14
New Games, New Prints, Stickers, and more!
The Great Scoop Escape!
My next game release is coming closer to completion! “The Great Scoop Escape” will be launched soon…I’m really excited about it, too. Cupcake Bakery was great and a good primer, but I’m ready to start building and creating more in-depth games now. Additionally, CB was just kind of thrown out there as soon as it was done, while this next one will have some fun build-up and artwork surrounding it and its release. You can find clues and follow the story as it is released on the front page of BeKyoot and also on our Facebook.
New Prints, Stickers, and More!
I’m going to start releasing new prints (hopefully) every week. 
These may or may not coincide with Friday Wallpapers, but I thought it would be a fun way to keep me on my toes and keep the kyoot rollin’. You may be wondering what’s happened to my sketch of the day…it’s still going, but I’ve just fallen behind on scanning and posting. I’ve got a lot of them that I’m turning into new designs as well. Happi and the Fireflies was one of them. I’m also working on getting new products finalized and into production. I’m working on pin and metal jewelry designs along with the launch of the BeKyoot sticker line. So much stuff to do! It’s also time for a major overhaul on the shop so I’m working on the layout and redesign there too. >_< Not to mention a rotating new background for the main site. :-o and a facelift for this blog…XD
Still working on the personal goals…
Still working on the weight. I actually had the courage to step on the scale recently and though disappointing, the reading wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I’m very close to making exercise a habit, which is good. I remember reading somewhere that it takes something like 3 weeks of repetition to make a new behavior habit so…I’m solidly on my way. I had a nasty bump in the road before Sakura Con because I caught the bug that’s been going around. I got rid of it pretty quickly though. It was trippy when I near completely lost my sense of smell. That’s never happened to me before. I usually am the first to smell differences in the room or air so not being able to taste or smell was really messing with me more than coughing up a lung was. I’m back to normal now with full energy. So anyway…speaking of exercise, I’ve got a date with the park and the lovely setting sun that I don’t aim to miss. 
7
Massive New Products Update!!!
I have so much to blog about that I don’t know where to start! Ok!! Well I guess first things first! My blog is a couple days behind Facebook and the main BeKyoot page… and for once dA! Good grief. I’ve got too many blogs. 
So if you haven’t seen them yet, here they are…the new BeKyoot Plushies!! We have Cupcake Momocheet and Berry Ninja!
It looks like it’ll be the large Berry Ninja, the Mini keychain, and the Momocheet plushie that will go into production first. We are really trying to get them in before Christmas! It’ll be close…I’m just waiting for some final shipping estimates to come in and then we’ll be able to hit GOGOGO and get them into the factory. I’m going to go ahead and put pre-orders up as soon as they are in production that way as soon as the plushies arrive at our doorstep they can ship out. Woo! And that’s not all! Next up is mini (keychain) Happi Paper and a full sized and keychain Samu Rye! Evil Landlord and Fat cat will also be in there. I’m cooking up some really fun designs for each of them. Later Monday night I took the plushies home and got the official stamps from Mo and Landlord on the Berry and Momocheet plushies:
Mo can be such a camwhore. In the past I’ve caught some awesome pics of her and couldn’t believe it when I saw her start to yawn in this pose. Heehee!!!
Meanwhile, Lord loved the Mo plushie…
And wasn’t sure at first about Berry…
The punk was trying to kick him away with her hind leg. Oh! She really does whoof when she’s irritated. It sounds a lot like “hu.” Except more blustery and pompous. So I took a mint mohito gum wrapper and rubbed some of the mint smell on his forehead…
Aaaand she changed her tune. Poor Berry!! This was only a few seconds before she picked him up and shook him like a mouse. And what’s with the leg?!?!!
I just now realized that I didn’t get any pictures of Fat with the plushies. 
I’m sorry, baby!!!! But it’s so hard to get good pictures of a black cat…XD I know that’s no excuse.
So that’s the plushies!!! Next up….Halloween 2009 Tees!!!!
A Starry Halloween Flight
- in a fitted chick’s cut and unisex t-shirts (click to enlarge):
Candy Corn Mo
- in a fitted chick’s cut and unisex t-shirts (click to enlarge):
I’ve modified the original Candy Corn Mo design and updated it a bit. I’m also very happy with how the Starry Flight design turned out. I originally had them walking/floating through some trees, but the more I worked with the design, the more I liked the image of Momo and Bu flying through the sky together. *^____^* I have only one of these designs scheduled to be printed on bags and am leaving it up to fans to decide which gets the extra prints. You can cast your vote on which one should get the bags (and aprons!) on Facebook or on my deviantArt account.
