I love Native. They extend the collection experience beyond most companies. Native doesn’t stop at the figure, at least with the three in my collection (Kotone, Shoujo-S, and Trunk Girl). Each of the figures came with an almost designer-like box. I didn’t take photos of the boxes, a) because it’s a pain and b) it might just look like a colored box in a tiny jpeg. Something about that little extra thought in the package design makes Native figures feel like “Special Collector’s Edition” stuff. The box is not just this thing protecting it in transit and then quickly cut open. Trunk Girl’s box was shaped like a suitcase, looking like one of those gift packages that come from a spa or a boutique. Those boutique packages are designed to make you feel special with your little treasure. Native has the right idea with their approach on their boutique items.
(Bare plastic beyond this point).
Since I never did a post on Shoujo-S, I decided to “review” her too and do a Native group shoot, though since Kotone had her own post kept her in the background. Had a spell where I barely updated this blog for a year, so there are huge chunks of my collection un-reviewed, not that I “reviewed” everything I got when I updated almost weekly. Hell, I still have a few EMS boxes that are unopened after a year. There’s a space issue in my apartment. I can’t open a new figure without retiring one, unless I just start putting them in the dining room, the bathroom, the kitchen, the freezer (which I could have Metamo-Haruhi guard my supply of Late Night Snack, Fair Goodness Cake and Imagine Whirled Peace), etc.
So that this feels special mood which Trunk Girl’s packaging imparted inspired me to put a little bit of effort into creating a little backdrop for these pictures. Creating a simple set looks simple, but I knew better than that and educated guessed that it would take at least a weekend of making it while watching football. Even accounting for it taking triple the time I imagined it should, it took even longer than that, even with half the stuff I wanted to put on set removed due to lack of skill in making things like night stands for the bed. Yeah, even easy looking “contemporary” minimalist furniture requires patience and care. It takes trial and error time, and well, sometimes it’s better to just finish something than to wait until every detail comes together.
Thank goodness I decided to move on and not include things that wouldn’t be in the image frame anyway. I tend to be aggressive in my crops when I compose a shot. While I should work on using space in image composition more often, when deciding which images to include the less aggressively cropped images wind up going unprocessed. The way I shot them just isn’t strong.
After spinning my wheels trying to make decent looking night tables, for the “contemporary hotel room” set, the only elements in the set wound up being a wall design that didn’t make any of the final images (the corner of the room has an inverted corner). The headboard looks terrible in person, but kept out of focus it’s good enough. My favorite parts are the wall lamps, which are made with two LEDs, scrapbook paper, and glue. Unfortunately, one of them had a weak battery, so they looked really unbalanced when both were on, but they actually do light up. With tighter lighting, a pretty beam pattern can be achieved; however, that would make the beam pattern the focus of the image and not the figures. Plus, the beam pattern falling on the headboard calls attention to how sloppy the headboard actually is, so there was that as well. Even though the set took a lot of time to assemble, they’re not the point or the focus of the images. If they are, it’s sort of a fail to me. Sure, people looking at the photos and not just quickly scrolling might take time to decipher the background, that’s different. I don’t want the scroll viewer to pay more attention to the background in that .34 seconds they’re looking at the images.
The picture frame is strip wood with ebony stain. Should have included white matting to make it look more like a framed image, since those usually have matting. I was just happy I cut the wood with perfect 45 degree angles where they join. The image is a 5 Centimeters Per Second still if you’re trying to guess.
Trunk Girl comes from this illustration by Nishieda, who has a style that is distinct from other ero artists. There’s like this fusion of anime with a color palette and tone that melts in a little of those old Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations. Nishieda’s coloring style probably won’t translate to a figure at all, so it presents a challenge for Dendobrium, the sculptor, to capture the same feel without benefit of the color rendering which is a significant part of the artist’s style.
For the most part, I’m okay with the sculptor’s interpretation of the image. The lock of hair across the face didn’t quite do it, but given the physics of PVC, probably isn’t going to get much better without abandoning the lock across the face entirely. Positioning of the lock could have been better. The main point of contention would be the face (especially her eyes), which as a figure collector is just something you get used to, as more often than on it doesn’t line up. One reason of course is 2D vs. 3D and foreshortening. Sometimes in the illustration the foreshortening is done in such a way as to be physically impossible. It looks charming on the page, but if you could actually rotate the axis you’ll often find noses ending up in very strange places and a lot of crooked brow ridges. Trunk girl comes with interchangeable breast pieces. The alternates are supposed to be sheer fabric. Default configuration looks better.
