Sunday Spotlight: Pinkcheeks Toy Photography

I can hardly believe it, but it’s been nearly two years since I started buying figures! While Nendoroids based on my favorite anime and video game characters have largely been my poison of choice, I’ve had to cut back on my purchases simply because of how darn expensive they can get. But while I can’t always plunk down my own hard-earned cash for a gorgeous scale figure or limited edition Nendoroid, I can still live vicariously through the many amazing toy photographers out there who capture the impressive craftsmanship that goes into Nendoroids, figmas, and more. One such photographer is Pinkcheeks, a Filipino photographer who goes above and beyond static poses on plain backgrounds to craft props for her figures, making for some really jaw-dropping photos.

https://instagram.com/p/6wDldsQzJO/?taken-by=lovepinkcheekshttps://instagram.com/p/5hiXkzwzL3/?taken-by=lovepinkcheeks

This is me during WonFes ?? #wf2015s

A photo posted by Pinkcheeks (@lovepinkcheeks) on Jul 26, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

Pinkcheeks’ #FeelingCrafty series that showcases the various items she makes by hand for her photoshoots along with her Behind the Scenes post are especially worth checking out for tips for aspiring toy photographers. I could spend hours browsing through her blog for ideas! Brainstorming fun and interesting ways to photograph your figures is a great way to extend your enjoyment of your collection and keep them from gathering dust, don’t you agree?

Be sure to check out Pinkcheeks’ blog for high res photos, or like her page on Facebook to be notified when she posts new shots!

Good Smile Company and Max Factory join forces for new male character-focused brand

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Today in exciting figure-related news, Good Smile Company and Max Factory have teamed up to form Orange Rouge, an all new brand focused exclusively on male character merchandise! While on one hand, I find myself asking why a separate brand is needed in the first place, if it means more products that appeal to folks like me, then I’m all for it! You can head over to their official website to see their current lineup.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga Nendoroid — The sculpt for the latest Touken Ranbu Nendoroid, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, was also released today

Fans have long complained about the comparative lack of figures of male characters, but there has definitely been a shift in the past couple of years towards companies recognizing the market for male character merchandise. Orange Rouge will bring together a variety of products from Good Smile Company and Max Factory, from Nendoroids and figmas to scale figures and other character goods. It’s very likely we’ll hear more announcements at this summer’s Wonder Festival on July 26th. I guess this means I should start saving my pennies for all the upcoming male Nendoroids…

Quick and Easy Light Box Tutorial for Bloggers

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One of the things I struggle most with when coming up with content for Chic Pixel is photos. I’m by no means a pro photographer, but at the very least, my previous apartment was blessed with great lighting that allowed me to pull off relatively decent photos with minimal preparation. My current dungeon of an apartment, however, gets very little light during the day, making it very difficult to pull off anywhere near the quality of photos I was taking before. Combine that with a little nudge from my pal Ayu, and I finally had the push I needed to make my very own light box!

Unboxing Japanese Goodies: February Haul Edition

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I buy a lot of stuff. When I moved last month, I became acutely aware of exactly how much stuff, and while it’s not exactly more than I initially thought, you get a whole new kind of appreciation for the paraphernalia you’ve amassed when you move from one tiny apartment to another.

There are lots of things I purchase that would be relevant to this site that I never get around to covering (usually due to time constraints, admittedly), so I thought it might be fun to start a monthly unboxing series where I show off some of the goodies I’ve picked up. Then, if you want to see a video or feature about a particular item I picked up, you can leave a comment or message me on Twitter to let me know. That way, I know there’s interest so I can make sure to allot time to do a feature or video on it!

Should I change the cover image to something else so my “haul” items are a surprise? Do I blab on about nothing for too long? Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, so do please let me know what you think!

Valentine’s Giveaway from Chic Pixel!

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Regardless of what you think about Valentine’s Day, any holiday is a great chance to show my appreciation to all the readers of Chic Pixel! So, whether or not you plan on spending the day celebrating with a special someone, here are Chic Pixel I’d like to celebrate all of you with a little giveaway!

One winner will receive everything pictured above, plus a few extra Japanese snacks I found lying around. [Update] I’m also going to throw in one Steam code for Long Live the Queen, a super awesome simulation game! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends February 15th, 9 pm EST. Just follow the instructions in the widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Many of the items I’m giving away come from the Betoyo Bento Japanese collectable subscription box, so if you like the idea of getting cute Japanese trinkets in the mail, do check them out! And thanks for your continued support of Chic Pixel!

Catch-up Corner: Aoba Seragaki figure re-release, #PuzzleMonth, and some site maintenance

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Here it is, the first weekend of my new “bits and bobs” series, Catch-up Corner! Since I often find there are a lot of things I want to talk about but don’t have enough to say to quite fill up a regular post, these weekly posts will be a place for me to touch on some little tidbits I’ve found interesting or keep you updated with what I’m up to. I hope you enjoy it!

The biggest news of my week has got to be the announcement that Max Factory will be re-releasing their scaled figure of Aoba Seragaki from the BL visual novel DRAMAtical Murder! They’ve been teasing this one for a long time, and since he was released before I got into figure collecting and is currently fetching prices of $300+, there was simply no way I would have been able to purchase him before. Granted, even his first release retailed at ¥14,095 (about $140), so the likelihood that I will break down and buy the re-release is probably nearly as low, but I like to dream that I might be able to get my hands on him someday. Maybe I should set my sights on something a little more affordable, like the Free! or Uta no Prince-sama boys…

Next, an embarrassing admission: it’s already June 1st here in Australia and I haven’t done an official announcement for June’s Community Game-Along theme! For those of you who like to get started right away, here it is: puzzles! Be sure #PuzzleMonth to share your experiences and chat with other participants on your favorite social medial of choice. If you’re at a loss to what game you should play, a post will be going up tomorrow with a handful of suggestions along with the usual Game-Along guidelines. And if you want to plan even further ahead, mark your calendar for #JRPGJuly!

I’d also like to let everyone know that Chic Pixel is going through a little bit of a move at the moment, and as a result there may be some hiccups over the next week. If you find any broken links, have troubles with the podcast, or have any other issues you notice, please let me know by leaving a comment here or messaging me on Twitter! If all goes well, you shouldn’t even notice anything. Fingers crossed!

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 14 – Let Me Show You My Totems

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Come one, come all, to the first episode of Chic Pixel Plus of 2014! I’m joined by games writer Janine (@bleatingheart) for a special themed episode on all things crafty, cutesy, and figure-y! We cover everything from deco to Re-Ments, Nendoroids to Volks, so if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about a different side of Japanese nerd (and not so nerdy) culture, then be sure to give this episode a listen!

We also get a little serious about the stigmas associated with the topics we cover, as well as answer some listener questions. We’re kicking off the new year with a bang, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the show!

My other podcast has a new episode up, too! http://radio.morningproject.com/the-nichiest-podcast-ever-take-008b/
Read Janine’s games writing here: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/games/

Opening ♫ – Rouge no Dengon – Arai Yumi
Closing ♫ – Rashiku Ikimashō – Meu

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