Tang Dynasty, also known as Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom Period.
Today, similar outfits have been used in some traditional Han Chinese weddings (as parts of the revival movement, of course).

Reference 1: mural painting from  Mogao Cave in Dunhuang

Reference 2: hairstyle

Note: I have replaced the original picture with one that has a better quality. It appears to be a bit greenish on Mac.
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Character based on video game Gujianqitan
Watercolor, acrylic, gouache