Current Layout
The current layout features a vectored image of Tokiya from volume 17 of the manga. I used a combination of greens and blues this time, with a splash of yellow to sort of break the monochromatic look of the cool colors. The text found right above the navigation bar are actually lines Tokiya stated i volume 27 of the manga that I rearranged in order to make it more profound. XDPast Layouts
This site has had a grand total of 12 layouts (including the current layout and the layouts I had back on Tripod and Geocities) so far, but I've decided to keep track of the layouts starting from the very first layout I made for MnK when I moved it to my personal domain. The reason for this is because the other layouts were as boring and ugly as heck, since I didn't know how to use Photoshop yet, had no clue with regard to CSS, had very limited knowledge of HTML, and often resorted to pre-made layouts or template layouts.*cough* So anyway, without further ado, here are the past layouts (arranged from newest to oldest). XD
Vectored Nouveau-esque
This layout features an image of Tokiya from volume 19 of the manga that I decided to vector. The arch above the content frame is pretty much inspired by art nouveau embellishments, and were hand-drawn and then vectored by yours truly. It's not as polished as the more elaborate decorations you see on a lot of other more well-designed sites, but hey, it's a start. The color scheme is still pretty much the same as the previous layout, only with predominantly darker colors and sharper contrasts with the lighter colors.
Simple and Green
This layout features one picture of Tokiya from Volume 27 of the Flame of Recca manga. I went with the color green for this one because...er...I was editing some images I took from the Flame of Recca GBA game while I was making the layout, and I decided to use the color of Tokiya's hair from there as a base for the new layout. XD It's pretty simple, but I like it because it looks nice and clean.Back to Blue
In this layout I tried to not rely as heavily on brushes and textures as I did in the previous layout, so I refrained from using them at all. I ended up with a much cleaner and organized-looking layout, with a color scheme similar to the blue layouts done for the site previously. It features an image of Tokiya from the very last chapter of the Flame of Recca manga, and a few smaller manga images on the left side of the header. Another image from the manga was used for the mouse-over effects for the navigation bar.
Red Water and Sepia Memories
The fifth layout was utterly different from the previous layout with regard to color scheme. After experimenting with several color schemes, blending options, brushes, and textures, this was what I came up with, and I'm pleased with how it came out. Its color scheme is uncharacteristically warm, but I think the colors still suit Tokiya well. The sepia tones give a sense of reminiscing about a significant event in the past, while the reds give a feeling of passion, which I think Tokiya has with regard to fighting spirit and determination. The reds also give an impression of blood, which Tokiya uses to create Ensui's blade as his trump card in battles. Anyway, enough analytical babbling from me, this was just an accidental layout, which, coincidentally, reflected parts of Tokiya that my other layouts failed to reflect before.
Credits go out to Hybrid Genesis for the brushes and textures I used.
Polaroid Collage
The fourth particular layout features yet another collage of Tokiya images, this time shown as scattered polaroids. If you look at the left side of the layout, the images actually show Tokiya's development from when his sister died up to the latter part of the manga.Fragrance
The third layout features a collage of pictures, one of Tokiya from the Recca no Honoo manga's Tendou Jigoku arc, one of Mifuyu from volume 2 of the manga, and young Tokiya looking murderous (and that's his little hand holding Ensui in the rightmost part of the header image) from Volume 31 of the manga. The lyrics you see there are from Fragrance, by Gackt, and were taken from Gackt Lyrics Translations Index. This layout went through four versions (this being the fourth), because I was having trouble with the monochrome colors. One version was too bright, another was too light, and another was too green. Go figure. XP
Fifth Anniversary
The second layout was made in commemoration of Mizu no Kenshi's Fifth Year Anniversary. It features a lot of my favorite images of Tokiya (mostly from the latter part of the manga, when the art had improved drastically). I actually made a mistake there, Mizu no Kenshi was opened on the 17th of April 2000, not on the 27th. Whoa. Five years. My site is living proof of five years (well, fine, minus the nine month hiatus XP) of the time and devotion I put into my love for Tokiya.
