#i need to study the idw art style

[luniise-kel]

the sonic adventure 2 ost is so good i have escape from the city on loop rn

[jarotopal]

Tmnt 2012: The Next Gen. Au headcanons + OCs

(Mostly putting this here so I don’t loose my ideas)

UPDATED

General:

The turtles are 20+ for context

Raph (he/they)and Mona (she/they) are married and live close by in another part of the sewers with their kids (I will get to that soon).

Leia/Leo/Lee (Leonardo)(she/her) is still leader but it’s more of a relaxed role, enjoys gardening (like idw Leo) and occasionally space travels. She came out as trans a few months after Rigel visited earth for the first time.

Donnie (biologically female, prefers he/him pronouns) pretty much takes care of the layer while Leia is away, has a side job as a tech support agent (like 2007), takes care of Leia’s garden when she’s off world.

Mikey (uses any pronouns) spends most of his time at Casey’s flat. Casey and them kind of became a thing one day and it just made sense. Mikey does a lot of art like sculpting and painting.

Casey (he/she) got a job working at a tattoo parlor, after a while he was taken on as an apprentice after the shop owner saw his drawings. Casey took to it like a natural.

April (she/her) got into NYU and studied journalism, she’s still friends with the turtles and Casey, but she has to travel a bit to see them now a days with her job on the other side of the city.

My Oc’s:

Avery (later Hamato Avery) (she/her)

Avery was a normal wildlife biologist until after returning from a research trip, was accidentally hit with mutagen and transformed into a mutant pine martin. Donnie finds her huddled in an alley by one of the entrances to the layer. Donnie allows her to make refuge in the layer until he can make up a batch of mutagen to turn her back. After living with Donnie and meeting his family she starts having second thoughts about turning back to human. After the mutagen is finished, she decides to stay as a mutant and continues to stay with Donnie and they become a couple.

Hamato ‘Rose’ Roseline (she/her)

Daughter of Donatello and Avery, she’s a hybrid of her parents, pine martin and turtle. She was created in Donnie’s lab. She’s the third oldest of the next gen. group. Her weapon of choice is a naginata and throwing stars. She’s incredibly gifted at stealth and climbing high buildings (which gives Donnie a heart attack most days). She’s a nerd like her parents and loves playing with her baby cousins and is really close with Elisa (Mikey’s daughter).

Captain Rigel (he/him)

He’s an alien, of a species called the Basali. They look like tall basilisk lizards (kind of like the Salamandrians). Met him on a planet known to be a vacation destination, while on shore leave. Leia was an absolute disaster trying to flirt with him, but luckily Rigel thought Leia’s bad flirting was cute. Writes Leia often and they spend time together when Rigel is on shore leave.

Hamato Yoshi jr. (He/him)

Sometimes called Junior. Son of Rigel and Leia. He’s a Basali-turtle hybrid, made with Donnie’s help in his lab. The youngest of the next gen. group but is the tallest (taking after captn dad). He uses double katanas like Leia. Is still learning a lot of ninjitsu and gets frustrated when he messes up, he doesn’t want to let his cousins down.

Hamato Elisa (she/they)

Mikey and Casey’s daughter. Adopted after she was rescued from a research lab. Is a eastern box turtle mutant. Second oldest of the next gen. group. Uses modified yo-yos as her weapons. Took her a long time to come out of her shell (literally) around her new family. Is incredibly close to Rose.

Hamato ‘Gio’ Giovanni (he/him)

Is a turtle-salamandrian hybrid. Is the eldest of the next gen. group, by at least two years; four years older than Yoshi. Is the leader and very protective of his cousins. Hot headed like his papa Raph but can keep control when need be. Uses a range of different weapons from Sais to a Kanabo, throwing stars to kunai. Versed in many fighting styles. Admires his grandpa Splinter although never got to meet him.

Kids ages:

Gio- 17, Elisa- 15, Rose- 15 (a couple of months younger than Elisa), Yoshi jr.- 13.

Other cousins:

Luna (Yoshi’s baby sister) 5yo, Frida (Gio’s sister) 15 yo., Enzo (Elisa’s baby brother) 4 yo, Mei (Enzo’s twin and Eliza’s baby sister) 4yo.

T-cesters dni! I will bash your kneecaps in.

[void-inked-pen]

2012 Raph vs Rise Raph - Weapon Analysis

*Slams hands on table*... I’m in a mood and I need to rant.

SO! you all have been waiting for me to continue this series on comparing weaponry and skill between the two series and now it is time for me to discuss my second biggest pet peeve in the entire franchise: Raph’s weapon of choice.

Now, my biggest pet peeve would definitely have to be how 2012 treats the Bo staff as a weaker weapon when it is a staple in martial arts for a reason. Its not weak, its actually quite difficult to learn how to use as you will CONSTANTLY be hitting yourself with it in training just like you would with nunchucku.

However, how 2012 treats the Sai is a WHOLE other misconception. And that would be: the Sai isn’t a practical weapon that should be used as a primary weapon against other martial artists, especially in TMNT.

How could this be the case, you might ask? well, let me explain...

1) The Sai is built primarily for defense

One look at a Sai and you’d obviously assume “oh, that’s meant for stabbing!” but you would be incorrect. The Sais main purpose is to deflect, defend, and manipulate another persons weapon so you can get a hit in. Yes, a lot of counter moves that the Sai have in its arsenal is to try and stab your opponent but that hardly ever works.

Not only is the Sai built specifically to deflect moves, but guess what the weapon was primarily built to defend against?

It was made to deflect Bo staffs and Katana.

That’s right, the weapon is literally supposed to counter Leo AND Donnie’s weapons. Kinda makes you wonder whose weapon is ACTUALLY “superior” don’t it?

Now, I’m not going to say any weapon is better than another, but I am trying to put into perspective how stupid it is to think a Bo staff, which is a STAPLE in martial arts around the globe, is seen as a weaker persons weapon just because it doesn’t have a blade. Treating it as such isn’t smart in ANY form. The instant you underestimate a staff user is the moment you’re unconscious or possibly fatally wounded. Don’t mess with someone who wields a stick.

My main point, after that long tangent, is that Raph in 2012′s whole fighting style is supposed to be based around defense, not offense. That actually, deep down, is the primary instinct of Raph as a character in most iterations. He’s the shield, the defender. But the main issue with 2012 is that they characterize him as someone who “charges in” to a fight. Any other version of Raph, 2003, IDW, or Rise, don’t do that. 2012 Raph basically is trying to fight offensively with a weapon whose role, is defense. And does so poorly at that.

2) Raph uses Sais incorrectly

In the 2012 series, Raph uses his Sais incorrectly in so many ways. Several moves he doesn't appear to even use and he also NEVER HOLDS THEM CORRECTLY! Like, one key thing you have to be able to do with Sais is flip them around A LOT. But I don't remember ever seeing him flip them around into their proper holds.

How 2012 Raph holds them is like this whenever he starts a fight:

How you’re actually supposed to hold them is like this:

Notice the difference? You never point the prongs out in front of you, you ALWAYS keep the longest point flush with your forearm as a means of defense. In this position, its easier to twirl and move your Sais around in the way they are supposed to move.

How 2012 Raph is holding them is primarily the position the Sai takes during a counter. The way he’s holding them is also in general incorrect even in THAT position.

