Shamisen

I have left the sweltering heat of Japan to arrive home to rain that feels like ice needles and snow on the mountain.
Happy to be home and now starts the hard work of putting all of my visual research in Japan to use. The photo above shows the start of an image idea, created a few days before I left for Japan. Then you can see some of the photos taken in Kanazawa at the Shamisen shop. And lastly on the right is the ½ rendered image of the character ‘Mayumi’ playing the shamnisen. Going to the shamisen shop and playing a shamisen has allowed me to change my sketch concept to allow for more accurate details, ie. The fabric in the right hand that goes between thumb and forefinger to allow the hand to guild along the neck, the rope tie patterns that hold the three strings, the notch between the body and the neck and the skin pattern on the face of the body (that lots like an upside down face of the frog character). I will post more of this image as it continues and others based on my research in Japan. I will avoid the temptation to post many of the photos I have taken while away as this is not a travel blog. So photos will be relevant to images being created (I hope).