Hello Kitty Shinkansen

Reminiscing about our vacation in Japan last May when we boarded a bullet train from Osaka to Hiroshima.  Called Shinkansen in Japanese, what made this ride so special to me was that it featured Hello Kitty!   It runs between Shin-Osaka to Hakata once a day going and return.  As seats in the Hello Kitty carriages cannot be reserved, you can then imagine how stressfully excited I was!  We made sure we were the first in line, and like groupies going to a rock concert, turned up at the designated part of the platform 20 minutes or so before departure time. That’s right, I’m a self-confessed Hello Kitty junkie!  As soon as the door opened, there was a stampede of us trying to grab the best seats, but luckily there were plenty for all of us.  And everyone was civil to one another so no fighting!  My partner and I even managed to secure a window seat each which meant were on different rows with the seat next to us empty.  And throughout the two and half hour journey, I went about photographing all the Hello Kitty bits accompanied by my Hello Kitty plushie and disappearing off to the shop in the next carriage to help myself to some Hello Kitty items.  My few hours of Heaven…

So a few weeks after returning home to the Netherlands, I made a little digital drawing of myself on this Hello Kitty Shinkansen.  But how to begin?  I wasn’t ready to start learning to draw a train yet, and what other inspiring background can I go for?  Then it dawned on me.  How about importing on Procreate a photograph and working my way from there?  I chose a good photo of the carriage with all the Hello-Kitty themed seats and even the floor!  Gessian Blur was then applied on it to make it look more dreamy.  Once that was achieved to my liking, I began doodling away on it.  How about a different medium from the usual this time?  Crayons seemed a perfect choice as they do bring back childhood memories and thus the inner child in me.  And here, FTOON Crayon brushes, available on Creative Market, were chosen for this purpose.  What fun that was!  Always good to try something new for a change.  A rather simple drawing, but that just about sums up my amazing adventure on this Hello Kitty shinkansen which has been on my bucket list for years…