I’ve always thought of the ‘S’ in Shoujo-S to stand for ‘strawberry.’ It’s based off this image by Naruko Hanaharu. The mood of the figure differs a little bit from that in the illustration. The sculpt has a more tentative interpretation of her expression, which feels a little more eager in the illustration, even in the body language. The cock of her hip is a bit more aggressive in the illustration, but whoever sculpted this really did fantastic work on her body, the shapes, the curves, all stellar for me. Softer somehow. She comes with a chair, strawberries, a tube of icing and a strawberry for her mouth. Would have been fantastic if they included the desk she’s got her hand resting on.
Great review! The last group shot is probably my favorite.
I admire your dedication in making a set of props just to create a scene for this shoot. It’s a style of photography that seems to work very well for figures. I aspire to try my hand at it one day, but I fear I will lack the patience to see it through.
Seeing reviews of Native figures invariably reminds me that I really need to add some of their stuff to my collection. They seem to take the quality and presentation aspects of figures very seriously and they have excellent taste in choosing their source images. It’s just unfortunate that their distribution channels aren’t friendlier to international buyers, which makes an already high-end product even pricier.
Having to pay more than retail is a drag for sure, but I’m a big fan of what they do. I have a couple of Orchid Seed and Griffon figures, who also make ero figures (which are easier to obtain), but they don’t compare. Native figures are about the same quality as your typical Max Factory, but their presentation helps make them feel like premium items. I wonder how much their limited distribution shrinks their market or is this a cautious side project for Max Factory. I don’t actually know if MF and Native are separate companies or if they are two brands for the same company.
Fantastic set and layout as usual dude.
Looking at the pictures of Shoujo S here, it would see that her expression is a lot more eager than her body language, which is just as you described. If even a little laid back.
The table would’ve been pretty awesome, lol.
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If she does manage to fit in the suitcase then she isnt human..well shes a figure..you know what i mean ^^
Beautiful shot! That first photo sure is a winner, perfect balance, ideas, etc ill actually save it on my comp if thats okay with you ^^
She definitely could not fit in that suitcase. It’s one of those things where it’s really obvious so the thought pops in your head.
Gorgeous photos! That trunk girl figure came out quite nicely, as you say it’s not easy too capture the same atmosphere as in Nishieda’s art with his peculiar color palette.
The shoujo-s figure definitely looks less aggressive/suggestive than the original art, but quite good nonetheless.
I love the bed! Crazy shots! Loving it <3
I actually sewed 4 mini pillow cases for the pillows. One of those things where I’m
that they don’t show up in the final shots, even though I went through the trouble of making them.
These are really nice and creative shots, this “hotel room” like setting looks also very well done. I like the 4th and the 8th picture the most, really sexy and nice lighting. In the first picture it appears like poor Shoujo S was shot by trunk girl
If I had to choose between these two figures I would probably choose the trunk girl, because of her very nice, interesting pose and her pretty eyes. Even though it seems like her mouth is hidden by her mouth.
I like the look and feel of figures from Native, but at the moment I wouldn’t feel very comfortable with displaying figures without panties or with a too erotic and sexualized look ^^, maybe I will make an exception for their upcoming “Soniko in the bath” figure, assumed I’d also like look of the colored prototype, when it is shown someday.
I have my Native figures out in the living area of my apartment, but they’re in a place where you can only see them if you sit where I normally sit to watch TV or if you’re opening the window. I tend to keep the more risque stuff tucked away. It doesn’t bother me if people see I’m into anime figures, but anything out of the ordinary does make some people uncomfortable, especially if it’s something risque, so I do put away some figures when it’s people I don’t know too well. It also helps if there’s a lot of space in the display case, instead of being crammed. Makes it seem more like a thoughtful collection, than the freaky plastic addiction it is.
The only other Native I have on order is Morudina, which is based on another illo which has an artist with an integral color style that poses a challenge for the sculptor to interpret.
