Return to deviantArt and Falls of Clyde charity offer!

Hello landlubbers!

This is a sort of information post because I want to share what's been going on the last days! Some of you know, some don't, but I've been a member on deviantArt since June 2009 – yes, that's almost exactly 10 years ago as the exact day is 16th June. I used to be active there up until around mid 2013 and I posted both cosplay photos as well as my art. But then my activity died as if hit by a wall, partly as a result because I shifted all focus to this blog instead, which was new and standing on wobbly legs back then. Another reason is because I ran into a severe art block and lost inspiration to draw (and uploading my art was the original reason I joined deviantArt). I felt discouraged and disappointed in myself as I felt like I didn't improve my art at all for years – it was pretty soul-crushing as drawing used to be my main interest for most of my life and I felt like it was one of the few things I truly excelled at and enjoyed.

So my deviantArt was neglected and dead silent for years, until now. During the past couple days I've been going through my gallery, favorites, groups, everything. I deleted every single cosplay-related thing I had ever uploaded there as it was too much of a hassle with the different watermarks, despite my Ukitake cosplay being the very reason I even got popular on deviantArt in the first place. But I just didn't want to have my cosplay stuff spread out anymore and it felt better to have it all neatly collected in this blog instead. I also left a lot of fandom groups that I had lost interest in, including all cosplay groups as I wouldn't be submitting content to them anymore.

And then the main thing – I started up art commissions again, woop! I used to do them ages ago but put commissions on hold because of mental health issues (which I still have) and because I lacked the energy. I also felt pressed to sell myself short to get customers because everyone does it and it makes me angry and sad that it has to be like that; it hurts the artist community and the value of art. But I'm not falling for that pressure anymore – I now value my time, my effort and my art and I have thus made a completely new, revamped art commission journal and scrapped the old one.

Used with permission by Save Falls of Clyde - International.

Also, during the summer (likely longer) I'm doing special charity sketch commissions! I care very much about our planet's ongoing climate crisis and I also care about preserving history and thus I have chosen to support the rescue effort of the Falls of Clyde tall ship. She's the last remaining four-masted, full-rigged, iron-hulled ship in the world and on top of that she's a whopping 140 years old, which puts her on the list of the oldest ships still afloat. She's a former museum ship, an U.S. national historic landmark and also the last surviving sail-driven oil tanker and, despite all of these feats, she is now facing a very real and very urgent danger of being sold for scraps or intentionally sunk. And as someone who loves all things marine (yes, I had a fish craze before Pokémon came out and took that place) it would break my heart to see her gone. Especially as I have come to realize for not so long ago that my dream job is at sea, I've just been blind for too long to the innermost spiritual calling.

And if anyone wonders what's gonna happen if Falls of Clyde gets rescued and restored to her former glory, it's a lot! She's gonna be refitted with the latest eco-friendly technology and she will do many things that will benefit all of us in some way: fair trade sail cargo (emission free like in the old days), pick up and recycle plastic waste from the oceans, sailing holidays and she will also offer 'education at sea' to the children from the poorest communities, to help them grow and learn valuable life skills. Odds are that she will be based in Scotland, where she was built in Glasgow in 1878. Let that year sink in. (pun not intended)

So if you care even a little, please for the love of all things good, consider commissioning me and picking the FoC charity option, you quite literally get free sketches for donating to an important cause! And it doesn't even have to be more than 5€, every little helps! Or just donate directly to the campaign if you don't care about my art, that works too. xD

Thank you so much for reading, help spreading the word around!

~ Shiro Samurai

Lens review: Flora Blossom Blue

Hello fellas!

Here comes another lens review to the world and today it's the Flora Blossom Blue, a big and really colorful lens that packs a punch! 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I think I bought these on a sale ages ago out of curiosity. The color seemed really opaque on the model photos and as there's not so many Flora brand circle lens reviews floating around I wanted to contribute to the case myself. I hope that all my past and future lens reviews might someday help someone out there to find the kind of lens that they need. We need a helpful community, not a toxic one. ♥

Okay so, back on track. I popped one lens into my eye and my first reaction was like "WAOOW" because the color was so intense! In some light it looks so bright that you'd almost imagine for a second that the lenses would glow in the dark, lol. Of course they don't but what I'm saying is that these lenses exceeded my expectations.

One lens in.