29
10 Really Awesome Japanese Sites /JBlogs!
Yesterday I stumbled upon two really fun j-blogs and came to the conclusion that my list of cool Japanese sites is getting quite deep and I should share some of it! And also, I lied. There are 12 13 links below. :p
1. Gakuranman.com
→ http://gakuranman.com/
→ Notes:
I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon Gakuranman, but I’m quite glad I did! He also has an account on Edufire.com where he teaches Japanese and offers private tutoring sessions for students learning Japanese. His blog articles range from mostly life in Japan to the odd entry on bio luminescence. He has a lot of helpful and interesting articles on the Japanese language and interesting content on aspects of life in the land of the Rising Sun. Note to the ladies — he’s kinda cute and has a lovely British accent. 
→ Onion Rating: 
2. NihongoNotes.com
→ http://www.nihongonotes.com/
→ Notes:
Nice j-blog with a focus on learning Japanese. I haven’t had as much time to explore this one as I have with others, but he’s on my feed.
→ Onion Rating:
3. DannyChoo.com
→ Notes:
If you want to be floored just take a look at his about about page and see all the places he’s worked. Good grief! Very interesting j-blog with a range of topics…everything from pop-culture, to dollfie and figures. I found another great site through this one: http://japanprobe.com/ <— News and Entertainment articles from Japan.
→ Onion Rating:
4. YesStyle.com
→ http://www.yesstyle.com/en/home.html
→ Notes:
Yes Style is a shop specializing in Japanese and Asian fashion and designs that is accessible to the US! 
Woowoo!!! If you follow Japanese fashion and lust for a shopping spree in Harajuku or 109 but don’t have a private jet to fly you over there, this may well be a good option for you. And the prices aren’t too bad at all!
→ Onion Rating:
5. VirtualJapan.com
→ http://www.virtualjapan.com/
→ Notes:
Growing all around resource for everything Japan!
→ Onion Rating:
6. Sushi-Cat.net
→ Notes:
This is more of guilty pleasure of mine since the Japanese market here in Houston closed and I can no longer get Japanese fashion magazines. *sigh* But anyway! She keeps up on everything and posts scans of the current issues of CamCan and other J-fashion magazines. I love looking at them because they are so different than American magazines. Pages are devoted on how to make different outfits and looks…complete with step by step pictorial make-up directions among other tutorials. I really wish some magazines over here would do that as less of a ‘special’ and more of a staple. Anyhow! Her blog is cute too.
→ Onion Rating:
7. Jay-han.com
→ Notes:
This is the blog of a graphic designer I follow — he posts some nice reference and resource articles for fonts, some of them Japanese.
→ Onion Rating:
8. Pingmag.jp
→ Notes:
Ping Magazine is sadly closed, but they have left up their log of articles and such for people to browse through. They cover the art and fashion scene in Japan and much more. Do give them a look. Hopefully one day they will come back. I found this designer, Hirocoledge, through them and am eagerly awaiting the day when I have some change to spare so I can buy one of the hand bags or *dies* the onepiece or one of her yukata designs… TOT Alright, to heck with it. I’m going to make Hirocoledge link number 8.5.
→ Onion Rating:
8.5 Hirocoledge
→ http://www.shophirocoledge.com/
→ Notes:
If you’ve ever looked through my closet on Pupe (see number 12), you might notice that I have a thing for bold geometric patterns involving circles. Truth be told I gravitate more towards that than anything else in design, and I love when I can sneak it into my own work and play around with shapes. So, when I found this designer I went nuts. Beyond her signature line of sleeve bags, she takes the traditional kimono and yukata and infuses it with circle based patterns and designs. I find that clash of old traditional grace and a new, clean and sterile design edge absolutely delicious.
