Konkon Warabe: Memories and a Making-Of Record

A close-up of a child's face with bobbed hair and large fox ears — the character Konkon Warabe.

Konkon Warabe is an original character of mine.
A zashiki-warashi-like creature (a Japanese house spirit in the form of a child) with fox ears and tail.

They came to me sometime around 2018 or 2019, took shape little by little, and have been beside me ever since.
I can’t remember what first sparked them. It was probably something small enough that I just didn’t hold on to it.

So they ended up feeling like someone who was always there before I noticed.
Honestly, I’m not sure I’m even all that fond of them myself.
But there’s one person close to me who’s a huge Konkon Warabe fan, just one,
and seeing that person happy makes me happy, so I’ve been drawing them and shaping them in different forms here and there.

Over time I’ve grown my own kind of attachment to them too, so I want to write all of this down somewhere it won’t get buried — and that’s what this post is.

An early character design sketch of Konkon Warabe — fox ears and tail, white one-piece dress.

The first one I drew.
I had this image of them as something that simply exists and lives, rather than something there for people, so there’s none of that friendly, eager-to-be-loved kind of cuteness in them.

A figure of Konkon Warabe made out of polymer clay.

Figure (polymer clay)
I’m an amateur when it comes to figures,
but I thought I could probably pull off something like one of those little meringue dolls you see on top of a cake, so I gave it a try.

A resin-cast figure of Konkon Warabe.

Figure (cast resin)
This one I made a while after the first.
My skills had improved, which was fun to see.

The Konkon Warabe figure posed alongside little wooden ornaments and a fox figurine.

Sometimes I set them up and play around with them.

The Konkon Warabe figure peeking out from behind a wooden ornament.

Now I get why figures are fun.

A redrawn character design of Konkon Warabe with fox ears and tail, in a white one-piece dress.

A proper redraw of the character design.
I kept the they simply exist and live feeling, but pushed it a bit more toward realism.

A plush version of Konkon Warabe.

Plushie.
I have zero sewing experience, so it’s mostly a combination of ready-made parts. The face wouldn’t have the right feel unless I stitched it myself, though, so I gave that my best shot.

A frontal painting of a child with bobbed hair, large fox ears, and a red scarf around their neck — the character Konkon Warabe.

Nihonga (Japanese painting).
In my head Konkon Warabe is a creature native to Japan, so Nihonga as a painting style feels like an even better match for them.

That’s the record so far.

There’s something interesting about characters.
You can keep one single personality intact and still unfold it in all kinds of directions.
It’s not easy finding the time, but I’d like to give them more chances to see the light of day.

#konkonwarabe #characters #making process