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WEDNESDAY 19 MAY 2010 // DESCRIBE TO ME THE MONSTER YOU SAW...

I love these. I found these really cool illustrations over at ffffound from the book Yōkai Daizukai which is an illustrated guide to yōkai (Japanese Monsters) authored by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki. The guide features a collection of cutaway diagrams showing the anatomy of 85 traditional monsters from Japanese folklore. I love the style, i love the colours and even more i love the whacky descriptions about each monster. Well worth checking them all out over at the Pink Tentacle blog

Kuro-kamikiri The Kuro-kamikiri (“black hair cutter”) is a large, black-haired creature that sneaks up on women in the street at night and surreptitiously cuts off their hair. Anatomical features include a brain wired for stealth and trickery, razor-sharp claws, a long, coiling tongue covered in tiny hair-grabbing spines, and a sac for storing sleeping powder used to knock out victims. The digestive system includes an organ that produces a hair-dissolving fluid, as well as an organ with finger-like projections that thump the sides of the intestines to aid digestion.

Kijimunaa The Kijimunaa is a playful forest sprite inhabiting the tops of Okinawan banyan trees. Anatomical features include eye sockets equipped with ball bearings that enable the eyeballs to spin freely, strong teeth for devouring crabs and ripping out the eyeballs of fish (a favorite snack), a coat of fur made from tree fibers, and a nervous system adapted for carrying out pranks. The Kijimunaa’s brain contains vivid memories of being captured by an octopus — the only thing it fears and hates.

TUESDAY 18 MAY 2010 // LISBON LOVERS

Here ar Wooden Toy we love hearing about what what all you people out there are up to on your creative ventures and when your updating your work online and the like. And this morning i received some mail from Designer/illustrator André Beato aka MEDIA.ONE from Lisbon, Portugal. His super stylish type is exactly that! Super Stylish! Curves baby, its all about the curves! With nice rendering and simple colour palates this Lisbon lover is making some waves! Go sheck some more stiley at www.andrebeato.com

MONDAY 17 MAY 2010 // HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Morning! Chirp chirp! Weekend? Brilliant! So Dam Funky if you know what i mean! I dont know want i mean, can anyone remember what i mean? I presume seeing Dam Funk on Friday night was a great gig, but alas, I was there, only in body. Where was my mind? im pretty sure this is it being snapped at some strange hour balancing on two chairs on a rooftop! Wild! See you next weekend ol' chairs! BAM!

MONDAY 17 MAY 2010 // OILY GOODNESS FROM JUERGEN GREVE

Born in Münster, Germany and living 'n' working in Berlin, contemporary artist/painter Juergen Grewe is handling some oil paint and a piece of paper rather well. His large scale paintings are kind of mash-ups of popular figures from movies, fashion TV and the life surrounding him. It's not a new idea but he does it rather well and that's the difference with Grewe's work. I'm really digging the contrast between the soft (almost penciled) linework with the striking bold colour of the oil paint he uses to render his subjects. Well worth a coffee break to check out his work. www.juergengrewe.com

FRIDAY 14 MAY 2010 // THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE

I just came across this great animation piece Produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films. And was created as a film for 4th Estate Publishers' 25th Anniversary in 2008. Why i hadn't discovered this before now is a wonder. It has like all my favourite things in the mix. Books, cityscapes, texture, signs, you know, all the good shit. The film was produced in stop-motion over 3 weeks and each scene was shot on a home-made dolly by an insane bunch of animators; you can see time-lapse films of each sequence being prepared and shot in other films over at vimeo here.

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

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