→ Onion Rating:
9. JustBento.com
→ Notes:
Oh. My. God. Do not click this or link number 10 if you are hungry! Or if you are…be prepared for it to get worse and to be launched into an unwavering mission towards the fridge! Just Bento and it’s sister site, Just Hungry are two that I love to lurk through late at night for ideas and recipes. The author has great tips on bento making, as well as a ton of features on different types of bento, not to mention a catalog of totally awesome looking recipes. (I’m going to try the mini bowtie pasta salad soon!) You can learn how to pack your bento properly and take special precautions during Summertime or if you have used mayo and other temperature sensitive ingredients.
→ Onion Rating:
10. AnnaTheRed.com
→ Notes:
Meet Anna the Red! Her kyaraben (Character Bento) are absolutely amazing. With each bento she steps through the making process with pics and also does side posts on how to make some of her more common filler and bento ingredients. She starts out most of the time with a sketch and then does most of the prep the night before, with full bento assembly happening in the morning. Very inspirational should you want to try your hand at kyaraben. She just moved to her own domain too! (Formerly annathered.wordpress.com)
→ Onion Rating:
11. Tofugu.com
→ Notes:
I found Tofugu through Gakuranman.com, much like I did with NihongoNotes. I really like Tofugu’s writing style and the blogs are quite fun and the articles are packed with great resources on learning Japanese. Take this entry for example on his Top 10 Online Resources for Learning Japanese! Definitely a good read!
→ Onion Rating:
12. Poupee Girl
→ Notes:
This is very addictive. This is very addictive. This is very addictive. It’s a dress-up game plus you get to participate in themed contests and upload pictures of your own closet!You get ribbons for taking daily snapshots of your avi and then can shop in the Pupe Market or at Katherine’s for new fashions. There are pupe event items as well as current fashion items available in the shops. On a funny side note, I saw Anna Paquin (Sookie from True Blood) wearing a shirt at SDCC that I had bought on Pupe a couple weeks before…it shows they really do watch what is current in terms of fashion trends! And another plus, they don’t annoy me like some sites where they dump nearly everything cool into the cash shop and pretty much abandon the development of the areas that built the community in the first place………………… ¬_¬ And they also aren’t over run by obnoxious ads.
→ Onion Rating:
31
Tiers of Trouble!
Finally done! Lots of detail and time went into making the cakes and it turned out to be quite a bit of fun despite my right arm wanting to go numb on me. I think I have a pinched nerve or something in my elbow. :\ Anyway! This is yet another print for the soon to be updated art section of the shop! I imagine this is the reason why Landlord has been so grumpy lately…she thinks she’s always getting the short end of the stick. If you are curious, here are what each of the different cake layers are:
Momo’s Cake (from the bottom):
Strawberry drizzle over chocolate cookie crumbles and thin chocolate cake base topped with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, strawberry mousse, and another layer of whipped cream. Decorated with a chocolate Momocheet statue, chocolate drizzle and mini strawberries.
Fat’s Cake (from bottom):
Yellow cake base topped with lemon drizzle and lemon pie filling, followed by whipped cream, a layer of dark chocolate and then a layer of lemon cheese cake followed by whipped cream and topped with lemon icing blooms, chocolate drizzle and a chocolate Fat Cat statue.
Evil Landlord’s Cake (from bottom):
Short cake base topped with a layer of melted chocolate, followed by a layer of white chocolate mousse covered strawberries, a layer of strawberry drizzle and whipped cream. Topped with strawberry icing blooms, chocolate drizzle and a chocolate Evil Landlord statue.
The cake pillars are vanilla filled chocolate pirouette like cookies.
27
A Work in Progress
This is a WIP shot from an illustration I’m working on right now. I really liked Momo’s part of the piece and decided to put her on her own for a progress shot/teaser. I’ve got a few changes to make still, but am having a really good time figuring out how to turn her into chocolate. This whole idea started out as a rough sketch in my sketchbook. Usually I take the rough and scan it and work from there, but I didn’t this time. It’s probably good in the way that my rough reads more like a recipe for layer cakes as opposed to a design scheme.
I dunno…I just sat on my bed last night and turned my ipod on (quite loud actually) and started going with it. When there’s a lot of stress flying around I tend to take refuge in playing there. I’ve got quite a few personal illustration ideas bubbling away too which I really want to get to. And then there’s my new manga idea that’s really exciting…it’s almost bizarre too because the concept is so solid in my mind that I’d swear I’d read it somewhere before. But I can’t find a thing on it anywhere. Even all of my domains are open. Maybe that just means it’s meant to be? Anyway. Back to work.
