Quarterly Pixiv Vol. 01

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The first volume of Pixiv Quarterly released May 28th, bringing the online art community to print. The premiere issue features a lengthy discussion on Black Rock Shooter, as well as “how-to” art and interviews with well-known artists.

The Black Rock Shooter cover art work by Huke features inside as a fold-out poster. The opposite side has new art work by Kozaki Yusuke.

Kozaki Yusuke’s work repeats inside as a spread. Banpai Akira, Putidevil, Vania 600, Nardack, and Shigeki Maeshima all have full page, or spread illustrations at the front of the magazine.

The feature on Black Rock Shooter is 14 page and includes an interview with Huke and Ryo from Supercell. There’s a BRS art works tribute by other artists, most of which are popular on Pixiv. Also included are photos of the goods from the franchise, like the Goodsmile figures and the BRS Nendroid. There’s also an “anime” Black Rock Shooter figure. The tribute arts are small, but some of the artists are Sino, Toshimasa Komiya, Saitom and CHAN X CO.

Twenty pages of the magazine are for the entries and winners of the Summer Wars Official Illustration Contest. The winners and entrants aren’t the same level of professional as the featured artists in this issue, but the illustrations are really impressive. Aside from the winners, the majority of illustrations are small thumbnail sizes with the user’s Pixiv ID next to it.

The next sections features “Out of Pixiv” artists, basically artists who work with real media. But technically they are on Pixiv, as they photograph their work and upload it to the site.

The artists with featured illustrations in the front of the magazine have interviews throughout the issue.

The last portion of Quarterly Pixiv Vol. 01 has illustrations with flower blossoms, school girls, and a spring theme. Most of the art works on these 24 pages are thumbnail size, but Pixiv IDs are next to each illustration.

It’s a decent start. I like to see more magazine exclusive art work from artists who aren’t already well-known. Many amateur artists feature, but their works have a small presentation, like a fan art section. Since it is quarterly though, it’s not a big commitment money-wise. I’ll probably check it again later to see if it gets better.