Yesterday's post on
okamigame about human!Amaterasu fanarts left me thinking. I'm not a fanartist (in the drawing/painting sense), but I've poked enough fanarts (Western and Eastern, equally) to know certain trends. I've seen both extremes; there's
a) Cutesy, doe-eyed, usually childlike Ammy. Always blushing. Always making Issun/Waka/Oki/whoever blush. Lots of moe and lolicon going on.
b) Dumb bimbo Ammy. Huge boobs and perfect curves; tiny or tight kimono/clothes. Usually retarded or animal-like. Could fulfill Issun's wet dreams.
And then there's c) Bishounen!Ammy, with both a girl face and a six pack, but that's rare.
I find refreshing to see a serious approach to Amaterasu, of course. a) and b) normally smile too much or look perplex because they're usually portrayed naive -not like canon!Ammy doesn't have her moronic or oblivious moments, but if you're drawing precanon I like to think Shiranui/Celestial Plain!Amaterasu was a wise person and wouldn't be pulling that shit. So, a serious or a warrior-like, predatory, won't-take-shit-from-you Ammy is good to have.
But I like balance. I think there are moments in which Amaterasu is happy-go-lucky and cute, and there are moments in which she's serious or aggressive. So no, it's not fair her face is in fanart either stuck like
this or like
that. But then, it might be my image of Ammy mixed with canon. I find Ama-kou to be, most of the time, very Zen. But there's also a passionated, violent part of her -particularly when she's defending something or competing with anyone. Because well, she's both a god and a hero(ine?), and heroes in this game are proud and arrogant even when they have pure intentions. Not saying that Amaterasu is teh aggressive, but I've always find her proud and having a taste for fights of all kind, whether for others or her own honor. I mean, there's a fucking reason she's a wolf!
That's how I interpret Amaterasu. So fetish-driven blissful doesn't completely do it for me, but a mature woman with a serious face all the time doesn't either. Because there's some playfulness in my idea of her. I'd love to see a smirking Ammy in battle mode. I think she'd smirk dangerously while fighting if she had lips, but that might be just me. So, happy fanarts are sometimes good, and serious fanarts are appreciated in their rarity. But I see them as facets in the character's global personality.
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As for my mental, physical image... First of all, it lacks dog ears, which is odd itself. Maybe because I'm on inverse Oina logic, and they have no ears. Also, it makes me think of the Gintama jokes about nekomimi. Her height is average, and looks on her late twenties (in our patterns, that is, not her human Nippon).
Most of the times I imagine her with shortish hair, which is strange as well. But sometimes I like to think she has a braid/ponytail falling over her shoulder, and that itself is the Celestial Brush. Otherwise, I imagine her using an actual brush that floats along with her.
I've never thought too much about the clothing because I can't draw. Something she could move easily in, I think, because she likes movement. Or she could have several kinds of clothes for all occasions, since she IS the lord of the Plain and shit.
My Ammy has no breasts. My Ammy acts like a female (girls CAN be feminine and aggressive at the same time), and looks like one, but lacks a gender like she's supposed to be. Think of it as... I doubt any of you is into CLAMP, my main fandom, but there's lot of genderless/asexual characters over there. My mental Ammy could perfectly be drawn by Tsubaki Nekoi with the Wish style. CLAMP asexual beings are pretty shit.
I think that if I drew, my Amaterasu wouldn't be popular.