I'm not gonna lie, these lenses scream cosplay to me. The intensity of the blue color, the size and the black rim creates a cartoony look. It's a bold and vibrant lens and yeah, basically a show-off. The blue color is really pretty though, I like the shade of it! It's this kind of default bright blue that a lot of kids stuff have, if that makes sense. xD It's not a boring color by any means – it's not for the faint of heart but for us who like things to be a lil' bit extra. These lenses are fucking lit.

The design is something extra. From a distance it looks like a sorta basic flower print lens but once you zoom in and focus you will notice that the design actually consists of a myriad of butterfly outlines that together form the bulk of the blue color, which is extremely impressive. How can it even attain that coverage and brightness when the color is not even solid pixels but delicate overlapping butterfly prints with a fair amont of transparency on each animal since it's just the lineart that is of color?? I can't even. 

A little bit of information: the design is actually pretty much identical to the Vassen Butterfly series, except for that the Flora lenses appear to have a bit more firing power in the color intensity. I do not know which one came first, so I can't say which one is the original and which is a copycat.

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-cloudy sky, as in the sun was hidden behind a thin veil of clouds. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Unlit corridor, natural light in the distance.

Flash photo.

Facing window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while being under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's hidden by clouds.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's almost out from the clouds.

Outdoors, on the shadow side of the building, facing the wall.

Unless you didn't notice already then these lenses are pretty big in size, which really adds to the eye-catching effect even more. The color coverage is without a doubt extremely opaque and I am very sure that even on jet-black eyes these would show up as a crisp, undeniable blue! 

These lenses are simply exceeding my expectations, I am at a loss of words because I simple love this so much. It's one of my favorite blue shades and these lenses makes my eyes look like I'm from some video game fantasy world! Get these for cosplay, like fucking seriously.

Comfort is fine. The Blossom Blues are thin and generally comfy and I noticed no particular discomfort during my short time of wearing these, despite the expiry date having passed (I only took the photos and then threw the lenses away, so comfort is based on first impressions) by the time I got around to doing this review. Something I did notice though was that my vision blurred slightly when I went outside, normally lenses only blur my vision in shitty light conditions and daytime sunlight is usually not one of them. I would regardless recommend these lenses and I will surely repurchase them for cosplaying later, whenever the need for bright blue lenses shows up.

Distance photo!

Want to see reviews in other colors?
I have done another: Green

 

Short summary:

Color: 10/10 
Immensely bright, bold and fantastic blue color that will instantly level-up your persona.

Design: 8/10

Pretty flower-like design, but if you look really close you'll notice that the patterning actually consists of butterflies all over.

Opacity: 10/10

Holy macaroni, I did not expect the color intensity and coverage to be this good on a non-crazy lens! 'nuff said.

Enlargement: 8/10

These lenses don't hold back on the size. Dolly it is!

Comfort: 7/10

I don't feel them at all, they are thin and comfy and pleasant overall. Slightly blurred my vision outdoors for a moment though, but no big deal. Estimated wearing time on super dry eyes around 3-4 hours, possibly 5 hours on a good eye day.

Naturalness: 2/10

Hahaha no, get out of here. :))

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this review! 
~ Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: ICK Petal Green

Yo!

I'm trailing behind but I will try to get more reviews done now during the summer vacation, if weather permits of course. Today I thought I'd introduce the ICK Petal Green lenses to you all – it's a super cute, softly colored lens great for many looks!

Let's roll~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I remember when these lenses released, I was super excited to try them out because of the design. I just feel drawn to the mystical print, it looks like this kind of spell-casting ring from roleplaying games haha. It's so cool and quite different from anything else I've seen, even today.

It's a really cute, smooth-looking lens and it surely provides a big enlargement effect as well. Yes, that means it's dolly style but I feel like they also looks a bit 'anime'.

One lens in.

I'm surprised by how delicate and well, pure, the green looks. It's quite different and it's really a pleasant, pastel-like color and I seriously love it a lot! You might notice as well that the black limbal ring is not an intense bold black but rather a bit more toned down, which adds to the soft and dreamy appearance.

The blending effect is also great; the green color doesn't end up muddled at all and yet manages to almost seamlessly fade together with my real eye color at the center. It's quite a feat as especially light green lenses (based on my experiences) are at a high risk of ending up as an indistinguishable ugly color on blue-gray eyes like mine. Thankfully these are not one of those unlucky ones!

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-clear sky. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Standing in an unlit corridor, natural light in the distance.

