Hello!
After my longest article, here’s something I impulsively wrote in the morning.

The theory that late-night F1 races make humans more creative

The F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on April 20 was a night race, starting at 2 AM Japan time.
Additionally, the Jeddah street circuit is notorious for being difficult to overtake on and for frequent safety car interventions, making the risk of falling asleep quite high.

I had no choice but to create something!

So, I decided to make custom-character badge designs…
I based my typography on the Kanteiryu style, using motifs of ancient fish and the High-Back Golden Dragon (Asian Arowana).


I do admire Asian Arowanas, but realistically, keeping one is impossible with my tank size…
Read more

Hello!
I immediately purchased the Pro-N4 badge-making machine and tried making my own original badges!
At first, I considered buying a parallel-imported “latest model 2025” product from Amazon or Yahoo!, but after reading some intense reviews such as “the product image showed metal parts for the sliding section, but what arrived was made of plastic,” I decided to spend an additional 20,000 yen for peace of mind—a conservative choice, if I may say so.

To state upfront—I’m extremely satisfied. I wholeheartedly recommend everyone try making badges by hand!

First, print your illustration!

I chose Kokuyo semi-gloss photo paper (0.14mm thick). After researching, I found that regular copy paper lacks sharpness and thicker paper tends to cause failures. Based on what I found, this seemed to be a good choice.

For cutting tools, I used the NT circle cutter clear iC-1500P. Initially, I bought the OLFA compass cutter, but I found it difficult to use as it started loosening while in use, so I replaced it. …Paper isn’t free, so mistakes aren’t an option.
Read more

Hello there.
At long last, the Japan Expo 2025 Osaka has begun!
Well, a lot happened today as well, but for now, congrats are in order! Haha.

This Expo is probably hitting home for all the yokai enthusiasts out there.
Yes, I’m talking about none other than Myakumyaku-sama, also known as “Inochi Kagayaki-kun.”
Read more

When the dragon with a double peace sign from last time was arranged into four psd sticker design templates in a rice-field pattern (田 shape), the remaining space in the center seemed strangely wasteful. Thus, the sudden decision to create this was made.

Since the central space was inevitably rhombus-shaped and small, I chose the style of a large-head illustration. Furthermore, two horns would look awkward, so I leaned towards a unicorn-type… and then I thought of a ridiculous pun, which led to the decision to draw a rhombus lion (In Japanese, “rhombus” is pronounced “hishi” and “lion” is pronounced “shishi.” Additionally, Edo dialect replaces “hi” with “shi,” so this drawing can also be read as “shishi-shishi”).
Read more

…Phew, that was close! I almost messed up my New Year’s resolution of “a new piece every month” already! (;^ω^)
Read more