Futakuchi-onna, the "two-mouth woman."
I really liked the line art for this one and had considered just leaving it and watercoloring it instead of aquatinting. I was quite happy with the open bite effect on the eye, which I feel added a sparkle. I was encouraged to stylize her, so despite the fact I used an Asian girl as a reference, she came out looking more like a Amano heroine.
Ref from ~b-e-c-k-y-stock
The aquatint ruined the eyes, in my opinion, as the sparkle got covered up. I had thought I blocked it out, but I guess I didn't. The sushi came about better though.
Ohaguro-bettari appears as a Japanese bride with black teeth and no other facial features.
I had already blocked out the face before it occurred to me to give her a shadow similar to the blue ones in manga and anime. I didn't really have time to do a second aquatint, so hopefully this looks alright. I also forgot to add flowers to the headdress. The lace I used for the softground had beads on it and put holes through a felt because we didn't think to loosen the press or cut them off. Luckily the pattern came out really well and the felt was old.
The Kuchisake-onna, the "slit-face woman."
Oh my gosh this one was trouble. The ref pic was of sitting in this pose, chest up, so trying to get the arms and shoulders right was a bit difficult. I considered dressing her in '70s attire since she's more of a legend than ancient Japanese monster, down to Farrah Fawcett hair, but she kind of looked like a Jokerfied version of Jack the Ripper. The outfit didn't even look sightly feminine despite copying an old fashion magazine. Mike helped me rework the pose and it actually started to look good with a kimono. Then the aquatint happened. The line etching wasn't dark enough, and the nose started disappearing. Also, the shading in general was too dark and blotchy. It kind of got fixed with some burnishing. That version will be uploaded next semester when I get it back from being hung up.
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