Welcome to the Solaris Blog! ヾ( ʚ̴̶̷ .̫ ʚ̴̶̷ )ﾉ”

“Everything you can imagine is real.” This famous quote by Pablo Picasso is true in many different ways. Modern art has always been something I've viewed as a joke but in the current AI driven world, there is a new appreciation for creativity.

Creating an original character may be the ultimate test of imagination. It requires blending originality, individuality and expressiveness that others can connect with. Beyond the cool designs and edgy backstories, it takes careful thought to make a character feel real. Finding the balance between depth and mystery, uniqueness and relatability, can feel like walking a tightrope over an abyss of clichés.

One artist that has managed to avoid all of the pitfalls is Biya. In the ever evolving world of digital media, she has managed to carve out a distinct identity that captivates audiences. Biya’s ability to create striking character designs and evocative illustrations has led her to be one of the most popular artists, reaching over 1 million followers on X in just a few short years.

One of Biya’s signature strengths is her ability to create characters that feel both mysterious and deeply personal. Biya's designs often incorporate elements of high fashion, urban aesthetics, and fantasy influences, resulting in a style that is both modern and timeless. The way Biya plays with lighting and texture adds an extra layer of depth, making their characters feel almost tangible. Her characters often exude a quiet confidence, with subtle expressions that hint at deeper narratives.

Meet Yuna

At the heart of Biya's success is her insanely well crafted original character Yuna. All of Biya's skills and ingenuity can be seen in the various illustrations of Yuna. While many characters, especially original ones, never get an official figure production, at this point you can build an entire display using just Yuna figures. And this has all been within 2-3 years.

Wanting to bring Yuna to life, Biya decided to cosplay her. At an event back in 2022, in one of the most genius marketing moves, she decided to have Yuna sell her doujinshi featuring none other than, Yuna!

This was a very successful strategy and may have started a new meta with other artists copying the approach. Riko has been on a similar trajectory and often posts photos of cosplaying her own OC.

Making an Original Character Real: Yuna Sells Her Own Art Book

Biya's photo made the rounds online and fans loved it. Bear Panda saw the opportunity to capitalize on the hype and decided to take the concept and immortalize it in figure form. Using Biya cosplaying as Yuna, selling a Yuna doujinshi was a surprisingly great bishoujo figure. Bear Panda even recreated Biya’s doujinshi with nice detail.

Yuna looks absolutely adorable, capturing a perfect mix of shyness and charm. Standing with a flustered expression, clutching her doujinshi in a futile attempt to cover her face, adds a playful and endearing touch to her pose. It also mimics Biya's own desire to hide her face and avoid some unwanted attention.

Her long, flowing hair transitions beautifully from deep purple to soft pink, creating a striking gradient that enhances the figure’s depth and visual appeal.

They also did a very nice jobe recreating Yuna’s clothing by using glossy paint to show texture.

With the slightly naughty nature to the outfit, it makes a very nice bishoujo figure. Yuna’s bunny girl outfit, pose and hair grabs your attention. Biya may have turned heads at the event and Bear Panda does the same on your shelf.

Yuna Embraces Face Mask Fashion

Face mask fashion has evolved from a purely functional necessity to a stylish accessory that complements personal aesthetics. Thanks to the COVID pandemic, designers and brands started creating masks that matched outfits, incorporated luxury materials, and even featured artistic prints. For many Asian countries, wearing masks has been the norm for health reasons and many still wear them in public for protection. As such, some prefer to have them enhance their aesthetic, just like Mask Girl Yuna.

Biya kills it again with a nicely put together outfit and seductive pose. The stylish outfit is simple yet exudes both confidence and allure.

Yuna's sleek black crop top and white shorts complement each other well, thanks to the addition of thigh highs. Her look is completed with a voluminous blue and black jacket that adds a touch of urban chic. Having it sliding off her shoulders adds the enticing visual.

Yuna's long, flowing hair and soft gaze draws you in, while her mask adds a mysterious charm.

The figure's sculpt highlights her slender form and makes a very good, more modest bishoujo figure.

A Mask at the Beach

If you like the mask aesthetic but wanted something more revealing, Biya has you covered. In the Yuna-chan figure from Union Creative we have an all black outfit not safe for the streets.

This time, Yuna is really flaunting what she has. The overall visual is similar to the Mask Girl version but Yuna is showing more confidence, having her arms positioned behind her.

The black bikini is very revealing and a common style for bishoujo figures. Keeping the jacket was a nice touch to still add a bit of uniqueness and add to the tantalizing appearance.

The sculpt is well done and Yuna has a lot of definition in the important areas. Union Creative also gives a damasked display option.

Finally, Yuna unveils her love of beef. We keep the black face mask and signature jacket but swap the bikini for a cow themed outfit. This one is borderline NSFW.

With Biya taking cosplay photos of herself as Yuna, I am starting to ask, what came first, the illustration or the cosplay. Whatever the case, Biya knows what she is doing. Just a year after the original release, it is already back up for pre-order with a re-release. Long time collectors know the struggle of waiting and waiting for a re-release so this has been a huge success.

The subtle additions to the outfit like the cow ears, horns, bell and tail once again enhance the overall visual. The pose and sculpt are top notch. Most the cow bikini type designs dabble in the hentai territory but Yuna gives us something very ecchi without crossing the line.

Yuna Takes it All Off

The same outfit in the Yuna-chan figure can be found in an adults only, NSFW cast-off figure by Gentlemen.

The design comes from an illustration collaboration Biya did with artist K Pring. Yuna is available to be purchased solo or as a pair with K Pring’s Sayuri.

Both are full cast-off figures.

If you are a collector of adult figures and find both characters to be to your liking, Sayuri also has a cast-off cow bikini figure to go with Yuna.

Too Much Yuna

Biya has done more than just Yuna so to get to those, I'll just briefly introduce two more Yuna figures. First we have Bunny Yuna-chan.

It is your standard bunny girl outfit with a Biya twist. The pose, expression and added ribbons make it stand out from other designs and enhance the bishoujo elements.

The Party Dress version of Yuna is a much more elegant take.

The dress has a graceful yet sultry look, keeping skin exposed. Having Yuna's hair kept in a bun gives her a more reserved, sophisticated look.

Biya Goes For a Traditional Chinese Aesthetic

In addition to Yuna, Biya has created Nalan Ci. There are some similarities to Yuna but she adds a completely different appeal.

The long purple hair is given a less wild style and having it drape across the tree branch gives it an ethereal look. The motifs of fall create a nice theme.

Nalan Ci is dressed in a Chinese style dress and Biya yet again nails it. There is the perfect balance of exposed skin and body highlights to lure the viewer in.

The soft, contemplative expression combined with the additional elements like the scrolls and fan make a melancholy atmosphere.

Biya also used accent colors quite well. The addition of gold and blue highlights on the outfit add a splash of color to the red backdrop.

Nalan Ci is another strong bishoujo figure.

The last figure to mention is Biya's take on Mai Shiranui from King of Fighters.

Biya did an amazing job enhancing her outfit to give it a more elegant look.

Elements of her traditional costume are still present, but with an oriental twist.

Bear Panda took Mai’s Chinese style dress and put a lot of emphasis into making it pop. From the gold highlights to the textured sculpt, it is visually intriguing.

Mai is currently available for pre-order with a release later this year.
Thank you for reading!