Can't get enough of Animal Crossing: New Leaf? These pillows should be right up your alley ...

I've only just gotten around to thinking about the interior of my Animal Crossing: New Leaf homes, so I'm not as educated as I should be about things like customizing furniture and other household items (although I have dabbled in it a tiny bit).

As such, I've yet to make--or even encounter in someone else's town, really--the kind of customized crafts that inspired Australian game-design student Bilvy to make the fabulous throw pillows seen below (and here):



Blathers, Chief, Lolly and Punchy aren't the only Animal Crossing characters Bilvy's immortalized in her pillows, by the way. Bob, K.K. Slider, Octavian, Stitches, Tangy and Wolfgang are included among the first batch--being sold at society6.com/bilvyy/pillows for $20 each--as well.

Although I initially was a bit disappointed not to find Snake, Bluebear or Barold (my current favorite Animal Crossing villager) pillows, it appears Bilvy is willing to take requests, so maybe I should take her up on that offer sometime soon?

Bilvy also maintains an New Leaf-focused tumblr, willgrayhound. tumblr.com, and an art blog that's intriguingly titled "there is no gender in jumperland," by the way, so if you like what she did with the cushion designs seen above, you might want to give them a look, too.

'The ultimate game of cat and mouse'

I've long been a fan of Namco's arcade classic, Mappy--for proof, read through my "Great Gaymathon" review of its Famicom port--so it shouldn't be too surprising to hear me come out in support of the following print, produced by the über-talented Zac Gorman.

If you're in the mood for game-related illustrations, by the way, I'd highly recommend heading over to Gorman's site, Magical Game Time, to check out this compilation of doodles--which features a Bub (or is it Bob?) design that's miles better than the one currently used by Taito--as well as this recent-ish EarthBound comic.

Who else hates how Bub's and Bob's designs have changed for the worse in recent Bubble Bobbles?

You may not be aware of this, but the dynamic dragon duo known as Bub and Bob--or Bubblun and Bobblun, if that's how you roll--haven't always looked like they single-handedly inspired the "herp derp" meme.

Yes, they've always been a bit cross-eyed. And, yes, they've always had buck teeth. Still, Bub's and Bob's earliest designs (see flyer below) were pretty darn cute, if you ask me.

Sadly, they weren't that cute for long. In fact, Bub and Bob somehow caught a serious case of the duhs between the release of the Famicom version of Bubble Bobble and the NES version.

Bubble Bobble Part 2 wasn't any better, with Bub and Bob appearing the definition of "dorky" both on that game's box art and within its gameplay.

You've just got to love Mighta's beady little eyes (and hands and feet and everything else)

Mighta isn't the only Bubble Bobble character with beady eyes and other features in the photo below, of course. Bobblun (Bob), Bubblun (Bub), Monsta, PulPul and Zen-Chan are all a bit beady, too--thanks to the Perler Beads that make up their bodies.



The creations above were made by artist and blogger Kasey Tararuj, by the way. Check out her wonderful blog here, and check out a post about one of her previous creations--a three-dimensional Bubble Bobble-themed painting--in "For once, Bobblun gets the spotlight."

For once, Bobblun gets the spotlight

How many folks actually refer to Bubble Bobble's second fiddle as Bobblun rather than Bob, I wonder?

Anyway, whether he's called Bob, Bobblun or "blue player two," the character is often ignored, even by those (like myself) who claim to be fans of Fukio Mitsuji's arcade classic. As such, the following piece of art, produced by Kasey Tararuj, is (to me, at least) as refreshing as it is adorable:



The image above doesn't give you the whole picture (pun intended) of Tararuj's piece, by the way. Looked at from the side, good ol' Bob--or Bobblun, or whatever you want to call him--and the bubble that encases him pop from the canvas in oh-so-au-currant 3D.

See what I mean, and read why Tararuj chose Bubble Bobble as a subject rather than Circus Charlie, by checking out the artist's blog, kaseytararuj. blogspot.com.