ok, here are some examples of my work. some anime, and some american style.going back to school at aoa in san fran for film/video/animation. hopefully one day id like to work with madhouse animation in japan, or start an animation company here in america geared towards theatrical animation. the non colored drawings are a part of an illustration tutorial i posted on another forum. one of them is to teach how to draw difficult body postures, (the female ninja/kenoichi). if any of you would like to see the tutorial pics, ill post them for you. i like to work in both traditional and digital mediums, the pic of wolverine and my own twist on an alien, was painted in acrylics, watercolors, touched with an airbrush. the anime elf was painted in photoshop.the last pic is some digital design for my last album cover:) chemosh is not finished, as you can see the left hand of the dragon hasnt been painted inn, or the detail on his body painted, but its another acrylic job, then it will be digitally touched, lemme know whatcha think:)
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=izu3.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=minazume.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=chemosh.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=kurudoshinzen2.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=werewolf2.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/?action=view¤t=wva.jpg
oops, how do i move this thread?
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
i really like that last pic you posted, nice design.
I always think it's weird when people differentiate japanese animation and american animation, just because in my mind, animation is animation and the only difference (besides the cultural and production values) are 'limited' and 'full'.
I mean nobody ever says, "heres some art I did, some canadian style, some eastern european style".
but i digress.
post more art.
http://ben-reynolds.com
Animation and Design
i find it wierd that your friends weren't edgy about the scene after tessai in the woods.
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thx for the feedback acetate assasin:) - i'll post more soon:P
yes, there are deff strong opinions against both styles, good point btw, no need to really try and seperate, theres good and bad examples on both sides of the fence, animation aside, youd be supprised how many americans dont know that "heavy metal" magazine was originally a french publication called "metal hurlant" and is still a european publication, rarely publishing american artists. my old boss is really good friends with the cheif editor who also co-owns the magazine, ppl look at me with blank faces when i tell them that...(most artists know that, but many fans do not)..
ahhh NOOB, im pretty sure they were edgy throughout the entire film.....hahaha
particularly when they realized that Gemma was bi-sexual, muhahaha, the looks... :D
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
now that i think about it,that movie had sum highly unneccasary scenes....like when that fat guy was humping that lady while talking to that girl hahaa
anywho,post more art!!
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right you are NOOB:) the scene you are reffering to was a bit unneccasary, but it was also very important to the story, because of the following >
1.it was a very direct insult to kagero, being that sex with her was forbidden via death from her poisonous body. it also hinted to kagero that his blatent disregard for the ninjas lives lost to tessai meant something was not right ( poison tasters were an actual class of ninja, although it didnt effect their epidermis lol, ).
2.that wasnt actually the daimyo having sex with the woman, gemma had actually killed him the day before and mimicked his body. you dont find this out until the end of the film of course, but it explains his actions, and the fact that he had set the clan up from the beggining.
all in all it was a bit excessive, but then again, it wouldnt have been the same without them:P
ill post more soon, havin scanner probs, think the bulbs are mis aligned, darn it all!!! think i got more floatin around on my computer, ill dig around:)
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
You are good at that style and good at adding nice details. I think you could push your poses a little more, though, to get more movement into your drawings. Look at the second one, of the girl for instance. You could put more arch into her stance to make it more dynamic. Also... perhaps you should try getting more originality into your style. Your good at capturing anime and comic book styles.... and it's good to be able to adapt to other people's styles, but I would like to see something a little more memorable and unique. But nice job.
Are you doing grad school at aoa? or you'r bachelor's? Let me know what you think of it. I'm considering it for grad school. One of my top 3 after calarts and scad.
Also.... do you speak Japanese?
hehe, these poses are non dynamic for a reason, they were part of a tutorial for beggining artists, except for the chemosh pic, that is a cover design thats bout halfway finished. ill post some of the panel shots from our book to show you dynamic posturing:) i have pics of ppl pointing in your face and monks swinging swords over yer head while jumping, etc. point of view camera posturing. these were done soley to show others proportion and design. as for originality, like i said before, these drawings were on the fly tutorials, i didnt want to go berserk with advanced posturing for the learners, as it would just confuse them further. my own style is a hybrid of several diff styles. anime, retro mediums, american comics (whitch im not fond of but have there uses, the wolverine pic was done about 10 yrs ago, but its a fav on superherohype.com, thats why i posted it, plus it was a never b4 seen match up:) ill post the tutorial steps to show you what i mean, and current art to show you the posturing and originality. thank you for the feedback, much appreciated:P
aoa is the school for me, its got everything i need and extremely powerfull staff, all working in the field, to help with job placement, plus, yea i speak japanese, although a bit rough, my pronunciation is the strong point, so san fran is a logical choice as i can take japanese at a community college for free and mingle with the japanese population. i would recommend the school to anyone interested in film/animation:-)
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
"Anime" style, "American" style - only the Sith deal in absolutes. Promising effort either way.