Morudina is a great looking figure, I like the optional bunny parts ^-^
Native have a good sense for finding illustrations for making interesting figures. Unfortunately there is my no pantsu problem again XD
Im looking forward to see your pictures of her, release date is next year as far as I know.
Morudina brings the risque factor up a notch from Trunk Girl and Shoujo-S. I almost didn’t order. Trunk Girl is close to an old B-movie style Pin-Up poster, so I it doesn’t cross my already socially-on-the-fringe sense of good/bad taste. Morudina steps across that line for me, but I think there’s enough “art” there to want to collect.
I also dig Ashito’s art style. There’s something unsettling about it that makes it visually interesting, but also unappealing in *that* way. The closest analogue I can think of in popular culture would have been the heroin-chic that was popular in fashion photography. Interesting, pretty in it’s own way, but also increasingly unappealing the closer you bring the image closer to you personally. Something that looks good in an impersonal and distant way.
That’s an amazing set that fits both figures perfectly. Native is one of my favorite makers – though admittedly, that’s mostly because of the raunchy nature of their figures rather than the premium feel they bring. Regardless, I appreciate both of those things and I hope they keep it up, since some of their recent figures have been more PG-13 and were a bit sparse in accessories unless you splurged extra for the bathtub.
I’m having the same space problem, where I can’t unbox any figures without putting another away. Further, I don’t want to unbox a figure before I’m ready to photograph it since they get dusty really fast and I hate having to spend an hour cloning out dust and crap in Photoshop. And I can’t photograph a figure before I have a background ready, and as you say, they always seem to take longer to build than expected. It’s very satisfying when they work well, though.
I really love the lighting of your setup, particularly the depth it establishes by falling off towards the background. There’s sort of a surreal feel there in how quickly it fades from bright to dark – though that seems very appropriate since if a naked girl holding a gun while sitting in a suitcase isn’t surreal, I don’t know what is.
I have the same feeling about comments about the background. It’s kinda like when I read camera gear forums (which isn’t very often now) and someone would post a picture and people would go, “Awesome bokeh on that lens, dude!” I’d be thinking man, if somebody looked at my photo and complimented the bokeh, I’d be like, “Uhh, thanks, but what did you think about the part that’s in focus?”
I ordered Trunk Girl from a US retailer; I wonder if I’m going to get it. From what I’ve seen, a lot of US retailers put up Native figures for preorder but I’m not sure whether they can actually fill them or not.
The lighting is pretty basic, one light, one reflector. Using the clock analogy, the light is at 7:30 and the reflector at 3:00. The stage is 20 inches wide (rests on foam board) and both the light and reflector are just at the edge of the stage. Part of the set’s wall blocks the main light source, which creates that quick transition from the front and back. I was trying to think of it as light coming from the “doors” leading to the balcony of the hotel room. Going for a morning look. It’s almost like stage lighting for a play the way the light is concentrated for attention.
I got Shoujo-S from Toylet, so it’s possible. I wondered the same thing when I was waiting for it after it had already been released.
Love the pictures. Sweet setup and construction. Too bad the pillow cases didn’t come out for the final shots. Maybe you can use it in future shots?
Beautiful shots! On previous visits, I looked at the portfolio of other shots you did, and I wondered how the backgrounds were made. I can’t believe you do them yourself! Fantastic! I especially love the photos with the chair tipped over, but my favorite is the extreme close up of Trunk Girl.
And I must say, the wall sconce is pretty epic.
It looks really good and the pictures you took are just perfect. The trunk girl I wanna just pack up and take home with me ;D
Your shots are beautiful the scene you made is perfect. And these figures are amazing… the detail put into them are so good. Our first Native figure will be Princess Morudina . I loved her beauty and had to order her. I hope I enjoy her as much as you like yours!
Really interesting indeed. Your shots is very amazing and you really captured the emotion on it. She’s so hot.
The lighting is so incredible, I want to cry.
[...] rats has a beautiful review of both Trunk Girl and Shoujo S up at HappySoda. I think that’s the only English-language review I’ve seen of this figure, but [...]
Awesome photography! And I like the figures too. I never bought a Native figur but I should give it a try since they look so nice and lovely.