When you aim a Sai towards your attacker for a quick counter stab, you’re supposed to hold it like this because its easier to keep the momentum of the Sai going this way and gives you a steadier and controlled grip. You’re less likely to drop it. You can still hold it by the handle, but its NEVER for a starting position.

This in general is just bad to see. He, like the rest of his siblings, are literally supposed to be close to master level and the fact he makes such beginner mistakes and is so aggressive about it is seriously irritating. he might as well be using salad tongs for how effectively they are used in the series.

Now just as a quick disclaimer, I am not an expert at the Sais and I haven't seen much of Raph past halfway through season 2 so he could be using them correctly later on and I could be incorrect on that side of analysis, but that doesn't mean his weapon of choice is practical.

3) 2012 Raph, and other iterations, weapon of choice is impractical

Yep, this is the main reason I dislike raph in 2012 as well as other versions. The Sai is practically useless in modern day street fighting like this especially with mutants and other random stuff.

Not everyone wields a sword or staff. There are projectiles, claws, and various other craziness out there that they have to deal with... Which is why the Tonfas are technically more practical in a fight!

The Tonfas are meant to do things in a similar fashion as the Sais but the skill and use are slightly different.

The whole point of them is to protect the forearm and add a little extra OMPH when you punch and guard. Not only that, but the way they are shaped adds a little extra length towards the top, so if you’re punching and normally might miss, it adds just a bit more length so you can make contact easier.

Not only that but you can spin the Tonfas and add more force to hit someone hard in the face. (We don’t really get to see Raph do these kinds of moves in Rise which is unfortunate but that’s fine.)

Because Tonfas are also always used in pairs, you can cross them like this to stop stronger blows.

They also are in general a better fit for Raph’s fighting style. Because Raph’s main focus is hand to hand combat and defense, having some extra protection for his arms, a slightly longer reach, and extra force behind hits can go a long way. He can still deflect swords and the Bo staff just as easily and without the overly aggressive appearance of the Sais getting in the way.

The fact that Rise Raph also uses Tonfas is a homage to the old TMNT comics where Raph never used Sais to begin with.

In comparison to the Sai, Tonfas are also a lot easier to animate and you can still do some crazy stuff with them. Overall they suit Raph’s personality far better as well and if we wanted to go deep into a character study aspect of weapon choice, later iterations of Raph using the Sai seems more like he’s weaponizing his aggression vs using his strength to protect.

And this concludes my analysis of the two weapons...

I hope this all makes sense and that I didn’t rush it at the end or anything, I might have forgotten a few things in regards to the Tonfas but all the stuff with the Sais should be there.

Thanks for reading! and I’ll link to the previous studies I did about Donnie and Mikey~ (if you have any questions my asks are open) 2012 TMNT Fight Incorrectly

2012 Donnie vs Rise Donnie

Rise Donnie Fighting Analysis

2012 Mikey vs Rise Mikey

[popdesign-vent]

17621574 no fucking WAY. 50 dollars for a fucking seal that lives in the ocean?

My brother in christ you are selling an animal. This is like those zoo adopt an animal programs but it doesn't even help someone. Just fuels a weird overvaluing of art that needs further drafting.

Also, since I got an ask, let's do some design and art crit!

From what I can tell this person is pretty clearly inspired by scpkid (the sketchy lines, neutral pose, natural colors with little tonal variation)

I considered using a similar scpkid character but I find that comparing art isn't super constructive so I'll save that for cases where the person deserves harsher crit. I will still talk about scpkid's style and what makes it successful or appealing though.

From a purely anatomical perspective, I'd recommend distancing back legs from each other, both to give the design a more distinct silhouette and allow for detailing on the inner leg. This also helps to avoid clutter, which is present in excess in this design.

The legs being stuck together also leads to the design feeling very unbalanced, which is compounded by the larger head and upper torso. There's nothing wrong with exaggerated proportions, but you have to balance them.

If you want a style to study, sonic official art, particularly the IDW comics have some really well balanced anatomy. Break down some of the work from those to get a better understanding of gesture and how to balance designs.

Designs will be much more visually pleasing if the posing for the initial design is easy on the eyes. It can also give an idea of the character's personality, which often draws in people not looking specifically for pop designs.

Buyers looking to get a design they'll genuinely love and use will likely want a design because they feel a connection and have ideas for it immediately, so crafting a visual story for the character is important.

as for the actual design!

The think about animal fur is that it does not form perfectly round spots. It's a bunch of thin hairs with coloration variation. That's not to say you need to draw individual hairs, but adding texture to the spots also brings depth to the design. There's a lot of round and hard edges in this design, so your eyes don't really feel "led" anywhere.

Generally, you want to have detail in a place you want to stand out, and then more "neutral space" for the eyes to rest. This also means that after checking out the rest of the design, a viewer's eyes will return to the lovely details without being overwhelmed!

The placement of the spots is also not doing favors. concentrating them in specific areas, or making them closer to the main fur color and using darker spots in areas of focus would help a ton.

I think the pointed marking on the stomach was a lovely choice, it leads the eye upwards. I also like the yellow/white sclera of the eyes and teeth, it offers a nice pop of warm color that draws the eye.

Scpkid tends to be able to get away with more complex designs because he uses shape language and eye direction to his advantage. His use of markings ad texture leads the eye effectively while still giving it lots of negative space to rest. You'll often see a bunch of complex markings on the arms and shoulders, with progressively less detail closer to the navel.

Your colors are a strong start but you could use something with more saturation and contrast to really draw focus, because while I like the yellow, it's not eyecatching at a first glance. Consider adding a warmer gray to the upper chest and face or making the eye color contrast with the rest of the palette.

So TLDR;

the anatomy is unbalanced, study more professional work to understand how artists pull off exaggerated proportions

The spots are cluttered and need more thoughtful distribution

more texture and conscious use of soft/hard edges would help the clutter

understanding WHY you're putting detail somewhere is important

your color palette needs more variety to draw the eye.

If you like an artist's style, study them!! Break down their work into basic shapes, pull palettes from their design work and look at how they distribute those colors, pay attention to how the markings are drawn and *where* they are and aren't placed.

None of this is to say scpkid's designs are perfect, but if his art appeals to you, understand WHY they do that. Don't replicate, learn from.

I know the designer will prolly never see this but! I had time and I figured someone else might enjoy more variety past just "this design is shit."