Flash photo.

Facing window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

I feel a bit like my photos don't do these lenses justice, they're prettier in real life! It's a fantastic, almost beautifully haunting color that feels wonderfully serene and mysterious at the same time. Up close you even can see the intricate "magic circle" pattern and it's simply mesmerizing!

The only bummer with these lenses is the comfort. I will mention though that my eyes were really dry already before I started doing this review, on top of the lenses already having expired (I just took the photos quickly and then threw them out, hence comfort grade is based on first impressions). I felt the lenses slightly at all times, especially when moving my gaze around. The right lens was also scratchy upon insertion but that lessened after a while, so it could have just been dirt or something. They were otherwise almost decent but I can't really see myself wearing these for longer than 2-3 hours, possibly 4 hours on a good day. Again, I have extremely dry eyes naturally so 2-3 hours for me is probably more like 4-5 hours for someone with "normal eyes".

All in all this is a super cute, almost candy-style lens with an amazing dreamy green color. It's perfect for j-fashion styles (especially the cute, pastel, dolly ones) and I can totally see these being used for costuming purposes as well, especially fantasy beings like mermaids, fairies and forest creatures! I would recommend these lenses if you like the style of them as I think it's highly likely that my comfort grade is unfair based on the situation I had.

Distance photo!

Looking for other ICK Petal reviews?

Check these out: Blue, Brown

Short summary:

Color: 8/10 

Immensely pretty soft, dreamy, almost ethereal green. Cute and lively.

Design: 8/10 

Artistic print with what looks like a spell-casting ring from roleplaying games. Beautiful!

Opacity: 7/10

Fascinating color coverage despite being a light green, which has a high risk to turn muddy on blue-based eyes. Really impressed by how well the color shows up and blends, to be honest.

Enlargement: 7/10 

A dolly-style lens, big and adorable.

Comfort: 5/10 

Almost decent but I feel them in my eyes and the right lens was very scratchy upon insertion (it settled after a while though). Perhaps a bit dryish but I estimate 2-3 hours on mega dry eyes.

Naturalness: 4/10 

Too much fantasy in them to really look passable.

Thank you for reading my blog! There's more to come!

Shiro Samurai out ~

Lens review: ICK Animate Blue

Hi everyone!

It's time for another circle lens review and this time we'll go over the ICK Animate Blue lenses! This is probably gonna sound silly but there's something with ICK lenses that excite me, I just really like the designs and the color shades. And it says Optimus Prime on the vials, almost. xD

Let's do this!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I'm not gonna lie, this was a lens that I bought because of the name. I've never seen a lens called Animate before and so it piqued my interest as something peculiar and worth trying. Not to mention that the name does hold rather true to the design of the lens itself, seeing how it has a cartoony feel to it with bold, harsh lines and a single, upbeat blue color.

One lens in. It was cloudy outside so this photo is pretty dark.

Of course the color was bound to darken a bit once worn, you can tell already by looking at the lenses in their vials that the color pixels are quite sparse and there's a whole bunch of transparency between. Thankfully the color doesn't get muddled in any way and it's still a lively shade – and cartoony indeed. It's actually cute in its boldness and I like how simple it is because, in this case, it makes the overall effect more striking.

The blue is a fresh color, a bit like aqua in tone and there's a lovely hint of a 'halo effect' where the lens overlaps the size of my natural iris. The limbal ring is a deep black and unmissable in it's chunkiness, it creates a dolly eye look and draws focus to the eyes. Also, when you look closer you will notice that the streaked lines are actually not fully drawn lines but dotted lines.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me around a June noon with a semi-clear sky, the sun trolled me though and it was super bright before but as soon as I was ready to take photos it went and hid under a veil of clouds and barely came out. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Unlit corridor. Poor natural light in the distance.

Flash photo.

Facing window. Not sun side. (notice halo effect!)

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing cloudy sky while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's hidden behind clouds.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

I love this lens – it's fresh, exciting and makes me feel like a living cartoon haha. It's a really nice lens, has an appealing blue color and comes with a big enlargement effect. The color coverage is also solid and there's really nothing to dislike, except maybe a wish that the comfort was a bit better.

