Oekaki

Oekaki is Japanese for "scribble" or "doodle". On the Internet, an Oekaki is a message board system that revolves around computer art created by a local art program. Oekaki artists often post their art to other websites, such as personal pages or free gallery websites, in addition to the original board.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Oekaki interface is a Java applet. It is simple to use, yet offers enough features to create professional-looking images. The two most popular programs are OekakiBBS and PaintBBS. There are several other applets, but the two described below are the most commonly used on English boards. Artists can use these applets with the computer mouse or with a graphics tablet and stylus, as popularized by Wacom.

Related Topics:
Java - Applet - Programs - Mouse - Graphics tablet - Stylus - Wacom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If the BBS and the program applet are both equipped for it, the artist can choose to use an animation feature which allows the BBS users to watch a "movie" of the artist drawing his image. Some Oekaki boards also have a Continue feature, which allows the artist to save the image to the board and continue work on it later. The animation feature is required to retain the image's layer and palette data when Continuing.

Related Topics:
BBS - Animation - Movie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oekaki is extremely popular among the anime Internet subculture, because it enables a community gathering to share fanart and offer critiques and compliments. It also serves as a tool to "flesh out" original characters, especially roleplaying characters.

Related Topics:
Anime - Internet - Subculture - Roleplaying

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are a remarkable number of Oekaki boards, Oekaki Central being one of the largest. Artists can create their own Oekaki board at sites such as OekakiBBS.com, though that site is often hard to use for non-Japanese-speakers because much of it is in Japanese or poorly translated English.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~