[thenamesblurrito]

How did you draft SNAP? I've just gotten to the drafting stage of my comic with my brother but idk if theres some certain way to do it.

it’s taken a bit for me to organize my thoughts on this but I have an answer now, and you might not like it: there IS no some certain way to do it! I’ve been working with comics (and poking into the professional field, too O.O) for a few years now, so I do have some general advice for you-

read comics. really. can’t make a comic if you don’t know what a comic is, and since comics are a very specific medium of sequential visual storytelling, all the elements that make it a comic aren’t easily learned through other mediums. page layout, art style communicating tone, character design, story beats, etc. Scott McCloud has some wonderful books on comics, the Hellboy series is genuinely masterful, and honestly you could reread IDW and call it research. i go back and study my favorite webcomics to try and absorb their excellence: TPOH by @modmad is stunning, @avasdemon is gorgeous, and there’s endless more to browse over at @webcomiclibrary

know your story. this is covered by a Whole Heckin Lot of different places, resources, and writers, so I’ll encourage you to go look at comprehensive help if you need plot assistance. keep in mind that everyone drafts differently! you might need everything plotted out, or you could fly by the seat of your pants. physical writing, digital notetaking, verbal processing, all of it is fine as long as it works for you

THUMBNAIL for goodness sake thumbnail before you dedicate to a page. in fact, make practice versions of everything important. mess with character designs until you’re Absolutely Sure you will be alright with drawing them a bajillion times over and over. but specifically, thumbnails are tiny, rough page layouts. tiny so that you don’t get into any details and you can see how easily the page reads even when small, and rough so you aren’t committing and can keep fiddling. even with pages you’ve had in your head forever, a quick simple thumbnail can help smooth the transition from head to page

there’s other, post-drafting things to consider, like formatting and file size and update schedule and getting it out there, but that’s a whole seminar and I’d like to keep this relatively simple

for me, drafting SNAP was an adventure in taking the puzzle pieces my brain seemed to automatically generate (thank you, MADD) and fitting them together in something resembling order. almost all of the plot and twists presented themselves to me with very little work! arranging them however was a hassle. my episode-by-episode breakdown is uh. a mess. because my drafting process is a stream of consciousness solid block of text. here:

01- Welcome to the Academy! An Upgrade to Primes Orion oh no im late trope, monologue about situation, bumps into megs at front gate as creators are saying goodbye, drags orion inside as excuse to ditch them, cut to trine being weirdos at landing pad, screamers making plans to be awesome but whomp whos that chick its windblade and she can fly in root mode, grr immediate one sided rivalry [... this goes on for awhile]

no punctuation, no capitalization, just wordvomit. not every episode has such specific notes, some just say a general plot hook and some character reactions! this first episode however was daydreamed out until I had a pretty solid series of events

I’m early in thumbnailing right now. wish I was further along, actually I wish I simply had SNAP finished so I could read it myself *sob* BUT. it’s chugging along. my thumbnailing setup is a simple grid I scribble over with new layers for every six pages:

last one is blank because I’m in the habit of arranging pages by side-by-side pairs for printing, since that’s been the usual consideration for the comics I worked on before. you can see how messy these are! and they’re by no means final, either, I think I’m going to have to cut down on some pages once I finish thumbnailing this episode. one thing I have kept in mind for SNAP specifically is anime tropes that I can rip off, hence that fifth page being mostly taken up by Orion running to school with toast in his mouth lol

anyway this got long and I am hardly an expert, still workin on my own comic, but I hope this helps! anyone with more resources, tips and tricks, or advice feel free to chime in too, I’m hardly the entirety of comic knowledge

[cutegirlmayra]

When your tired after a 16hr shift yesterday so you rant about Sonic and explain why aggressive writing vs. neutral writing helps with sharing ideas

Me and my online Sonic friend talking about Belle.  (I’m skipping some dialogue throughout the chat, this was lazily put together lol)

WARNING: It’s long, and it’s a rant. So please note that I’m blatantly aware of how wrong my aggressive, sleep-deprived rant was and that I’m stating “DON’T PRESENT YOUR IDEAS LIKE THIS!” because this is not a healthy nor effective way of sharing ideas.

ALSO, ALL THE MENTIONS OF WHAT I BELIEVE MY FRIEND IS FEELING OR THINKING DURING MY RANT ARE ENTIRELY MY OPINON. If she tells me to delete something or change it I will without hesitation but I find it funny, as I look back, to insert what I think might be going on in her mind XD She might have been oblivious to me but I’ll get her thoughts and change anything if necessary.

It’s also how most trolls and antis and even some ‘not experienced writers’ write their ideas out, and it can be easily avoided by using Neutral Writing Methods. So this is a ‘don’t do this, but try this’ post. Enjoy my badly written, sleepy aggressive rant~<3 (Also, my friend gave me permission to share this lol)

Me: She could be for entertaining little kids. But we already have too many OCs, and they're not 'dying off' any time soon so...I smell a mini-series backup plan...and I don't like what that means for Sonic. And it is cute, sorry, my brain is off the hook right now, I'll keep things to myself cause you may not like what I'm predicting and I'm getting sad thinking about it ;-; so, want to be wrong.

(Friend mentioned “Tinker Bell” spin on name.)

That's precious, but can I get a link to the reference sheet plz? Reference sheets can tell a lot about a chara's functionality if you compare it to the 'needs' of the casts. it can help predict their role. I think she's meant to help but also entertain the kids, maybe planted with a secret. Her goal could be to come back to Mr. Tinker but Eggman abuses that and tricks her into a new robot. I got a weird theory about her but I'll just say that she's probably gonna go a bit dark. But be cute and make the audience go, "Aww, poor thing! She's a cinnamon roll" at first, wonder if they'll equip her with 'happy backstory, tragic ending' kinda thing to switch the usual 'tragic backstory happy ending' but I feel this is a tragic character meant to pull emotion out.

(Friend understands my concerns but mentions there hasn’t been a ‘Bad’ Oc for the comic)

No one sets out to create a 'bad character' especially professional writers like these guys. But what makes a character 'bad' is if you ruin or oversaturate their purposes. If she's a main character that over-shines others with too much story then the audience feels 'betrayed' because they want that screen time for the main casts to express themselves and shine through. That's just an example. When working with IPs like Sonic casts, you HAVE to remember the fanbase is expecting things Do you like my OCs? be honest lol Not from my prompts. There's a specific way to handle a OC that helps the main cast shine and reveals their characters more. AU Ocs help Canon Characters in many ways.

(Friend admits they have not seen my OCs in some of my fanfictions, they’ve only really read my prompts.)

Oh, well, some of my fanfictions have OCs, not Lavinya, she's just a mascot. My Sonic OC that retried XD Sorry, I'm misspelling a lot but I hope you don't mind, my spellcheck sucks and I've given up on it lol Oh, so you don't know Harmony, Ol'Wizzy, and Data?Or the Metal Series? Well, there are specific Ocs that my readers like and they express/compliment the canon characters to where even though they're a main character, they don't intervene with the Main Cast's goals. They actually help. Then everything I'm gonna say won't have much merit so I'll just focus on waiting to see if my predictions for Sonic IDW will come true, but I really hope they don't do what it looks like they strategically might be pulling... I hate SEGA marketing- 

(The beginning of my aggressive rant, please note that I’m not thinking about my image and am writing tired and lazy. This is an example of how NOT to express your opinions in negative ways. It doesn’t influence good at all.)

Their ploys are outdated and frankly, do not work for their IPs market. They target the wrong age group, they have no idea how to organize themselves, and they don't have a leading 'elder' so to speak (just a professional among them) to make good calls. So you have young adults (not super professionals, this might be their first real company job) trying to target internet culture and failing their IPs. They're doing outdated Nintendo tactics that only worked for NINTENDO! Also some other companies that have DIED so why are you copying their marketing strats!? stop! lol

Friend: Did you study marketing because this entire convo kinda flew over my head in terms of understanding (This should have indicated to me that my words were coming off too factual and had too many ‘jargons’ going on. I was losing my ‘reader’ through my rant, but my tired brain would not cease!)

