Sensei's Anime Gallery Is Open Again

Post by **sensei** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:12 pm

Thank you very much, Shellie, for the detailed browser's report. This kind of "easy access" design was exactly what I was trying to create. With the most popular series, like Kenshin or Inuyasha or Sailor Moon, there's a fan base that will rush over and seek out the new gems. CCS to some extent is the same way. But as I've moved away from collecting art from series that are well-known and appreciated and moved into collecting from others that are artistically striking but undervalued in this country, there just isn't the immediate sex appeal that will make people rush over to look.

Hey! Come look at my new "Tree of Palme" stuff! [Tumbleweeds drift lazily by.]

So I've had to think about how to make the collection relatively easy to access randomly, so that people like shellie stop by out of curiosity, then take a step into part of the collection, then another step, then ... I honestly was thinking about bricks-and-boards museums like the Met or the Prado, which make it as easy as possible to get into collections in lots of different ways, and then allow you to wander as your interest takes you.

It's been a gradual process, as I've imitated other galleries that split collections as soon as they got over 30 or so items per section, and the "Gallery Tour" has gone through a couple of variations before hitting this graphic-heavy and very functional format. So, I really appreciate experience-based reactions like shellie's, as they give me a clearer picture of what it's like to wander in from outside, as opposed to my sometimes frantic experience of keeping it all together on the inside.

Hotice and bakatori699, I appreciate your reactions, too. Cels just want to be seen, and even if they spend a lot of time in the closet, I know they are happiest when they know their scans are being hit on.

DragonballZSubzero · Post by **DragonballZSubzero** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:32 pm

Wow, what a great "overhaul" of your gallery. I was a big fan before of your site, but man, what a terrific place to visit now.

Like a few other people have said, I like the quick tour section in your gallery. That is really helpful, and incredibly creative. It gives a good sense of your taste and is very easy to navigate through.

As for my favorite part from your updates. I really like how you pieced together these sketches from Inuyasha into a animated .gif file:

http://sensei.rubberslug.com/gallery/ma ... esID=22413

I can't wait to see your next additions!

Post by **sensei** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:49 pm

DragonballZSubzero wrote: As for my favorite part from your updates. I really like how you pieced
together these sketches from Inuyasha into a animated .gif file

Thanks DBZSZ, but I gotta give primary credit here to

Vampyreshoujo

who actually did the animation. She egged me to scan the dougas and even made me go back and do all the Myogas so she could merge these in and make the animation not just good, but perfect.

I appreciate your comments on the tour, and I'm really pleased that it seems to be doing what I hoped it would do: get people into a wider range of galleries than usual.

redwolf · Post by **redwolf** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:59 pm

sensei wrote:CCS to some extent is the same way. But as I've moved away from collecting art from series that are well-known and appreciated and moved into collecting from others that are artistically striking but undervalued in this country, there just isn't the immediate sex appeal that will make people rush over to look.

I skimmed this and got... Sex appeal of CCS?

As always, I appreciate your new acquisition section. Lots of beautiful new artwork, but despite (or maybe because of) the simplicity of this cel, it is the one that stood out the most to me. Very simple colors and lines and shading, but it still manages to fit in an incredible amount of character and personality.

Post by **sensei** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:05 pm

redwolf wrote: Sex appeal of CCS?

It's not for nothing that my second-most-visited cel is a CCS nude bank. It took me a while -- and a couple semesters teaching a manga volume of CCS in my mythology class (I use xxxHoLic now) to realize that the story is, indeed, about sex, incest to be exact. It's part of CLAMP's amazing artistry that the plot remains cute and innocent at the same time that, as one of my students said in a burst of insight, we're watching all the characters walking on thin ice without realizing it.

Thanks for your comment on the Palme cel. Nakamura's character design is deceptive: simple-looking but amazingly versatile. This movie won't ever have the following of Akira or Spirited Away, but it will always have a core of fans who know how incredibly good it is in its best moments. (And who also cheerfully admit how bad the bad parts can be...)

redwolf · Post by **redwolf** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:48 pm

Really! Now, that will always be at the back of my mind if I ever watch the whole CCS series...

Thank you for the explanation.

The one nice thing about collecting from series that aren't so well known to western collectors is the fact you might get people to try them, who never would have even heard of them otherwise. If I'd ever heard of Tree of Palme before it entered your collection, it was never in a memorable way. Now, if I happen to see it around for a nice price, I might give it a watch.