Did someone say anime. Go away with that crap, please.
No offense, but i really hate that stuff (personally), and cannot believ etehre are enough simpletons in North America to enjoy it.
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon
you obviously have a small cranial capacity. and im guessing you base your assumptions upon the worst examples of the genre, too bad for you. your no doubt stuck in disneyland, infanticly seduced by mickey and goofy. if you had any brains, you would realize that on the technical end, the japanese rule animation, but its not your fault you havnt seen what it really has to offer. if your argument was about the material you see on american television, then i would agree, its mostly crap, but so is every other american cartoon on the airways. not to mention, the japanese are mature enough to understand that the medium is awe inspiring in the theatre, thats right, the theatre. on an intellectual basis, american cartooning is simplistic, kid like and ummm, boring.
i can see how kids can dig it, but to me it is shlock-mass produced crap, just like the anime you see on american tv. as for you, i feel bad that you lack the mental capacity to realize this, and btw, this is a forum, dont tell me what to post and what not to, its not your job. i own and or have seen anime that makes american animation look like childs play, and thats exactly the attitude that most american animation fans have towards it, its not their fault they havnt seen it. ive been studying japanese history and culture for around 15 yrs, and i must say, nothing, and i mean nothing, compares to their serious material. 30 frames/sec 60 fields/sec, for the whole ep. never seen that in an american animation, even disney slaks at 24 per sec, and reserves 30 per for
extreme movement. in my opinion, you sir are an idiot. but like i said to bad for you. now go back to sucking your thumb and watching bugs bunny on sat mornings lol. animation is not a homogeneous medium.
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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anime is half asked "animation"
there really isnt much animation to any anime. Some of them have nice flow in one or two scenes, but a majority is very limited. Anime is more of a "manga for tv" kinda thing. i dont get why you think they actually run at 30 frames per second other than thats the speed frames go. it may be 30 frames...but its only 15(or less) drawings. In case you were wondering FILM runs at 24 frames a second....so i am thinking you are confusing frames with actual drawings.
Fairly Oddparents and spongebob are animated better then most of the anime shown on adult swim.
The life in anime is not really from the animation...which is why i think a lot of people who like american animation disregard anime.....that and the style....all so similar. and bad/nonexistant cartooning.
In any event....im going to have to agree that the warewolf is very awesome. I also really like the ninja girl.
"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo
no, i was talking about theatrical animation, of course no one in their right minds would animate a series at 30 frames. i was reffering to theatrical releases. and im not confusing the number of frames for drawings, sry, but often in large japanese theatrical animation, some films were not played at less than 24, whitch is astounding. also not compromising feilds. and no, i would give 15 cells a liberal number, more like 18-19. to say that there isnt much animation to anime is a rediculous statement. i should clear something up for anyone reading this. i am no more a fan of serialized anime than any american cartoon, with the exception of stand alone complex, as it is a facinating objective look at near future cybernetics (a field i study as a hobby, along with particle physics). i am geared toward theatrical animation.
series really dont do it for me.
on a more positive note, thank you for the respose to the artwork, it is much apreciated. the werewolf and the chemosh pics are examples of the fact that im not just an anime freak. so, grats:P
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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It always ends like that.
I must say, however, that I'm with Sajdera. I find it a very disappointing attitude to go around trying to impress people by showing them that you try to do "both sides" and then go off like a huffy rocket when you encounter someone who dares being opposed to the style you obviously favour. Wade K., who we know has strong opinions and isn't afraid to tell people, made a statement about his personal taste. It may seem harshly put to you but if you let it get to you so much you have to resort to personal insults to retort, good luck trying to get along with other artists.
Fanatically glorifying either one or the other "side" is starting a discussion which can come to no sensible compromise. I hope the majority of animation artists are better than that because I find inanely fighting over these questions of personal taste extremely exhausting.
well, you too have made the assumption mistake, r you guys just not getting the point? i hate to have to repeat myself, but ill do it for your sake as well. IF YOU READ THE FIRST POST, nowhere did i indicate that i was bragging, or trying to "impress" anyone, i seem to remember that i asked for feedback? indicating that i wanted constructive criticism, and comments? does that not indicate a humble attitude? not one remark sighted that i was doing anything other than posting some artwork. its not my fault that i have delved into both, and other mediums. i believe i was insulted by the total lack of respect for doing nothing but posting art. this is AWN right? "animation WORLD network"?
i could give a shit about how WadeK talks to ppl. maybe debates like this wouldnt happen so often if he didnt start his conversations so negatively?
my point is, neither did i start this argument, nor am i boasting in any way, im sry that you see it that way.
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
bar bar,i don't think anyone really has anything against u,its just the fact that u basically said *anime rules all,american animation is shite* yes not in those exact words,but its pretty clear people are gunna be offended by that,there are allot of americans on this site,so like.... beware.