Sonic's trying to morph into something he's not and they're following outdated college course books and it's not gonna help... they're leading Sonic further down and the creators in japan have no power cause all the power is in the stock holders who are stupid money-hungry americans who have lost faith in American SEGA leading SEGA of Japan to move on to other things

Friend: mostly just got you don’t like the marketing (Huge red flag! This means my friend is starting to tune my info out, it’s because I’m presenting my ideas in a slightly aggressive writing style. There are trigger words here that lead an reader to start doubting you. This is why, in most of my answer posts, I make sure to write Neutral writing methods, but I’ll mention that more after my rant lol XP)

It's just bad. Lol I have a Frankenstein degree, (Now I’m justifying myself, which was caused by my aggressive approach. If I simply stated this in a more ‘neutral writing method’ then I wouldn’t have to worry about creditability claims because I’m not trying to sell my idea as the high authority on it.) which means I have knowledge on many different fields. I never took a fully -dedicated- 'marketing class' I took a lot of different communication classes that went to my overall major. One was directly about how you present, sell, and look at marketing tactics. So I have my fingers in many different fields, my major was "Creative Writing for Fiction and Film with an Emphasis in Video Production and a Cluster in Theatre Arts." So I can be on camera, off camera, post and pre production, creative table and actual filming. Does that make sense? (I’m not fully awake to realize what I’m writing, but it’s clear at this point I’m starting to wake up and realize I’m ranting and tossing my ideals of how to present ideas out the window, but let’s watch my follies and learn from them, shall we?) I have theories on what SEGA is going to do, and I have my worries because it's all outdated. It worked for older companies but those companies also targeted a varying audience, which SEGA refuses to see themselves as for a 'teenage audience' which is exactly why they boomed in the 90s. Their target audience is now 20s.

Friend: There are Kids who also like Sonic, even if they don’t play the games though. (Due to my aggressive tactics from not thinking clearly about, not just the what, but the HOW I’m writing, it has turned my friend into a ‘contrasting neutrality’ which is amazing by the way that she did this! She noticed my writing was turning aggressively ranting, and being my friend, didn’t want to be rude about what she was noticing. -I’m guessing lol- so instead, she took the commentary approach, which is to state the good as well. This is a terrible position to put your reader into, and you should make sure to always have good examples and good praise mixed in to contrast any opposing or aggressive statements you ever make. -though you should avoid aggressive writing at all times- Sadly, this does put the reader, in this case my friend, in a very vulnerable position. It leaves them open for attack... but thankfully, she’s a wonderful friend and had trust that I wouldn’t hurt her on her counter-follow-up.)

So instead of using their 40 to 50 year old charts, start with looking at early millennial trends and desires. They tried for 'angst' to 'adultify' Sonic but it busted because we are STICKLERS for animation. Because their story was so scrapped together and had no actual character depth, motivation, or even emotional growth to develop for future game lore, they went for the 'easy made game' (Easy baked oven quote lol that’s just mean XD) We loved the trailer, it was well made, but they threw their animators elsewhere and made the programmers (WHO BLANATLY ADMIT THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO DO STORY/GRAPHICS) and made them do things they aren't trained in. Those micro-head movements and mouths took them A LONG TIME to figure out.

(My friend is now agreeing with me several times through my rant. This is a tactic that is used as ‘avoidance’ but also for ‘appeasement’. She’s probably tuned out by now, but respects what I’m saying but is also incredulous at it as well. It’s fair, I’ve cornered her into my sleepy-time rant, and being the lovable woman that she is, she is simply waiting for me to realize my follies lolol I wish she would have told me but I think she knew I was beyond ‘logical reasoning’ at this point and was just letting me get it all out lolol What a good friend TDT)

Animation can't be learned that fast AND expect them to program a game AT THE SAME TIME. Sonic Forces was a 'split up SEGA' trying to get those who survived and said, "Yeah, I'll stay in this job." to do things that THEY AREN'T EVEN TRAINED IN. you put a game programmer on animation and some other stuff they didn't know what to do with and expect it be a top-notch seller.

Friend: (in more attempts to join in and be a ‘participant’ of the conversation I’m clearly dominating -MY ABSOLUTE BAD- she tried to engage normal conversation flow into the discussion again. At this point, she probably did notice I wasn’t my usual self, and just decided to play along and enjoy the ride lolol I’m just guessing this tho, but it’s a good chance to reflect on what ‘wrongs’ I was doing and what ‘rights’ she was doing during this situation ;)b) My big issue with SEGA is that they rush everything. A lot of things would’ve been better if they had the proper time.

That was resolved actually.

Friend: Oh? It was? (Although this looks like an encouragement, it’s actually just another avoidance tactic to help me ‘get the venting out’ but it’s clear she’s not fully onboard anymore. When you write to discuss, you have to leave room for other’s opinions to shine through as well. Healthy conversation doesn’t mean forcing the other person to comply to you. A lot of this is educated guess based on past research, she knows this, and it’s clear she’s got her own research. Please remember to never shoot someone down when they try to engage you in your conversations. But again, this is the ‘don’t do this’ and me upset at my tired self for not waking up fast enough to contemplate how I was coming across in my wordings. Let’s continue to investigate and dissect the train wreck, shall we?)

That was an issue a few years ago but SEGA is taking their time, it's just that they can't organize themselves and hire the right professionals. They have old tactics, they have rookies that aren't 'Fresh Blood with professionalism' like they need. They don't need an old fart who knows his stuff, they need a new guy who is dedicated and passionate about their company who will remain there, learn them in and out, and knows his stuff SPECIFICALLY for the things SEGA needs. You have to grow that. You have to hire a very talented and young spunky and fresh professional, have him work with you for 10-15 years, and start training others. But SEGA is already recognized as a 'established' company.

(Friend is still agreeing with me, but is aware of my way of presenting it isn’t “As nice as I usually present it” so she starts mentioning the symptoms of Japanese Work Culture. A wonderful, insightful point to mention! But let’s see how I butcher this as well...)

It's not Japan though! (Again, shutting her down. Tsk tsk, sleepy me. Wake up, you lazy bum.) They won't let Japan interfere! They're all really rude to japan actually. The guys in charge, anyway. We all respect the officials, but SEGA of America people just want results. They are just funders, they don't actually work the company.

Friend: So you blame them for everything? (She’s trying to help me see that my writing is coming off as ‘hate’ which is because of my aggressive writing follies I’m doing so bluntly. Let’s please all admire my friend’s patience as she lets me rant and kindly waits for me to realize how bad I’m handling my 16 hr shift from yesterday lolol)

Look, business is really unfair, and I get that, but if I have to rant (I’m starting to wake up more, oh goodie.) I'd say they really need to humble themselves and ask Japan to please take ownership again. They kicked out people due to a money crisis but they need a game that will be 'safe to secure money but get enough excited momentum to help us push on and continue.' which isn't Japan's strategy usually. Japan likes risks, they also like money too. They trust America too much (especially in the beginning) because America is a HUGE consumer. For the world in fact. But I think they sacrificed too much for the company (common in Japan) and trusted America too much in making decisions. The officials are too nice to say that America screwed them over because America wanted full control. Well guess what? They have too much control now and their product is sinking..

Friend:  You’ve got a lot of fire about this topic. (After I completely disregarded reading her follows-ups and continued to rant, my unconditionally kind friend finally threw in the towel, realizing I was no where near my usually ‘present’ self and was probably just flopped back in her chair smiling at my idiocy of not understanding her kind and subtly hints.) Go ahead and rant it out. (BOOM! Obvious right!? I should have corrected myself but at this point, I was writing like wild fire with droopy, waking up eyes and didn’t even read it during my long paragraphs...)

