KSSUltimateSculptures: Kirby

☆ KIRBY (カービィ) is the greatest hero of Dream Land, Pop Star, the surrounding satellites, and dare I say it- of the entirety of video games! At least, he and his pals are my absolute favorites, and continue to inspire and delight me today, as they have since my childhood. The following sculpture set (which I will be uploading steadily for a few weeks) was made in 2009, just after Kirby Super Star Ultra came out on the NDS. I have only recently finished painting the entire line of characters, and wish to share them with the Kirby fans, both new and old, of the DeviantArt community. I know all will love viewing these, as I have laboriously loved crafting them, for all of time~!
☆Dedede-Daimyo-Koikoi☆
(I will also be sharing my thoughts and cultural insights about the characters with each upload, here in the description. Look forward and anticipate the greatness!)
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Kirby was created to be "a simple character who could be drawn with music"- says HAL in the 20th Anniversary Manual/Book. This is true, recalling the beloved opening to Kirby's Adventure on NES ("First You Draw A circle"); but here, we see just how 3-Dimensionally detailed the pink pudge can get, when sculpted in clay! Kirby is one of those timeless characters that can transcend any media, be it 8-bit sprites, KDL3's colored pencil, KCC's paint-balls, KEY's yarn outlines, and even the awesome polygonal power of console games, and always come out looking perfect, due to his limited, yet practical design, and overall androgynous appeal.
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Rather than repeating the same old Kirby trivia and factoids here, ad nauseum (comin' right back at ya~!), I will instead delve into a bit of philosophy. Kirby is, in my opinion, quite Taoist in essence-- Tao, meaning he embodies many of the traits of the ancient Chinese Way. For example, in his modest appearance, Kirby is small, pink, and always wears a happy face (disregarding American Box-arts). His cute exterior masks his true inner potential and ferocious skills/appetite- much like how a true master of martial arts does not go around starting fights, both paths are the key to a long, happy life. He is an entity composed of opposite energies and can produce the Five Elements: Kirby can be cold as ice, hot as fire, quick as lightning, still as stone, soft as a cloud, or sharp as needles. One of Kirby's most famous skills is the ability to inhale enemies and their attacks, and either copy them, or spit them back out as stars. This technique is certainly very similar to TaiChi, where the opponent's force is used against them. The way Kirby gains abilities can be thought of as the potential each of us has within ourselves- we have the chi to become anything we set out minds to, with proper direction and diligence. Kirby is round and simple- a symbolic representation of the cycle of life and the genuine nature of all things. Kirby has good morals (De), always helping those who come to him in need, and often making friends, going so far as to convert former enemies into friends through pure will and good-character. Finally, both he and Dedede know the value of Wu Wei: despite his fame and power, Kirby prefers to live the lazy lifestyle in the amazingly peaceful Dream Land, where the King rules by doing absolutely nothing. Yes, Kirby's world is full of valuable lessons we can all apply to ourselves, if one is willing to delve deeper than the surface of this subtly philosophical series. Thanks for reading... And more to come~
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Kirby © HAL Labs & Nintendo.