Wade K comment is just outstanding,it would have been best to just ignore it,its only one guys opinion after all.
just keep doing what your doing. ;)
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i really dont mean to come off like that. all american animation is not crap. bluth and ralph bachi are some of my hereos in the animation world. my only real opinionated stance is context. i am american, yet i want to bring more "adult" oriented theatrical animation to the screen. i cant speak for anyone, but almost everyone i know is getting tired of pixar, and the general notion in america that theatrical animation should remain on this timmid, family oriented context. im not talking anout sex, im talking about reality, human behavioral traits that r not present in theatrical animation in america. comparing the 2 is useless i agree, too many ppl, and all have their own opinions. i am however not an anime freak as some have put it, i know these types, otaku, who are obsessed with it. i am not. i am merely trying at this point to convey the fact that good anime has (for me) more interesting subject matter, and these same good anime use techniques that would even do justice to american animation. for instance, one of the shorts in the animatrix, called Beyond, utilized very advanced ways of capturing a 2d feel with 3d objects. buildings and scenery mostly, but the process was to "hand paint" a 3d object, using 3d paint tools. the effect complimented the 2d artwork so well i was shoked as i backed up through certain scenes to make sure i was seeing things correctly. this paint tool aplication is not uncommon, but it is in a 2d based animation. the camera toggles felt so real you felt as though you were right there. spirited away is another good example of this technique being used in a primarily 2d format. i have yet to see the same technique used as convincingly in anything else. i admit freely that one is not "better" than the other, all art in my eyes is good art, no matter what the level is.
anyway, to get off of the roaring debate, here is a digital design for a flyer for an upcoming show, no text yet, this is a rough, but i thought id share it with you:) >
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
The Incredibles is the MOST real, and full of some of the BEST human behavioral traits. No anime can even come close to the flawless animation in The Incredibles.
"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo
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Ah, I had been wondering where that character came from, sajdera. I was intrigued just by the design of him.
Babar, no hard feelings, I didn't feel directly attacked. Many online animation communities are as open-minded as it gets, though. Creativity is much more restricted if you're working for studios.
ummm, i think your mis-interpreting my meaning of "adult situations" in animation. the incredibles was just that, incredible. but i didnt see anyone take a bullet in head, no one died, didnt see anyone doing drugs (a fact of life), no prostitutes on the street corners, no gang land activity (well, this depends on where you are in the world), no sexual situations really, (not that i want to include graphic sex in animation). these are the real-life events im reffering to. but it was a great film i agree:)
SADJERA!!! i have been to your site before!!!, i dont remember how, but it wasnt from this forum! are you on Myspace? darned if i just cant remember how i got there...its a little hard to navigate, but i remember the dick-headed parody skits an such, and yes "Dawn of the Day":) personally i cant stand flash (the software), but then again it is a very prominent web animation tool.
i cant see how it could be mistook for an anime style though, it seemed very original to me, but then again, were not all artists:) have you ever considered vectoring your line art? flash is a vector based program, so animating bit maps or tiffs can be extremely time consuming, i understand your not wanting to continue the project, since you were doing most of it yourself. i give you props just for doing it though, lots of time involved, and with no budget...well, you know what i mean.....
i feel ya, and im glad to hear you are so level headed, much more than me i suppose? hahahaha, no harm no foul....its fun to be a part of a forum with so many intellectuals, you would not believe the mundane discussions ive had on other forums, so i feel priviledged:)
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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sounds like a sound plan of action, as for the slick vectoring. its necessary cause flash is a vector based program. animating bit maps in it it so time consuming. i would reccomend using adobe illustrators livetrace function to convert every piece of line art to vector. illustrator is a vector illustration program but handles many other functions. so, i would use illustrator instead for vectoring, then import. illustrator is the undisputed king of vector, the pen tool is a god send for manual tracing (versions 10 or lower). if you are able, i would recommend using a wacom tablet as well, you will not believe the power and ease of use those things will give you, esp for illustrator and photoshop, after a while, my mouse just started collecting dust, only being used for gaming. also, the cs photoshop comes with livetrace.
ive never actually animated anything 2d, done some 3d in maya for fun, and i have played with flash, but found it rather crude. i was thinking of maybe ratas or ctp.pro, maybe even disney animator if i can find a copy lol...
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
Uhm dude,Adam Phillips *the guy who made bitey of brackenwood* uses a wacom graphics tablet and draws straight into flash,theres not scanning or bitmap tracing involved ;)
...
babar i love that last pic!
