Something special for the thread's 100th reply: 2007 Taipei Toy Festival one-off charity auction Mav: The Japanese on his left foot says "rakugaki maverasu" = graffiti maverasu.
The random tagging looks pretty amateur. I'm confident it's a one of a kind piece that went to a lucky Cronic collector 'soul' but it shows very little real graff writing and font composition skills. It's also balancing on a thin line/cord that reminds me of platform toys.
It's not meant to be "graffiti" in the English sense of the word, as Cronic is not a graffiti artist or "tagger." "Rakugaki" is a kaiju style - kind of like the "Hawaii" style. It's used to describe a more chaotic or abstract design style. This particular figure incorporates several design themes that show up a lot in Naoki's line and kaiju work, so yeah it is pretty special to a Cronic collector.
When Naoki scribble his name on one of his particular work , I think it means something special to him
Thanks for the further explanation, i was indeed referencing it to Western styled tagging and brutal 'bombing', but i understand it's more inspired by chaotic scribble. It also reminds me of very fast/fluent handwriting styles doctors often use, that said for an outsider it could also have a light Arabic touch.
Yeah, that's about right. For a few of the early figures, Naoki released cards, buttons, postcards, and such with some pretty intricate designs. A few of them were also released as prints that went into the 2008 lucky bags. Some of his headers and what not also include designs like the "Cronic" lettering drawn to look like a face, which is pretty cool. Plus we see, in the pinstripe work, more geometric elements, which I think has some connection to his work as an architect. Not sure where his previous work as a designer on the Tamagotchi line fits into it all, though... I'm actually really interested in the whole mythos of the Cronic world. There's some pretty intense imagery in some of the prints, like the Zyurai Asu crucifixion! Putting pieces together bit by bit.
Are those silkscreened prints and is it possible to post some pics ? I've seen random small inserts that went into the Lucky Bags but those mostly had fairly readable designs/text. Do you reckon Naoki has an interest in primitive culture and tribalesque designs ? It does tie in very well with the pinstriping style. Very interesting to hear he previously did character designs for the Tamogotchi line. A friend recently dropped that name again in a conversation, seems like ages ago.
I don't think the prints are silkscreens - more like something a bit more basic done at a print shop. I think there are shots of some of them in the Lucky Bag thread in the Japan Toys section. That's a good question about primitive culture and tribal designs!
What makes an acceptable custom hp cronic? So far, I've seen Naoki's, PK and Mark N.'s wonderful things, I think. Are there other artists involved? I thought that there wasn't much, if any custom for cronic sculpts. Just curious, not trying for debate, just info.
technically, every piece Naoki does is an HP since he paints every Cronic piece himself. (he's Cronic.) Mark N. has a working relationship with Cronic so he appears to have a green light to do customs. Paul K. is probably the most respected person doing customs, along with Koji, so he seems to be ok with the artists in Japan... anyone can paint on any figure...I think what makes an "acceptable" custom is if it's any good or not. Kirkland has done a bunch of Cronic stuff that kicks ass...I actually haven't seen any bad Cronic customs since most people who attempt them usually are those who have real skills. also, bad customs people don't appear to want to paint Cronic since it's not as "in" as a company like RxH...no chance of selling a badly painted Dorome...but slap some paint on a Chaos, and you've got a seller!
Ah thanks. Knew Naoki was cronic but did not understand the working relationships. Thanks again for info, thank you everybody for showing pictures. I think that this is one of the purtiest threads; along with vintage vinyl.
Nice group, Jay! I love the unpainted Cronic GID figures. They show off the contours of the figures really nicely.
That funfetti GID dorogami is the only Cronic I own but I love it, soon as I got it out of the box, which took about three days to arrive, it was glowing. I couldn't believe that it had not seen light in days and still had a glow. Cronics glow vinyl is amazing. Edit: Glow glow glow glow glow. I don't think I wrote it enough....glow.
