19 MAY 2021

Bu2ma and The Art of Chonky Animals

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Admit it, besides following our favourite tattoo artists and the latest sneaker drops, there's another important usage of social media – to ooh-and-aww at the finest, cutest curation of animals on the internet. Here's a life hack. Had a hard day? Check out #chonky and #cutenessoverload for endless eye-bleach and stress relief, and let baby seals and red pandas and french bulldogs temporarily take over your world.

As lovers of ridiculously cute creatures and avid followers of artists who draw cute creatures, we are naturally very familiar with the art of Bu2ma

Bu2ma is an artist from Beijing whose art is inspired by cute animals, especially cats. His simple, charming illustrations of these animals are full of child-like humor and imagination. Scrolling through his works on Instagram just brings tons of joy, even if you don't understand the Chinese calligraphy that comes along with them sometimes. 

Bu2ma's Original Artworks

 

His art mainly consists of all kinds of rotund animals drawn in an oriental style, and one of his most iconic and popular characters is a grumpy-looking, chonky tiger – Alexander. Often appearing with his little companion, a smaller tiger, Alexander the fat tiger is captured in a variety of "slice-of-life" situations through Bu2ma's original comics. 

Bu2ma is also no stranger in the world of art toys. Having created other toy figurines such as this mini-figurines series with 52Toys, the art and toys of Bu2ma are loved and collected by fans all around the world. 

Photo credit: 52Toys

 

This week, we're presenting our first toy with Bu2ma, featuring Alexander! This piece, "It's Lonely At The Top" by Bu2ma is based on an illustration that he created in 2020, with the guest appearance of the little tiger. Apparently, an excited Alexander climbed the mountain but later found that he had trouble coming back down, so he put on his poker face to cover up his embarrassment. Let's look at some interesting details on this piece!

A Couple of Grumpy Tigers Going Up the Mountain

 

The Chinese words "明知山 (Ming Zhi Shan)" are inscribed on the back of the mountain, which is a wordplay on a well-known Chinese saying. The full original saying translates to "Knowing that the mountain is home to a tiger, yet deliberately heading into the mountain". The wordplay basically names the mountain "Knowing That The Mountain"; With the tiger sitting atop this mountain, the wordplay is complete.

"It's Lonely At The Top" by Bu2ma is a premium polystone art toy that features a big 7" tiger on a mountain, and a small ~2" tiger. The fur-like texturing on the tigers, hand-painted details and beautiful color gradients perfectly capture Bu2ma’s illustration in 3D. This is a limited edition of 300, fastest fingers first!

Plus, to celebrate our first release with Bu2ma, we are giving double VIP points for every purchase of "It's Lonely At The Top" made within 24 hours of the launch. Our VIP points, which is known as Mighty Coins, can be used to rank up your VIP status to unlock lots of awesome VIP perks! You know you want it, so make sure you get it between 22nd May, 9am EST and 23rd May, 9am EST!

US$199 // 7" Alexander, ~2" Small Tiger // Premium Polystone Art Toy

 

"It's Lonely At The Top" is launching this Saturday, 22 May, 9am EST. Remember to subscribe to get firsthand news from us, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay tuned to our weekly releases!

 

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