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thx man!! i liked the weirdness, but yes, wacoms are the shit, sadly i have to have mine refurbished, it needs a new cover and switched from ps/2 to usb, but ill do it cause the fuckers huge and i love the large space, opposed to the newer smaller ones.
does flash have a pen/pencil tool that uses anchor bars for line shape control like illustrator? i knew you could draw stright into it, but i didnt think you could manipulate the lines as powerfully as you can in illustrator, hmmm, whitch version of flash, do you know? id love to play with it if it does.
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
Well adam phillips uses the latest flash 8,his latest movie can be seen here,
http://www.biteycastle.com/littleFoot.html
anchor bars? i'm not actually that familiar with illustrator,but i don't think flash uses anchor bars,the closest thing i know ,that i think ur talking about is like the pen tool in photoshop where u can put an anchor point on a line and push and pull etc...to be honest i don't think u can do that.
but adam there doesn't use the line tool,he uses the brush tool,which can then be smoothed,and he also uses gradients for his vector bg's,like this one...
http://www.biteycastle.com/images/brackenwood_wallpaper1a.jpg
who knows,adobe just bought marcromedia,so they might make flash more illustrator esq. eventually.
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tablets take about 2 weeks to get used too .
wacoms are genius,u really shud get one! they are top notch for the digital art industry,thats how most of these painted backgrounds are created these days.
its not really that impressive heh,literally thousands of people draw straight into their computers with tablets,like feng zhu for instance,who has done concept art for many movies including star wars etc.
oops,sorry for spamming the thread hehehe.
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I made a comment on your first post. My second statement was a reply to your way of dealing with opposing opinions.
What are your "assumptions", then? That the collective board is out to get you because you draw anime? All who post their sketches here are, at least subconsciously, after some sort of recognition. You are, I am. There'll always be someone who'll gladly tell you your work isn't worth squat. Cope. All I can read into your agressive stance towards whoever speaks out against anime is a high level of insecurity. Feel free to prove me wrong on that by doing your thing and not lashing out left and right, it won't gain you any friends here.
dude, i didnt become aggressive until someone blatently said that my interests are crap. if that isnt a disrespectfull and aggressive statement than what is? i assume nothing, but i do feel justified in defending what i do. im not here to lash out at anyone, and didnt until one of the most asinine statements ive ever heard was directed at me. but if ppl are gonna be downright assholes about it, of course im gonna defend my interests. i never would have suspected that ppl on this forum would be so closed minded to new ideas. if thats the case, and i have to retaliate against projected insults, (whitch i dont, but i admit i did), then who needs those ppl as friends? im satisfied with the comments and debates made on this subject, ive gotten feedback both positive and negative. btw, i do this for the fun of it (posting art), to get feedback from fellow artists, not to be recognized. i dont need a forum for that, Dark Horse comics and Image both have done that for me, as well as Glen Danzig (to a lesser degree), when verotic was still an entity. i am a confident artist, no insecurities here. (i really am not trying to brag or boast, so plz,dont take this the wrong way).funny thing is, i can do just about anything, from illustration to impressionistic, abstract, pointillism, christ sake i can paint portraits, use oils, acrylics, inks, digital, whatever, but i choose illustration/animation because it conveys a surrealism of a unique nature. believable surrealism.
you have my sincerest appologies if i have offended you Jab, you have done nothing but given an objective opinion and i respect that. i also appologize to anyone who feels like im "cutting" on american animation, its just at this point in time, its not my thing. but remember this, no matter how much i may disagree with anyone on a subject, i still respect your opinions. you see, im not a competitive artist, so when someone lashes at me, its worse than being competitive and being shot down, because i had no intention of being rude to anyone, but that changed the second my interests were assaulted in a direct insult to what i do. honestly i have never encountered that kind of hostility in a forum b4, well, except when i was designing swords for United Cutlery, the sword geeks are about the most unfriendly bunch of ppl ive ever met online, but then again, ive only been here once before, on another forum, discussing technology, not opinions on art itself.
so, i will take your advice and pay no mind to the bashing, because you are right about one thing indeed, it always starts and ends like this, and there will always be someone there to take shots at you, i concur :cool:
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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hei, Kashikomarimashita:)
Mok, you surely r the superrocker :cool: i too have argued with idealist otaku about yea banality of the never ending stream of caca that floods the anime markets, and yes, like a fervered pit bull, they will deny and or make an excuse for any criticism you might have to hand off on their "wonder" art. fact is most of them are identity crisis freaks that, as you have so eloquently stated, want to or hope to magically "become" japanese. rofl :D i personally find ancient japan to be a facinating culture, much the same a historian would admire any civilization he finds personal interst in. no vanity involved for my love of the country. its actually very spiritual, but i wont go into that.
