Art Journal — japan

If you've never heard of a Maneki-Neko cat, it's a figurine common in Japan that brings good fortune.They are often depicted with paws raised. The left paw raised attracts customers and people, while the right paw invites wealth. Both paws raised will attract both!The most popular style of lucky cat seen today is often shown with gold coins, but they did not start that way. Originally they had a bell on the collar that was later replaced by the coin.Maneki Neko colors have different meanings. The black Maneki Neko is a protector, he wards off evil spirits and negative energy.Black...

Inspiration for art comes from experiences. Everything that interest me in some way can spark ideas. I love cats and ramen so I thought of combining the two into an illustration of a creepy but cute cat eating a bowl of ramen noodles. I think of cats as mischievous, friendly little goblins so when I sketch them out I try to capture that spirit. Idea Sketch I started by making a loose and rough sketch in the Procreate app using my iPad and Apple Pencil. I had some trouble getting the head shaped in a way that looked good to me...