Sonic won't ever fade away due to it's fans, but the company is struggling to figure itself out for YEARS now. I just worry what they plan to do next. But I have a theory that they are really putting the next game in Japan's hands, a lot of activity is happening in SEGA of Japan, and they're spending WAY MORE TIME on the next installment of Modern Sonic (or Classic, still unsure which one it is yet.) I really think they need a remake game to give them profit, then use that profit for their next big installment. But so far, I think they are working on a game BUT corona might have effected production so I'm sure they are working but I'm concerned if Corona helped manage 'time and quality' or is helping to ruin it...That I can't investigate yet :( I just wish for the best (I’M FINALLY WAKING UP FULLY AS I STOP AND REALIZE-) Sorry for my rant! My theory talk showed through and I don't usually like doing that so forgive me. I'm tired and that's why T-T

Friend: It’s cool we all need to rant sometimes. (My friend’s going to make it to Heaven TwT she’s so kind.)

(Then I profusely apologized a billion times cause I realize how badly this all went down. lol)

(But the terror hasn’t ended... she mentioned some youtube videos mentioning other opinions as well. -which I’m usually cautious of cause some of them can be fanon.-)

OHhhh did he mention the arcade crash??? the literal WORST event in SEGA history??? That's literally where they sank the titanic, SEGA has never recovered from selling off their stocks. (I’M BACK AT IT AGAIN. -facepalm-) Shareholders are everything now and it's the biggest loss ever. Also, the problem is that kids don't play the games, (Rereading my follies and wanting to answer but still only just waking up...) but SEGA can't figure out why they like the characters and can't seem to take the FREAKIN' TIME to learn their lore. (Overwhelming the conversation again.) My easy steps: Re-establish Sonic lore CANONLY AND CORRECTLY, Re-gather the Japanese Officials original plans and notes, guides and study art, Re-make some popular games with the most details on Animation, Fluidity of motion graphics, and with modern Technology incorporated into the game. Once that is accomplished, they will have enough money to then- Create a continuity. Only with a flowing story and relevant past lore can they start moving forward. Animation will target their audience, Story and character re-established arcs will bring nostalgia and new blood to the field of their games, and then Japan's influences will keep it authentic for the continuities so we don't have fandom mixing with canon NEARLY AS BADLY as before anymore. Ugh, it does matter their sales, but I literally bought a book on the history of SEGA, and read a really compelling history article about more then just the Console Wars... I know SEGA has survived literally the edge of extinction on multiple fronts, but someone needs to take charge of their Sonic branch, and it's... it's just too outdated. kk, sorry for the rant.

Friend: (After being multiple times ignored, even after my brief moment of clarity, is still an angel. Frustrated, maybe, but an angel.) And your steps sound really good. Also mostly just listen to his vids if you ever do. It’s ok we all need to rant. (THE WORLD DOESN’T DESERVE THIS GURL T-T)

I'm tired so my 'angry' is showing and it's not professional XD do you mind if I post my rant? lol Actually, no. (Realize how awfully I delivered my ideas, this is where I begin to see my errors and where the clarity comes into play. -we all have our off days lol- )

Friend: Go for it

I want to but it's too aggressive. I'm too lazy to rewrite it out so I'll just save that for another day XD You got a rare treat

Friend: (This is actually interesting and fascinating to her. But she realized then that I finally did see my error.) Concerned you’ll get aggressive responses back?

Honest opinion is sometimes too blunt and I need to be careful about that

Friend: I mean it’s always good to try and get most of the anger out so you seem more professional (Saint. Literally. A saint. She’s puts up with too much of my crap XD)

That, and also the war of 'But this is Cutegirlmayra? She's so sweet and constantly puts her answers in supportive, positive lights so that if SEGA were to see it, they would feel empowered to try it instead of threatened and throw it off as hate or something unprofessional.' I have an image too. I can't post something super aggressive or I'll lose trust. You're right.

Friend: I’m glad you put a lot of thought into everything you post

I apologize for it tho T-T I didn't mean to dominate with such opinions...lol I worry who I influence, you know?

Friend: Most people don’t and trust me they get into trouble cause of it. And yeah.

I don't want to create trolls or heated arguments. I want to teach people they can safely express an idea without using such awful communication. Exactly, it's professional fanism. lol Positive writing is what companies and their employees actually read. (I’m almost fully awake now lol, realizing my blunder and starting to explain why I was in the wrong. Good on me, pat on the back, admitting I was coming off as aggressive is the first step to changing and getting better lolol Also, I’m including her more, and I’m saying “You’re right.” and she’s going “And yeah.” which is a indicator that the conversation is slowly returning to an enjoyable and healthy one. ;w; happy endings lol)  That's why I skip the aggressive stuff, even if it's passive, I write in a neutral setting so everyone feels safe to read, even someone who works at SEGA.

Friend: (Mentions some nintendo youtuber rant and also news as well, then says-) It was honestly very professional sounding and not rude. (MY HEART, YOU KNEW THAT WAS AN AGGRESSIVE RANT lololol So nice to me TDT)

Lol you had to have seen how slightly aggressive it was tho. (I’M CALLING YOUR BLUFF, BESTIE lol) You literally asked, "You blame America for it?" which is not always true but semi-true. They were way too prideful (Aggressive word) and haughty (Still aggressive terminology) about their success in other Japanese products that they wanted to completely change Sonic to their own wishes, pushing out Japan's creative "licenses" (I use this word loosely, and this gives a slightly aggressive feel but is also more dumbed down so it's more 'passionate' than just aggressive)

Friend: Yeah I saw it was slightly aggressive (Either is starting to realize it or at last admitting it now that I am fully aware of how I was coming across. I also used indicators to show what words were aggressive to help illustrate my point. This is showing I’m much more awake now :)b)

Gotta use those neutral tactics or no one will feel comfortable just reading your idea and instead, will constantly look for a place to intercept with aggression back, whether they agree or not, they're looking for ways to self-insert their aggression if you are also aggressive. I can't write something that doesn't somewhat support and uplift SEGA of America. Why? Because like I said, they literally have survived EVERYTHING and have stuck around. Without them, there wouldn't be an American branch and the money issue would have ended SEGA. Some might say, "But they've done so much harm than good! Why is the money thing such a thing to be praised for?" But it's huge, it's so big, it kinda does offset the wrongs. (Now I’m doing the healthy thing, doubling back and mentioning the good to try and recover. The damage may be done, but she did recommend some videos for me and was polite, so I’m just trying to smooth things over and leave on a ‘wrapped up’ conclusion. But... I should have just left it there in all honesty xD Some things you can’t double-back and correct lol) America is a great business-influenced mindset. None of us would be fans of Sonic without them.

(Friend continues to agree but realizes I may slip into ranting again. She just asks if I can watch the videos.)

America does have it's advantages in some fields and areas, but their biggest most redeeming quality is that they saved SEGA which gave us our biggest love and obsession: Sonic. Now, my usage in that writing was still off neutral, but combined with the slightly aggressive statements, made a GREAT contrast. It's still slightly praising

Friend: And they stopped Japan from giving him a human girlfriend right away.

Me: Exactly.