20
Apples, Oranges, and Limes
I liked the All Fruit print and idea so much that I decided to continue it out a bit and put each cheetah on her own print. I was originally going to have Fat be a lemon (because she kinda is… ) but on giving it more thought I concluded the orange fits her better. Oranges can be tart or sweet…depending on the season, which is the way with Fat. A lime fits the Lord in more ways than one…green is the color of money which she loves most. Plus she’s often snarky and sour…but in the right circumstances (like in a mojito) can be very nice. An apple fits Mo quite well…she’s cute, round and sweet. There’s some crunch and crisp to her personality and the bright red reflects her passion for protecting her own backside when she hears a loud noise she doesn’t like.
18
But in the end, we’re all fruit.
New poster/print/illustration! *^__^* This was inspired by the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. One of my favorites. I’m not sure that Landlord appreciates being shoved into a lime suit, but she’ll get over it. I plan to have this available as an oversized print soon! This along with Ichigo Mo, and a few others will be the first offerings for the new prints section.
My wrist is about dead, but I’m back into Illustrator anyway. I can’t seem to get enough…I’m going to do individual fruit portraits for each cat too. *^__^* It should be quite fun!
I finished Kitchen Princess!! Maybe that’s the inspiration behind all of my food related posts recently? I’m working on a proper review and will post it soon. Hopefully tomorrow.
Ugh. I’ve got a lot of website work going on…the main site as well as the shop. I’m turning the shop over to a completely new and hopefully much better system (ie one that won’t cause me to have a temper tantrum every time I decide to change up the front page. ) And the main site is going to go through a major content face lift. This weekend is Mini-Megacon in Orlando so hopefully that will be fun and fruitful! Kendra and I will be thundering in on Friday and will hopefully be set up so we don’t have to get up early Saturday morning. Lots to do before then!
6
TokyoBunnie Giveaway, Kitchen Princess, Phoenix Wright Wallpaper!
Time for some News of Awesomeness!
BeKyoot is sponsoring a giveaway on TokyoBunnie.com! Check our her blog for a chance to win a brand new Lovie Fat Cat bag and matching pin set! I’ve become a loyal reader of TokyoBunnie since discovering it not long ago. She covers a lot of indy artists and always posts interesting content. I’ve found quite a few new artists to follow through her posts and features! Do check it out!
In other News of Awesomeness, I have discovered and become addicted to a new manga. Kitchen Princess. I really like it! And I love that they give you the recipes at the end of the main chapters! The main plot follows an orphan girl named Najika who wants to become a chef to fulfill her parent’s dreams and find her Flan Prince. Standard mushy shojo fare, but darn it! It’s fun! *^___^* It further piles upon my already toppling desire to cook and make my own bento so that’ll most likely be coming very soon. Another series I’m digging into right now is Violinist of Hamelin. I’m watching the anime first and am preparing to be a mess by the end as I’ve heard it’s pretty sad and dark in comparison to the manga.
Today I’m putting up a Free Wallpaper Extra! From the game Gyakuten Saiban / Phoenix Wright. This was done for a good friend of mine who is going to law school soon, so I thought I’d post it here for others to enjoy as well. A new size…I’m thinking I might change my standard wallpaper size to this soon. As always, click the pic to download the full version!
Phoenix Wright Extra (1900×1200)
31
Free Kawaii Wallpaper Friday 20!
Free Kawaii Wallpaper Friday です!!!
I was thinking the other day and realized that I’ve never released Dancing Mo as a wallpaper! Well, that problem shall be remedied today! *^__^*
Please click the pic below your desired resolution to download the full sized image!
Dancin Mo Regular (1600×1200)
Dancin Mo Widescreen (1440×900)
More babbling after the jump! read more
14
Happi at the Lake & Baltimore
Nu illustration です!!!!
I really don’t know what happened…but suddenly the hills were Bunny Menace and they were all over. This was originally going to be an entry into a contest with a dream theme but I could never put my finger on something for Happi to visually dream. Here he is still dreaming, but I think this leaves it more up to the viewer as to what. Regardless of the dream, special things start happening around Happi. I worked for quite a while on getting the water right and am really happy with how it turned out. *^_____^*
In other news, we set out for Baltimore and Otakon tomorrow! If you are going, please stop by the booth and say hello! BeKyoot is at I011 and I012!