The comfort for these, based on my first impressions (again, lenses had expired by the time I got around to do this review, so I only wore them for the photos and thus can't grade comfort properly) was mediocre to good; I felt them in my eyes and they were otherwise tolerable but they felt almost scratchy when I moved my gaze around? It did settle and the discomfort did lessen noticeably after a while but I don't know, I can't really imagine them being super comfortable based on my quick run. I would estimate wearing time somewhere around 2-3 hours on my super dry eyes, which is really average. Friendly reminder though to take my comfort grade with a grain of salt because of aforementioned reason and also, I do have stupidly sensitive eyes.

Overall I would still recommend giving these a try if you like the aesthetic of these lenses. It would be suitable for cosplaying and any kind of funky fashion that you want to spice up. It's a fun lens with a great color and a striking halo effect in good light conditions.

Distance photo!

Wanna see another color?
I gotcha: Green

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 

A peppy, fresh aqua blue with a lot of personality.

Design: 8/10 

Chunky, cartoony design that's really bold and stylized. Really fun lens!

Opacity: 7/10

My eye color affects the outcome but it's very obviously still blue, so I don't doubt the coverage.

Enlargement: 7/10 

It's a big eyes lens, will provide a dolly look with that thick black rim.

Comfort: 5/10 

Seems average but still kinda okay; I felt them in my eyes as a bit scratchy until they eventually settled. Estimated 2-3 hours of wear on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 3/10 

A bit too... animated.

Thanks for reading my blog! Would you wear 'anime' lenses like this?

Shiro Samurai out ~

Lens review: Flora Gerbera Green

Hello swagsters!

I will continue with the lens reviews (I haven't done any cosplay progress in a long time, more about that another day) and today it's time for the Flora Gerbera Green! It's a really lovely lens with a rather unique design and a slightly blueish green tone.

Let's get to it~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I think this is a really beautiful design, it looks like a bursting flower or something like that. The overall look of the lenses seem anime-ish to me, although it's not a full-blown cartoony lens by any stretch. The color is a lovely fresh green, a bit blue in tint I'd say. It's gorgeous.

One lens in. (cloudy outside, so the light is pretty bad on this photo)

I feel like the lenses turn slightly darker once in your eyes (especially when viewed from a distance) and although it's still really pretty there was a miniscule disappointment, in my case, as I hoped they would be a tad brighter. I love green lenses a lot though and these are high on my list regardless.
The Gerbera Greens are pretty big in size and have a really thick black limbal ring, which of course provides big dolly eyes. Some like it, some don't. I generally like big lenses but I also like small lenses, so for me it's never really a dealbreaker either way.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me around a June noon with a semi-clear sky, the sun trolled me though and it was super bright before but as soon as I was ready to take photos it went and hid under a veil of clouds and didn't come out. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural indoors room light.

Yellow indoors room light.

Unlit corridor, poor natural light in the distance.

Flash photo.

Facing window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun. Cloudy.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's hidden behind a thin cloud veil.

When I look at these lenses I think of fantasy creatures like nymphs and forest beings in general. I think it would be a great lens for costuming and roleplaying if you are looking to portray a figure that is often seen as beautiful. Of course it's a great lens for fashion as well, particularly alternate and j-fashion. I think these lenses are perhaps a bit too flashy for daily looks imo but seriously, if you'd like to use these for casual styles then rock it! 

Regarding comfort I was positively surprised. Sadly I can't grade these properly as they had expired by the time I got to do this review (I have such a massive backlog) but for the quick moment I wore them (for the purpose of taking photos for this review) I felt that they were really thin and invisible to wear – I did not feel them anywhere and once I put them on it actually felt like they moistened my eyes? :D What can I say, these lenses are really comfortable based on my first impressions and I'd estimate wearing time to be a respectable 4-5 hours on ultra dry eyes.

Distance photo!

Interested in more Gerbera reviews?

Check these out: Red, Pink, Blue

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 
An interesting blue-green that's really pretty. I just personally wish that the color was a tiny bit lighter.

Design: 8/10

Cool 'burst' pattern with streaks running towards the center, looks surreal in a pleasant way.

Opacity: 6/10

My eye color seems to affect the color outcome a bit, but the color coverage is still solid.

Enlargement: 7/10

These are really big in size, great for dolly looks.

Comfort: 8/10

I don't feel them at all, super invisible and really thin! It even felt like they moistened my eyes upon insertion and just overall really pleasant. Estimated 4-5 hours on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 4/10

Too big and flashy to really cut it for anyone seeking a natural approach.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this review! 
~ Shiro Samurai out.