HIME-CHARA ☆ DESIGNERS FILE is a directory of fairly well-known commercial illustrators that design the anime, game, and manga characters we've all come to know and love. The art book features a remarkable 111 artists, but much like last years 100 Masters of Bishojo Painting each artist gets two pages, one full page illustration and one with smaller tiled art works.

The cover illustration for HIME-CHARA ☆ DESIGNERS FILE is newly drawn by KEI, along with three newly drawn illustrations in the front that are all two-page spreads. The illustrators with new works are Kiira, Chiba Sadoru, and Yuuryu Nagare, each of whom have their own two pages as well. The art book is A4-sized and 240-pages which is huge, considering it's full color and illustrations all the way through.

Above is an example of how the pages are laid out, with the full page illustration and smaller tiled ones next to it. Because so many of the artists in this collection are well-known, I included more pictures for artists who may be less familiar, but still commercial like Ayase Hazuki, pictured above.

The majority of illustrations in HIME-CHARA ☆ DESIGNERS FILE are not new, but from just about anything the artists' had previously published. There are illustrations from doujins, light novel covers, magazines, everything really. So because of that variety, even if some of the pictures are familiar to you, you'll surely see something new due to the sheer number of illustrations included. Above are works by Yohichi Ariko, Ixy, Ikeda Jun (not the same as this Ikeda Jun), Izumi Mahiro, Inugami Kira, and Katagiri Hinata.

As far as well-known artists go, Tony Taka, Na-Ga, Itaru Hinoue, Aoi Kimizuka, Aoi Nishimata, Akane Ikegami, Ito Noizi, Sasaki Mutsumi, and Izumi Sakurazawa all make an appearance. But for the more famous artists, it's likely you've already seen the illustrations showcased. Above are Kaya8, Kaskabe Akira, Kimizuka Aoi, Kirino Kasumu, Saeki Hokuto, and Sakurai Unan.

It's also good to know that the publishers did mangage to keep the price down for this collection, retailing it for ￥2600 without tax. The print quality is very high---the kind you're more likely to see in small sized doujins than huge art books---but it didn't negatively affect the price. Artists above are Mutsumi Sasaki, Sanbasou, Shintaro, Kouhaku Sumeragi, Hirano Katsuyuki, and Hagane Tsurugi. Mitsuishi Shona, Siro, Sumaki Syungo, and Sesena Yau are some of the many artists I skipped over in this portion of the book ^^;

Tony Taka's full page illustration features the new art from Shining Hearts, though it's been used before. Yuuri Nishiwaki's illustration was a cover for a C78 doujinshi, which was also the case for several other art works included.

Though Vania600's illustrations are starting to feel kind of familiar, the main visual was a doujinshi illustration that I think I hadn't seen before, though some of the smaller ones were from the Quarterly Pixiv magazine. Misakura Nankotsu's illustration came from the Guitar Girls pose book that came out earlier this year.

HIME-CHARA ☆ DESIGNERS FILE provides a great resource of artists, showcasing their work and providing their websites with each entry. In the index, each artist briefly answers 5 questions, ranging from how long they've been drawing (commercially) to what programs they use. It's a fun collection, and if you're interesting in knowing everyone involved, check out the description on the Amazon product page.

• Title: HIME-CHARA ☆ DESIGNERS FILE
• タイトル: 姫キャラ☆デザイナーズファイル　~萌え絵師111~
• Pages: 240
• Release date: 12/14/2010
• Buy: Amazon Japan