and yet, in all of their mis-guided and delusional bantering about how cool anime is, half i bet money on have never seen, "real" anime. just the pop culture fandom trend. tokyopop makes me wanna puke, it gives anime a bad name, oh well... my real goals are to take the best that both have to offer, and combine them with new elements, a good third being sound. im also a sound designer/dj/producer. i play with touchsamadhi, a psy-trance group based out of Asheville NC. (www.touchsamadhi.com). Babar is actually my dj name. point being, that as a sound designer, i have come to realize that sound is not what it could be in the theatre experience. nor is the screen format. remember 70mm? there were only 2 films released in theaters that were shot in 70mm, Total Recall, and the other i cant remember, but the visual experience was great, albeit the films were not so hot... the end result is 70mm got canned cause back then they had to pay for film, and 70mm was extremely expensive, minus the screens and projectors needed to play them on. well, now we have digital. the cost of 70mm processing would not be much more than a conventional upgrade. combine this with re-designed sound and i think you would have a miraculous theatrical experience, especially with animation. my god the things you could do. the 70mm screens were so big (concave even!!!) that sometimes you would actaully have to turn your head to see what was going on in another part of the scene! the implications hit me about 3 yrs ago when digital film became an alternative to high cost film whitch had a lower visual integrity. so, ideas started pouring into my head.........................................i have been a dj for around 10yrs now, professional for about 6, and when i started writing and mastering my own tracks, it hit me. (i play/produce psy-trance), a very advanced form of trance music, extremely futuristic and very complex, not like club trance or anything comparable to techno-fu-fu, very much the opposite. not to mention that spacial ambience is not used liked it should be, instead its covered up by orchestral sound scores that actually detract from the scene, where ambience would have played down the scene in a much more moody fashion.
wtf am i talking about? here i am writing a book lol...
yea, excuse my lack of capitalization and spelling out whole words, im used to typing very fast in online mmorg, and aim, so im using geek speek, never denied it, i am geek:)
btw i liked your picture, especially the use of kanji, sometimes it can convey emotion that regular words cannot:P
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
lol,
well well, the superrocker comes out with it. how do you really feel about it eh? again man, read the first post, non of this debate oriented bullshit was in it.
i think you took my saying animation is not a homogeneous art form out of context. what i meant was to say that animation should not be so bitterly devided when it comes to style, everyone has there own opinion's thats all. i just happen to think that american animation is dull in context and design, although i do really like hurcules, (i love greek mythos), and they did a nice job with the character designs:) fact is, i dont really follow anime anymore in a general sense, i follow the masters of the serious side of the art, these would be Shirow,Otomo,and few others. Shirow is my fav. friggin amazing art.
but man, your pic post.....you been watchin the wrong anime superrocker... thats all pop-anime, not to be generalized with all anime. any artist should be able to distinguish variants in style in a certain genre. take a look at this for instance...
i see a ton of diff facial expressions on these folks here...
as far as style though, take a look at this > this to me does not fit the mold of "stereotypical anime art", this is the kind of stuff i like...
but for what its worth Mok, the debate is a good one yes indeed, and i thank you for the comments on the art......ummm, also, here are the tutorials i "allegedly" posted for the other forum members of jref. i dont see how any novice illustrator could not understand these lessons....they were accompanied by text of course. this one is for Izu, the kenoichi girl >
step 1 - the rough - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/izu1.jpg
step 2 - refinement -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/izu2.jpg
step 3 - detail -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/izu3.jpg
yea, i love shirasaya, they are my favorite sword, so elegant and simple, perfectly disguised as walking stick that gained its reputation quikly as a deadly concealment weapon during the Asuka period. oooohh shirasaya....
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
Cool pictures.
I am really liking Japenese styled animation/imagery.
It's very distict, however still possible to incorporate a distsict style and there is a huge market out there.
http://www.plobs.com/
Find your Plob.
first of all mok the super rocker, if you had read the original post, it had nothing to do with whitch style was better or worse, it was an art post. no knawing, no thrashing, no bitter bashing, it is you who assume, and in the immortal words of a famous chinese general, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. im not here to preach to anyone. read the damn original post to make remarks about my intentions, because im sure you wont find any that take anyone down. that being said, brings me to the next part of my retort to you> what the hell do you know about me? nothing, again assumption.
to make things clear for you, since you like to assume so much....
i am 31yrs old, i already have a mfa in graphic design, i have been studying japanese culture longer than ive been watching/illustrating manga. im scottish, and damned proud of it (clan McNabb). i know as much about my own genealogy as i do important historical figures of japans many era's.
i was watching and illustrating manga b4 americans in general knew what it was. i saw first hand the release of akira in japan in 1988. before that, i was tape trading with a dallas group catching ova and movie releases 2 months before they even reached our shores. many, many titles i assure you, you have never heard of or will ever see.
