Shirahane Nao (formerly known as Dmyo, which I still like to call her because it’s shorter) has been a favorite artist of mine since Icie first posted one of her doujinshi in his late “Hunting the Elusive” blog. She hails from Korea, but now lives in Japan and her Japanese language ability is pretty darn good. I’ve talked with her a few times on Twitter (in Japanese; I don’t know a lick of Korean!), and she’s an incredibly sweet person who shows overwhelming gratitude for her fans’ support.
白羽奈尾 1巻 (Shirahane Nao volume 1) is the first compilation of artworks completed under her new pen name. It’s also one of my personal favorites in my doujinshi collection.
Cover Art
When I purchased this doujinshi, it also came with a heavy cardstock poster of the artwork on the front cover. The contents are an assortment of illustrations from her past “Dmyotic” volumes with a few newer pieces added in.
Touhou, Oreimo and Ranma 1/2
I love seeing new art of classic characters, and this depiction of Ran-chan from Ranma 1/2 is just that! Another of my favorite characters is featured on the opposite page; Kousaka Kirono from Oreimo, and Flandre Scarlet from the wildly popular Touhou game series.
Suenaga Mirai
There’s no doubt in my mind that Shirahane Nao gained new fans and followers when internet otaku sensation and general animu-ambassador Danny Choo asked her to illustrate his mascot Suenaga Mirai. I was both shocked and excited at the reveal of her Mirai designs, and loved them enough to buy one of the giant banners of her illustrations to hang up in my room.
Dengeki G’s Magazine
The two girls enjoying some delicious steamed buns in the cold Winter weather were done for the January 2011 issue of Dengeki G’s magazine. The gal with the animal ears and fluffy tail (which Dmyo claims to have really enjoyed drawing) is Momiji from the incredibly long-named visual novel “A.G.II.D.C. ~RPG Gakuen 2.0 Circus Shijou Saidai no Kiki!?~“… Whew.
Original Characters
All of these adorable cat-eared folk are original characters. I’m really loving the group shot on the left.
La Vie en Rose
The above beauties are from an original doujinshi titled “La Vie en Rose“. I find the girl on the right particularly stunning, and I am fairly certain this doujinshi also came with a matching poster of the cover artwork featuring said girl. Maybe one of these days I’ll get my hands on that.
New Year’s Images
The snow bunny girl was another piece for Dengeki G’s magazine (for February 2011) and the catgirl with the tiger was her “Happy New Year” piece for 2010.
Super Sonico and an Original Character
Here’s Super Sonico and one of Dmyo’s favorite original character illustrations. I’m always on the fence about Sonico, because I love her design with the exception of her comically too-large breasts.
Hatsune Miku and Black Rock Shooter
Touhou? Check. Hatsune Miku? Check. Black Rock Shooter? Check. Pretty much no doujinshi is completely nowadays without these staple favorites, right?
Angel Beats!
These two are my favorite gals from Angel Beats!, Yui and Tenshi. They look fantastic in Dmyo’s style.
Black Rock Shooter and K-On!
I don’t know about you guys, but I can definitely get behind this whole Azunyan dressed as Black Rock Shooter thing…
Bakemonogatari
Fan favorite characters (from left to right) Oshino Shinobu, Sengoku Nadeko, Hanekawa Tsubasa and Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari; a series that has been on my to-watch list for ages.
MM!
You can tell that Dmyo was attempting to emulate the unique coloring style of the original character designer Sakura Koharu in these works of Isurugi Mio and Yuuno Arashiko from “MM!”. The best part is that her own personal style still shines through!
Kuroshitsuji and Ranma 1/2
Ciel Phantomhive (trap edition!) from Kuroshitsuji and Shampoo from Ranma 1/2.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Homura and Madoka are one of my favorite duos, so I love this one. I’m glad they got a 2-page spread, and I’m praying that someday she’ll draw Madoka in her goddess form!
Atogaki featuring Nill from “Dogs”
While I’ve shown off a lot of great pieces in this book, bear in mind that I didn’t photograph the entire thing. Other illustrations feature characters from Macross, Pre-Cure, Love Plus and Magic Knight Rayearth, just to name a few!
A great deal of the contents of Shirahane Nao vol. 1 are re-prints from Dmyotic 6 and 7, so if you dislike re-prints and aren’t a completionist, it might not be a must-have. If you’re like me, though, and don’t actually own any of the Dmyotic doujinshi, it’s a great first purchase for a new fan of her work. I was beyond pleased with this book and I’m patiently looking forward to a volume 2!
Relevant Links:
dmyo.com
Shirahane Nao @ Twitter
toranoana
Plastic Pleasures 
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