Oddity Central |
- Anna Amemiya – A Half-Human, Half-Anime Japanese Model
- Artist Creates Pixelated Portraits Out of Computer Keys and Buttons
- KABUTOM RX-03 – Japan’s Giant Rhinoceros Beetle Robot
| Anna Amemiya – A Half-Human, Half-Anime Japanese Model Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:57 AM PDT
Did you ever wish those cute anime girls were actually real? It turns out they actually can be. Well, sort of… Japanese model Ana Amemiya has become somewhat famous in her country for always wearing an anime mask on her head, whether she’s at photo shoots or on stage. We’re way beyond cosplay here, people. According to RocketNews24, the 22-year-old half-human, half-anime model made her debut in 2010, as a gravure idol (Japanese glamour idol that is generally more provocative than regular models, though not to the point of posing nude). She was signed by Excel Human Agency, released her first DVD in December 2010, and even had her own daikmakura pillow cover. What sets Anna Amemiya apart from any other model in the world is her signature anime head. She basically has the head of a smiling anime girl and the body of a real woman, which apparently (for some strange reason) appeals to some Japanese men. It’s important to note that Anna never takes off her mask, so nobody knows what she really looks like. After a year of silence, Anna Amemiya has updated her personal blog, announcing she will be performing in a theatrical adaptation of popular Japanese mobile game “Venus Fantasista“, about a group of beautiful girls who form a soccer team. Since the characters in the game are all anime, who better to play one of them than a model with an anime head on full time. Makes perfect sense. So what do you think about miss Anna Amemiya, hot or just creepy? Please don’t say hot…
Photos via Anna Amemiya’s blog Anna Amemiya – A Half-Human, Half-Anime Japanese Model was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Artist Creates Pixelated Portraits Out of Computer Keys and Buttons Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:47 AM PDT
Australian artist Guy Withby, aka WorkbyKnight (WBK), creates portraits of musicians, political figures and other celebrities by assembling hundreds of buttons from computer keyboards, typewriters and phones. “”The hand made days are gone. Our food, our clothes, our furniture, our homes, our lives are manufactured. Life is factory made.” WBK is factory made art for a manufactured world. With a quite reflection on an analogue past.” This is how Guy Withby describes his works on Deviant Art. You can clearly see that a large part of his art is indeed influenced by the transition from the analog days to the digital era, as he uses old type sets, type writer keys, analogue numbers, analogue timepieces to represent the by-gone analog times, and computer keys, calculator buttons phone buttons to represent the digital age. He manages to arrange all these tiny pieces into detailed portraits of artistic, historical or political personalities who played a role in this transition. Every art piece consists of hundreds of buttons that serve as pixels, and Withby makes sure he uses an assortment of both analog and digital-representing keys, instead of a single type, which would definitely make his job a lot easier. Although his art is time-consuming, the results are nothing short of spectacular. We have only posted a few of his impressive pixelated portraits, but WorkbyKnight has a portfolio of almost 1,000 images made from various buttons, including one made of actual buttons. Check out his entire collection on Deviant Art.
via Design Boom Artist Creates Pixelated Portraits Out of Computer Keys and Buttons was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| KABUTOM RX-03 – Japan’s Giant Rhinoceros Beetle Robot Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:49 AM PDT
Created by Japanese engineer Hitoshi Takahashi, the KABUTOM RX-03 is an 11-meter-long, 17-tonne-heavy robot shaped like a rhinoceros beetle. The impressive mecha can walk with its six legs, blows smoke from its nose and always gets Japanese crowds raddled when it makes an appearance. The KABUTOM RX-03 is definitely one of the most impressive functional robots unveiled in recent years, especially since it was designed and built by one man, 60-year-old tech-wiz Hitoshi Takahashi. The Japanese engineer started working on his personal giant robot in 1997, as a hobby, and 11 years later, in 2008, he unveiled his creation to all of Japan, during a popular television show. The KABUTOM RX-03 was an instant hit and ever since then, Takahashi and his giant beetle mecha have been performing at events all over the country. We’ve seen big, cool-looking robots from Japan before, like the life-size RX87 Gundam or the Tetsujin 28-go aka Gigantor, but unlike them, this one actually works. Takahashi’s KABUTOM RX-03 may be 17-tonnes-heavy, but it can move with ease, thanks to six diesel-powered legs and supporting wheels. The giant robot may look like it’s walking, but the legs do no nothing more than push the body in the right direction. It’s the wheels underneath that support the beetle’s weight and move it where it needs to go. Althought it features a cool-looking control panel and has enough room inside to carry a group of passengers, the KABUTOM RX-03 can also be operated from a distance, via remote-control. A lot of people call Hitoshi Takahashi an eccentric for dedicating 11 years of his life to creating a giant rhinoceros beetle robot, but he and I know the true motive behind his long-term project – if Godzilla attacks again, the people of Japan will have something to fight it off with.
Photos via Yahoo blogs, Shigeo Sonobe KABUTOM RX-03 – Japan’s Giant Rhinoceros Beetle Robot was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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