as for fooly cooly, i thought it was one of gainax's best releases, most ppl dont know the history behind it, and or watch dubbed anime, whitch suks. dubbing ruins the integrity of the feeling the anime gives off, americans just cant do it correctly. and if your too lazy to watch a subbed anime, i would recommend not watching at all. gainax, in an un-anticipated move, gave the art department total control of the project, as a result, it is a reflection of japanese humor and imagination, and excellently animated. for someone who "alledgedly" has studied japanese for 5 yrs. i can see why ppl dont liek it tho, not understanding the cultures humor, watching it in a shitty dubb format, and the fact that is was released during the "boom" of anime fanfaction. i for one watched it in japanese and was floored by how funny it was. ahhh - fist of the north star,or "Hoko-tu-noken" nothing like ancient, crude, ultra violent anime with a character that resembles rambo lol........although i did watch them all hahahaha....
some of what you have said about ppl using it as a trend movement is true, the rest im afraid is just ranting bullshit about how you would like to think that i am one of those ppl. how wrong you are.
with all of your infinite wisdom about anime fans, its a shame you have never met someone like me. i dont dress like shit, i dont giggle incesently, i payed attention in class, and im not here to knaw anyones ear off about something as silly as an opinion on animation styles. once again, pls PAY ATTENTION to the original post, it will act like your teacher, as to what my original intentions were, see? you werent paying attention, do you fall into your own stereotype?
as for bugs and micky, got nothing against them, just the adults that compare them to animation that is of diff context, format, and design. ie - the anime haters on this forum so far. im no hater, im a participator. :p
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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YEAH! Right on
*slight threadjack*
I've never seen a movie come close to being as quotable as the Streamline dub of Fist of the North Star. Almost every line of that movie has become a running joke between my brother and I. In honor of that, I decided to carve a special jack o lantern this past halloween:
Just in case there's any question, it's Heart...although thanks to the dub never actually using his name, I only knew him as "the fat one" for years.
When it came time to throw the pumpkin away, I had no choice but to say "Say your goodbyes, lardass, because you're already deadHEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" and punch the face in.
Even the series, although generally much cruder, had it's moments. I really got a kick out of how Ken would always show up after the innocent people get killed. Only then would he help by brutalizing the murderers. AWESOME.
If you haven't already seen it, you may get a chuckle out this, too.
I'm done- back to the regular topic....
-Cooka
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Ha ha
Glad I could be of service, but I'm even more glad that I'm not the only one this movie has "touched":D
There are so many things to laugh about in that movie- the dialogue totally steals the show, but it also has a bunch of hilarious, physically awkward parts. The way that guy in Zenda's motorcycle gang didn't have to brace himself for the 50 foot drop or lean into the turn at the bottom when he was riding after Batt and Lynn in the stairwell landing... the odd "Hey what the hell?" scene when Jagi clubbed down his henchman for no reason... the way Jagi's head must have been the pivot point when he fell down during the "first person" flashback...All classics. This should be taught in school as far as I'm concerned.
I've never actually watched any import copies of the FOTNS movie. I've had the streamline VHS one for years, and then one day I stumbled onto the out of print Image US DVD through a friend of mine (only $15!). I've heard that the foreign copies of it don't go into that blurry 70s heat vision business during the violent bits. I've also heard that the US version has a different ending. I've never been able to confirm either.
Although FOTNS has no equal, another funny one is Cyber City OEDO. They tried to make the dialog sound really tough, but it ends up sounding like a kid who just learned to swear. It tried to be cool and serious, despite having totally ridiculous plots and characters... One of them was about a homosexual guy (whose weapon was apparently some kind of dental floss) chasing after a dracula, if I recall.
Later-
Cookaburra
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SOLD!
Only kidding, but I have seen that DVD floating around a few places... I just never really stopped to investigate. Sounds like a larff. I'll be sure to check it out.
Later-
Cookaburra
also, if you get into more politically oriented stories, i would recommend - "Wings of Honneamise", amazing animation, great story, and to beat all, its old, 1987 i think... but the animation is top notch and beautifull check it out > its about 2 countries battling to put the first man in space. emagine that! an animation based on a space race, great stuff.... > http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/honeamis-e.html
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
That's also on my short list of favorites. It's crazy how they keep getting mentioned in this thread. You're right- it was 87.
I love that movie. It's one of the most endearing movies (animated or otherwise) I've seen. The animation wasn't 100% consistent, but it never became terrible, and at times was absolutely incredible. The explosions during the battle sequence and the gravity training scenes come to mind...
The subtlety of that movie is what really floored me. It had a lot of "quiet moment" scenes that completely conveyed what was happening without pounding it into your head. The character designs were dead on and the music complemented every scene perfectly, or at least as close as humanly possible. Plus, the plot hit on a lot of issues (religion, war, etc.) without getting bogged down by them- it was very well written. I've seen it a million times, but I still get goosebumps when I watch it.
I could ramble about this all day, but I'll cut it off. So yeah, I agree- good movie.