Friend: I will always thank them for that. (She’s still a sweetheart, working herself into the conversation so it stays healthy. lol Such amazing follow-ups too!)

So although I don't like what's happening, I'm also grateful... to a degree lol We need SEGA of America, which is why I think Japan just ignores them now lolol they know they owe them a lot. 

(Friend mentions videos and as I go to save them to my ‘watch later’ sees that one of them is about Nintendo.)

Yeeeahhh I've noticed that Nintendo is starting to trail into 'cash grab' tactics and that's sickening (MORE AGGRESSIVE WORDING??? HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON CHILD?! It takes time to fully wake up lolol) cause before, I literally thought, "Nintendo can do no wrong" their marketing was ON POINT! but the stuff they said about Peach and now... I think new, unprofessional blood (like SEGA) has entered Nintendo and the older guys are either 'training' or 'retired to other ventures'. Nintendo is having it's own 'we used to not be prideful but now we're getting a little too pompous (Another aggressive wording... This can easily trigger people to comment with further aggression either against you or for you, but no aggression is the ideal. Which is continuing to show my lack of remaining conscious lol) about ourselves' and they're starting to act like Disney before their big crash. Disney also had 'limited time offers' with their VHS movies. Now, Nintendo is doing that. They'll make money, but at what cost? When you lose your costumer's trust...

Friend: And yeah the 35th Mario thing immediately reminded me of the Disney vault

Me: Yep. I'm worried for Nintendo. Don't get me wrong! Disney is really good with money grabs, but they... they also act high and mighty (More aggressive statements, wake up, darn it!!!) and their fanbase literally calls them 'an empire' so the fan-trust is gone. That makes you 'lame/outdated' and fans begin to look for 'what's cool?' instead.

(Friend is now re-realizing I’m ‘in and out’ so is trying to use a effective avoidance tactic by asking about different things to help my ranting fully stop.)

Sorry, I'm tired, I get on these rants and I don't mean too. (Trying to shake myself awake again.) I'm sorry.

So we returned to a healthy conversation, but I hope this interesting insight has revealed how to and what not to do about Aggressive Writing. Always stick to Neutral writing if you can, putting in a compelling counter-argument. In this aggressive writing demo, you saw that I tried to cover up my follies by saying counter-praise, but praise writing can be just as bad as aggressive writing. Passive writing can sometimes be annoying (aggressive word choice) too if you come off as disinterested or uncaring, which can still result in negative comments coming at you, or someone overly praising in their writings.

This has been all I’m showing you cause it’s kinda embarrassing ^^; but I hope it helps you in what ‘not to do’ while writing your ideas out :)b

Learn from my sleepy-time mistakes! lol

[lazy--stars]

Heyoooo your art style is currently like a huge inspiration for me (specifically your pencil sketches) and I was wondering if you had any art inspirations that helped you develop your style, as well as maybe some tips on how to do posing (your poses are probably the thing i admire most about your work because theyre so dynamic and loose)

I do! Pretty much every hyperfixation (aside from LazyTown since its live action…) I’ve had over the years has had some kind of influence on my art style, it kinda sneaks it’s way in there any time I draw new characters. A pretty comprehensive list of these influences from oldest to newest are: Sonic the Hedgehog (longest), Ouran High School Host Club, Death Note, Soul Eater, Hetalia (second longest), Osomatsu-san, and Gravity Falls. I never hyperfixated on Steven Universe or drew it that often but it definitely slipped its way in there too. 

One of my earliest influences that inspired me to pursue art as a career was Tracey Yardley. 

He currently does both pencils and linework on some of the IDW Sonic comics, and had been working with Archie Comics for many years previously. It was really amazing to see him improve and find the style he has now in real time within the monthly comics. A lot of credit definitely goes to this man. 

Another is HOBBY HOBBY, they’ve been creating Hetalia doujin over the course of quite a few years and I’ve been in love with their work ever since I first laid eyes on it. Their hands, anatomy…the way they draw expressions. It’s all very wonderful and I still try to buy their works and support them if I have the money. 

A more recent influence has been Dana Terrace. Her storyboarding skill is by far some of my favorite work. 

I’m also incredibly fond of Jen Wang, author of The Prince and the Dressmaker, and Bill Schwab, who typically supervises character design on Disney films. 

As for posing and keeping things loose, talking about the Line of Action is very important, which is something I’ve already done here. It is important to note here that the same principles you use to practice drawing don’t need to be implemented every time you draw, i.e. sectioning out a face or drawing the line of action. Those are practicing tools that you will find yourself getting a natural feel for over time. 

Start doing timed sketches from real life and from the online sources I mentioned in the linked post, as well as YouTube videos and anything else you want to reference. I recommend using pen and paper so you can’t be tempted to erase your work. Find the line of action in the pose, and then quickly sketch out a form. Start at 5 minute poses, and then move down to 3 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds. You’ll find that sketching becomes faster and more natural if you practice this way. Drawing from life is also key to studying proportions in motion. 

Once I get comfortable drawing a specific character, that’s when I can be really loose and free with my sketches. Characters I’ve never drawn before tend to be more stiff until I draw their headshot at least a million times LOL. I tend to create a lot of my poses and expressions from my brain hole, but they don’t always look quite right until I grab a reference for them. If you have reference for a base pose, that also makes it easier to then push the pose and make it more dynamic and emotional. 

Hope this helped!! (and also thank you uwu)

[rebelsofshield]

Panels Far Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 9/11/19

Star Wars Adventures reaches a milestone issue and Age of Resistance sheds its light on one of the most mysterious Star Wars characters of the sequel trilogy. Well, kind of.

Star Wars Adventures #25 written by Delilah S. Dawson and art by Margaux Saltel

Star Wars Adventures has hit its landmark twenty fifth issue. Ever since its introduction in 2017, Adventures has been a reliably fun and visually eclectic comic that has mastered the Star Wars voice for fans of all ages. To mark this occasion, IDW has strayed from the usual formula and dedicated this full issue to a single extended story about the early years of Leia Organa and Amilyn Holdo by Delilah S. Dawson, who is best known to fans for her work on Phasma and Black Spire, and series regular artist Margaux Saltel.

“The Right Wrong Turn” feels like an oddly mundane story to use for this special issue. Leia and Holdo, especially their younger incarnations, are fan favorite characters and a friendship focused adventure for the two is an easy sell, but it also is a fairly unassuming story. While there are some close calls with gangsters and mutant bats, Dawson spens much of this issue crafting a story about two friends forcing each other out of their comfort zones to discover more about Coruscant. In fact, the more action adventure content is some of the less fun or successful stuff. Dawson and Saltel excel at simply telling a fun and revealing story about these two young women who will grow up to be world weary galactic legends.

Dawson has a great skill for dialogue and for sneaking in minor tidbits of worldbuilding into the narrative and there is a fun sense of discovery to her script. While its apparent theme about learning more about the people beneath the glitz, glamor, and procedure of high level politics feels more or less like an afterthought, Dawson still uses Holdo and Leia’s trip to the planet’s underworld to teach us new things about one of the most familiar locations in the franchise.

Saltel’s pencils have a great sense of personality and fun to them. Her characters feel expressive and animated in a way that befits the style. Leia and Holdo look unique enough for this comic without losing their tether to their cinematic counterparts. Saltel also crafts some really beautiful and textural environments with a trip to a bar populated by alien acrobats being a standout.