Later
Cookaburra
thats exactly what did it for me. it was extremely emotional on many different levels. the opening scene of Shiro trudging through the snow as a boy just to watch the pilots take off.... very discreet. the fact that he was not considered smart enough to pilot the navy's jets...thats just golden, joining the wack ass space force. and his complacent love for the religious women that he spent time with after his friends death. the little boy, omg, such a perfect character for that part of teh story. your right, very well written and subtle., but yes, the war scenes have incredible animation to back them up, and dont over-do it. hell the dog fights alone were amazing. to make a long rant short, i would recommend this film to any animation fan, you wont be dissapointed, unless you have adhd and cant watch anything that moves slowly for any length of time, this story is deep, human, emotional, and best of all, believable. its easy to take to the characters, etc...
glad someone else had seen this one Cookaburra!!
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
i know all to well that i will prolly get bombed for bringing up this title, but another anime that i revere as being one of the most amazing titles ever released is the infamous "Ninja Scroll", circa 1993.
for anyone not familiar with this anime, DONT watch it if you are opposed to the following in animation >
1. extreme violence
2. the occult
3. somewhat graphic sexual content (not much, but still disturbing, deff not hentei)
i absolutely loved the villains designs. the animation is not very consistent, although it has some of the best sequences ive ever seen, anywhere. the content is questionable, but alas, you can say that for just about anything that is geared toward adults.
the story revolves around a masterless samurai turned rogue, (not really a ronin, not really a ninja, because of the circumstances), and a kunoichi (female ninja), who are unwittingly entrenched in a battle against the antagonists, the "8 devils of kimone". the leader of whome is the main characters nemesis, unbeknownst to him, since he was responsible for his death prior to the films time line. (great stuff).
anyway, the dubb sucks, and i hardly ever watch dubbed anime anyway,
so i suggest watching the subbed version. to make a long story short, this movie is all about the sequences, brilliantly animated fighting, expression, and
plot. it twists a few times catching even the most weary off guard.
the villains rule, Tessai being my favorite. the fight between him and jubei (main character) is astonishing and jaw dropping, although not very long, disappointing as that may be, it was incredible. the first time i watched it, to quote someone here (no names), i was fried on lsd, yet, the sequence still never fails to amaze me. Utsutsu Mujuro's fight with jubei is equally jaw dropping. Utsutsu, one of the 8 devils, is blind, yet a master swordsman (i know the whole "blind swordsman" thing has been done over and over, but give the guy a break, hes from hell, and his character design is on point.
i would suggest this title to anyone who has a taste for the "extreme" in animation. dont worry, its no "Urotsukidoji", or several others that come to mind, but its a great flick.
this is a "madhouse" animation realease, the director, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, was also involved with the animatrix, he directed "program".
some screen shots...
my fav, Tessai -
Zakuro -
Utsutsu -
Shijima -
the others ...
Dakuwan!!! - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/ns13.jpg
Jubei - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/ns00a.jpg
Gemma - "not so flattering pic of his re-generatin ass - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/ninja_scroll_4.jpg
Kimon retainer - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/ns20.jpg
Jubei and Utsutsu swordplay - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/babar104/ns10.jpg
all in all a thumbs up, masterfull fighting sequences ^_^
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
Also agreed. I can't believe it isn't digital (ignoring the occasional photographic grain/flaw), and I really can't believe the same guy who did Cyber City OEDO went on to do this- it's a night and day difference.
I first saw this when it was used for the interstitials on MTV's "Cartoon Sushi". Eventually, I found one of the show's creators (Eric Calderon, if I remember) on AOL and he sent me some info on the movie. I ended up picking it up shortly thereafter.
The animation is kind of strange in this one- it's excellent and fluid, but it largely ignores a lot of the classic animation principles you would find in other well-animated films. Although a lot of anime ignores these rules, it's usually out of low production values (or laziness or whatever)- they don't ignore them in a fluid way. Ninja Scroll does, and the result is a very eerie sort of motion that fits the movie perfectly.
The framerate on the VHS/DVD might also be a contributing factor. For some reason, I noticed a lot of "mix" frames that show ghosted images of the 2 separate adjoining frames. I know that 24 -> 30 means this will happen once in a while, but it seems to happen a lot more with Ninja Scroll than the other movies I've seen. No biggie, though.
The only real problem I had with it is that showing it to other people gets a little awkward. For all of the incredible artistry in it, you'd think they wouldn't have to resort to the dirty bits, but to each his own I guess...
The sequel sounds very promising.
There are only a few more titles on my "revered" list that haven't been mentioned in this thread. I guess it's not that surprising since many of them are well known, but I'm still getting a kick out of it.
Later,
Cookaburra
tell me about it:) i showed this film to some of my friends who dont know anything about animation a couple of years after it was released, we were all "fried on lsd" again, and it was their first time watching it. omg, the expressions on everyones faces....i had a 4,000$ home entertainment system with about 1000 watts of sound, all polk audio, complete with surround, and i noticed that everyone was pretty edgy after the scene with Tessai in the woods... when one of the big trees fell in the forest, crashing to the ground, everyone was holding on to my couch!!! muhahahaha, it was beautifull. although they thought it was strange, they also loved it, and it is now a fond memory amongst those who attended, i always get it when i see some of them i havnt seen in ahwile......"you remember that time we were at your house and we watched that kik ass cartoon about devil ninjas"? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha............
yea, i noticed the infamous frame overlap as well, i attribute it to the 24/30 theory as well, like you said, its hard to believe its not digital, unless you closely examine the line art, and, as you said, the occasional film grain effect, the most amazing thing to me about the art were some of the backdrops. incredible detail. some nice plate movements as well....i think they actually did those on glass...a medium that had been abandoned in anime for quite some time.....another thing was the fact that at the time the film was produced, that style of character design (for the humans) was considered old school, like actually drawing lips on the characters, like the picture of Zakuro above. hadnt seen this style used in more recent anime since it was popular back in the day with titles like FSS....but it worked perfectly.
i half heartedly believe they actually thought i was a weirdo for ahwile, just the look on their faces was enough, but the silence throughout the film said it all......
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
Hello Babar and welcome to the AWN Forums. Nice job on the illustrations, some really good use of blacks in your drawings. A few things I've noticed. Your character's eyes seem a little too big. I know that's part of the style you are going for, but they are so big that they are coming close to touching in the center. Also on the female ninja, her head looks a little off. I think it's because the front of her neck curves back right at the top, it makes it look like her head too far forward on her neck. The pose is very nice and dynamic.
With the Wolverine/Alien illustration, I'd check your anatomy books. Logans got some crazy muscles going on in his arm and thighs. Also their poses could be way more dynamic like crouched towards each other ready to square off, but as it is now, they look like they're trying to decide where to go for coffee. They could be just anyone on the street instead of a violent mutant with 18 inch claws and the galaxy's most feared, acid blooded alien.
The red and black demony looking one is probably my favorite. good use of blacks.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
there is a reason why the poses are non dynamic. the scan is only a portion of the picture, you cant see it in the scan, but logan is stratling the aliens tail, whitch is curled up behind him, with the razor sharp end poised to strike him dead center in the back. logan is aware of course, and they are in a stale-mate stand off. you see, in the books, aliens go for the fearfull first, always attacking that whitch is most afraid of them right off. they sense fear, but in the end, they will attack regardless, so in the pic, the alien is slightly confused for a moment before they start fighting, because logan is not afraid. i wanted the picture to give off this "old west stand off" feel to it, getting away from the traditional "im ready", dynamic look to it. as for the kenoichi, its deff hard to draw the neck, head, twisted back in that type of posture, it always looks a little weird.... still trying to master that curve of the neck over the shoulder look. great eye for detail youve got to pic that one out, but remember, she was a tutorial, so i didnt spend a lot of time on her, besides, if id turned her head anymore, her chin would be touching her shoulder, something that would look even weirder... the eyes are a purposfull thing indeed, they came out perfect on the ninja, but im not happy with the elfs eyes, prolly cause im not into that style of anime, but then again, she was a tutorial as well, for ppl who want to paint digitally, so i "popped" her a bit, lol
i agree though, i wish i could show you all of the other stuff i have, however, where to start? hahaha, another thing about wolvie vs. the alien. i am the biggest alien fan on the planet. mainly because it was an excellent film, and is still argued by film critics today as being the best horror film of the last century, because it was so lovecraftian. if your not familiar with his writtings, he was a horror author in the 1930's. he created the cthulu mythos, and introduced for the first time the idea of "cosmic" horror, things that humam beings couldnt possibly relate to in any way, at a time when horror revolved around well known myths, like demons, ghosts, witches, etc. H.P. Lovecraft created something far beyond that, and Ridley Scott, (director of "Alien") realized this and incorporated the ideas of Lovecrafts writtings into the script.
the most evident being the loss of "sanity", whitch gave the film a very terrifying, closterphobic, and most importantly "hopeless" invironment, an element that Lovecraft was fond of putting in his work. it also didnt help the audience who attended, anxious to see the film, because Star Wars was released the year b4, and everyone was ready for another sci-fi trip, oh, they didnt know what they were getting into, my mother attended the film, she said it horrified her, and many ppl left the theatre traumatized....way to go Ridley, whoo hoo!!!! as result, it bacame a landmark film. didnt help that the creature was designed by Giger either, i dont think anyone could have done what he did for the creatures look and design. Giger is amazing, if not a bit twisted. i mean, for christ's sake he made a shandoleer out of his dead wifes corpse, whitch hangs in his living room to this day! whats creepier is that he has since re-married, and his present wife seems to have no problems with it:0
hajime mashite :) ogenki desu-ka?
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