Adventures continues to be a delight. It may not be the most momentous issue in the world, but as we have come to expect, the product turned out by IDW continues to be some of the most fun on the market.

Score: B

Star Wars Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Leonard Kirk

Before Charles Soule’s The Rise of Kylo Ren was announced at San Diego Comic Con, there were few Star Wars comics that were more anticipated this year than the Age of Resistance issue about Supreme Leader Snoke. Even though The Last Jedi bisected the unfortunate Dark Sider and signaled that he was really only a bit player in this saga, the need for answers was still heavy in the air for fans. Who or what was Snoke is just as much a question in 2019 as it was in 2015.

Let’s rip the BandAid off early. You don’t find out here. Tom Taylor is not going to be your Plagueis truther savior or reveal some secret mythos to Snoke that will answer all your questions. “Fail. Or Kill It” doesn’t even try. In some ways, this is to be expected. Lucasfilm would never drop such a hotly anticipated or secretive piece of information in a one shot comic with such little fanfare. We were really kidding ourselves if we ever thought that would be the case.

Where there is some disappointment though, is how little we really get to learn about Snoke at all here. While this was likely a restriction placed at an editorial level, Taylor feels unable to really provide much of a character study of Snoke as his own being. Yes, there are ways that this could have been done without revealing much of the character’s back story. No, this doesn’t mean that this is a poor comic. Far from it.

Taylor works with the limitations of a character like Snoke to tell a story of his training of Kylo Ren. The result is a sickening story of abusive mentorship and at its best moments showcases the utilitarian manner that Snoke views his apprentice. Palpatine’s strange and manipulative affection towards Darth Vader is absent here. This dynamic is one of fear, anger, and the weaponizing of humanity.

Taylor not so subtly uses this to create a retelling and reframing of Luke’s training under Yoda. A trip to Dagobah yields another violent Force vision, but Snoke welcomes and stokes the dark revelation hiding beneath these walls and encourages the emotional violence of it all. Snoke lets his apprentice keep his weapons but asks that he leave his mask behind. It exposes Kylo and harnesses his emotional instability. As a result, Taylor turns this story into one not necessarily about Snoke as a person or his past, but about his cruel methodology and how it manifests in his relationship with the former Ben Solo.

Leonard Kirk’s art proves serviceable, but not truly noteworthy. Kirk’s art is best at displaying action and motion and his characters seem to look better the more inhuman they appear. His gnarly twisted Snoke is a standout, but his often times awkwardly rendered Kylo (and his Force vision family) are enough to hold the narrative back at inopportune times.

So Snoke is still a mystery, and to be honest, I will be very surprised if we even get that much more info after 2019 closes. (Maybe the real Snoke were the old creepy men we bisected along the way?) Regardless, Taylor is on a role. At this rate, Age of Resistance may end up being the strongest of the bunch.

Score: B+

[recentanimenews]

My Favorite Art Books of 2018

74 is the final count for the number of art books I’ve reviewed this year in 2018; a slight dip from the 82 I did last year. Quantity notwithstanding, 2018 was still a fantastic year for those of us who enjoy beautiful art books, with plenty of amazing book releases, and I hope next year will be even better.

As we welcome 2019 here’s the round up of my favorite art books of 2018 ( in no particular order ); I hope you’ll find something of interest in the list. Do note that not all the books listed here were published in 2018. Enjoy, and Happy New Year ! –

1) The Electric State – Simon Stålenhag

Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag’s art book once again makes it to my list of favorites this year ( Things From The Flood was on my 2017 list ). The Electric State delivers more of the artist’s signature art work, sci-fi images evoking a strangely detached combination of awe, loneliness and nostalgia all at once.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

2) Tokyo Storefronts – The Artworks of Mateusz Urbanowicz

I’ve been following Mateusz Urbanowicz, a Polish illustrator based in Tokyo, Japan for quite a while on twitter, and I was elated when he published this wonderful art book, his first. Illustrations of quaint old Tokyo storefronts are beautifully rendered in the artist’s soft watercolors and are absolutely delightful to look at.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK

3) Jamie Hewlett Art Book

Taschen’s expansive monograph ( 424 pages covering over 400 pieces of art work ) for famed English comic book artist/designer Jamie Hewlett explores in detail the huge gamut of art work created by the artist since the Tank Girl era ( 1988 ) through Gorillaz and right up to the present day. Exploring the book I’m completely amazed by the artist’s incredible versatility in his drawing style.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

4) Futurelog – Range Murata

Futurelog is the latest art book by famed Japanese illustrator Range Murata ( Blue Submarine, Last Exile ), and this is his 2nd art book released this year ( the other being Tara Duncan art works ) after an absence of any art book publication for 7 years. These Attack On Titan illustrations ( image above ) are some of my fav in the book.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK

5) Hellboy Artist Edition – Mike Mignola

The Artist Edition comics published by IDW presents complete stories scanned from the original art, and reproduced at the same size. As a long time fan of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, I was inclined to pick up this limited edition featuring the first first five issues of Hellboy in Hell, as well as supplementary materials and several items of note selected by Mignola. The gargantuan size of the art book is the highlight and really shows off Mignola’s beautiful art work to great effect.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

6) Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set Manga

The absolute best way to read and enjoy Otomo Katsuhiro’s Akira manga, period. Two notable highlights from this new set includes the the original Japanese right to left reading format, as well as the original Japanese hand drawn sound effects. The sturdy cube cardboard box that houses the 6 volumes + Akira Club art book is stylishly designed, printed in bold black, white and red colors. A perfect gift for any Akira fan.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

7) The Art Of Mondo – Movie Posters

A beautiful synthesis of graphic design, typography and illustration, The Art Of Mondo celebrates the limited edition and much sought after film posters created by the Texas based company, which also specializes in Vinyl soundtracks and toys. The posters are usually sold out within minutes after their release, so this huge catalog ( with over 350 pages of art work ) is a perfect way to enjoy Mondo’s considerable collection of fantastic poster art.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

8) Tokyo Sweet Gwendoline Sorayama/RJB/Terada

A follow-up erotic art book to their 2014 “Pussy Cat ! Kill ! Kill ! Kill !”, Tokyo Sweet Gwendoline once again reunites 3 renowned Japanese artists – Hajime Sorayama, Rockin’ Jelly Bean and Katsuya Terada.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon UK

9) Marvelocity : The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross

Marvelocity is a 30 year long culmination of the very best Marvel comics art work by famed illustrator Alex Ross, in the same vein as his Mythology : The DC Comics Art Of Alex Ross. There is just so much outstanding imagery compacted in this one single volume that I get visual overload when flipping through the pages.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

10) The Art Of Solo – A Star Wars Story

Solo did not do as well as expected at the box office, but there’s no denying that the film is a stunning showcase of beautiful cinematic imagery and VFX. The behind the scenes concept art work are marvelously distilled and collected in this art book, written by Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak. The book has everything you would look for – production paintings, concept art and sketches, storyboards, matte paintings and more.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

11) TAIYOU – Matsumoto Taiyo Illustration Collection

TAIYOU is a much overdue art book by renowned Japanese comic artist Taiyo Matsumoto, the creator of manga like PingPong and Tekkon Kinkreet. This is his first published art book in almost 2 decades ( the last being “101” in 1999 ). The book includes art work for novel covers, t-shirts, posters, cards and more. Many of the art work collected will be familiar to fans of the artist, but it’s great to finally be able to enjoy all of them in one single volume.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon UK

12) Jin-roh – The Wolf Brigade Storyboard Book

Japanese publisher Fukkan has released this beautiful storyboard book for Hiroyuki Okiura’s highly acclaimed anime film Jin-roh The Wolf Brigade ( released back in 1999 ). The storyboards are extremely detailed and serves as an excellent study/resource for Hiroyuki Okiura’s composition techniques. My highest recommendations.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com |Buy From Amazon UK

There’s quite a few notable mentions that didn’t make my list, some of which include the storyboard art books for Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers and Millenium Actress, Ohrai Noriyoshi’s Beauty In Myths, The Art Of God Of War; you can take a look at the full list of 2018’s art book reviews here, and I also recommend my favorite art books of 2017/2016/2015/2014/2013/2012.

If you need help with ordering on Amazon Japan, the FAQs below will guide you through, step by step.

And lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if you have any to share. Happy New Year !

The post My Favorite Art Books of 2018 appeared first on Halcyon Realms - Art Book Reviews - Anime, Manga, Film, Photography.

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Related Posts:

My Favorite Art Books of 2016

My Favorite Art Books of 2015

My Favorite Art Books of 2017

My Favorite Art Books of 2014

Katsuya Terada Art Books – The Big List

By: yonghow

[identity-stunt]

Meet the Creators of IDENTITY STUNT Part II

Juancho Velez

Color Artist - Volume 1, Issues #2-#4

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Juancho Velez always knew he wanted to be part of the comic book industry, which led him to The Kubert school. During his three years studying cartooning and graphic design, he was naturally exposed to comic book coloring. Due to the fact that being a colorist was also a way to make it to the “big league” publishers, along with professional and artist growth, he decided to pursue his career as a Colorist. It's now been over six years of great learning -- and published color work -- with clients such as: Aspen Comics, Darby Pop, IDW, Chapter House, 7G Lab Colombia, Zenescope, and DC Comics...and hopefully many more!

Follow Juancho on social media:

deviantART |

Tim Brown

Color Artist - Volume 1, Issues #1-#2

Tim Brown was born in back in '95, and is new to the comic scene. Growing up as a kid, he loved drawing, and comics. When he was 17, he jumped into comic coloring, and very quickly decided to focus on that. Over the last few years, he's been studying and teaching himself to look at the world around him, and portray that in comics. Catch his work on KISS vs The Army of Darkness from Dynamite Entertainment! Tim currently resides in a small town in British Columbia, just left of nowhere. When he's not practicing his art, he's enjoys playing pool, video games and writing this terribly short bio.

Follow Tim on social media:

Twitter | Tumblr | Facebook | deviantART

Patrik Mock

Color Art - Volume 2

Patrik Mock is a freelance graphic designer living in Berlin with his dachshund hybrid Mamush.

He started coloring comics with Nightingale and the Finchfor Dub Comics in 2015, followed by 2 issues of Worst Day Ever from Luke Stone Studios. For Markosia, he's colored issues of No Romance, Alpha Gods, and Hero 9-to-5. He's currently working on the next issues of your favorite comic, Identity Stunt!!

Right now, he is probably walking the dog.

You can check out more of Patrik's color art at: https://patrikmock.wixsite.com/mocks-color

A.J. Scherkenbach

Letterer - Volume 1, Issues #2-#4

A.J. Scherkenbach is a letterer, graphic designer, writer and filmmaker. Born and raised in San Diego, California, A.J. joined the Army as an Infantry Soldier, traveled the world, lived the adventure and retired 20 years later. He went straight to school, Platt College of San Diego, after and earned his AA in Graphic Design and BA in Video Media. He wrote and lettered Sweet Lullaby and he letters Slate & Ashe.

A.J. now resides back in San Diego but travels to Los Angeles often to either work on films as a writer, director, producer and occasionally actor. In his free time he reads, watches to many movies and TV, and spends as much time with his family and friends. One day he plans on being successful.

Follow A.J. on social media:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Michael Hoffert

Letterer - Volume 2

In Michael's own words:

"I've always wanted to make comic books, but went to school for technical theatre and designs instead. Once I graduated, as a way to make money, I got a job as a mail carrier for the USPS.

Several years ago I finally got one of my short comic book stories drawn, but I didn't have anybody to letter it. Instead of trying to find someone, or have it be done with sub-par lettering, I decided to teach myself lettering. I used several tutorial videos and websites that offer the rules and design tips for comic book lettering and found that I was actually pretty good at it.

I then got recommended for a job lettering an online comic by a friend, which I promptly took and used those pages to hone my craft even farther. Since then I have lettered over 100 pages in various styles, learning something new with each project.

My goal is to use this skill to letter independent comics for people, and earn enough money so that I can get back to getting my own comics made."

Follow Michael on social media:

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Jeff Kline

Script Editor - Volume 1

For nearly two decades, Jeff Kline has been one of the fortunate few “genre nerds” able to move freely between prime-time and daytime television, motion pictures and the Web, and the East and West Coasts.

As both Writer and Showrunner, Kline has been responsible for more than 40 animated and live-action series and pilots. Currently, he is an Executive Producer and co-developer of TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE, a follow up to his previous project, the multiple Daytime Emmy® Award-winning CG series TRANSFORMERS: PRIME.

Over the past few years, Kline also co-developed and Executive Produced both TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS and G.I. JOE: RENEGADES for Hasbro Studios and The Hub as part of an exclusive multi-year pact.

Previously, Kline has been Showrunner on a slew of fan-fave animated series including JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES (Kids WB), MEN IN BLACK: THE ANIMATED SERIES (Kids WB), ROUGHNECKS: THE STARSHIP TROOPERS CHRONICLES (Syndicated), BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT (Fox Kids), and GODZILLA: THE SERIES (Fox Kids).

Paul Baumeister

Script Editor - Volume 2

From ThePullbox.com: "What can be said about Paul that hasn’t been said? Well, he’s not a fan of the “introduce yourself” bio page, but he is a team player who actually kinda likes talking about himself in the third person. Paul has been reading comics of all kinds since he was old enough to do so without drooling all over the pages. He’s been through all of the mainstream, has had a few favorites, and has developed a huge appreciation of the indies. Don’t bother asking about a “Top 10” because it’s never going to be the same list twice. Writing for thePullbox for the last couple years has been a blast, and has served as a great outlet for Paul’s incessant need to talk about the comics he really likes"...including Identity Stunt! Follow Paul on social media:

Twitter  |  Instagram

Renae Geerlings

Managing Editor - Volume 1

After getting a degree in theatre and moving to Los Angeles, Renae Geerlings was hired by David Wohl at Top Cow Productions as a lowly editorial assistant in 1997.  In 2006, after almost 10 years of climbing the ranks, she ended her tenure there as Editor in Chief. She has continued to freelance as a comic book editor/consultant with many companies including Darby Pop Publishing, Spark Unlimited, IP Factory, and Radical Publishing.

Follow Renae on social media: Twitter   |   Instagram

Sam Moyerman

Story and Script Assist - Volume 1

Sam Moyerman is a longtime comic book fan and reader who has long been involved as a critic and editorialist, first for Broken Frontier and then for Mightyville, for over a decade.  He has been involved as a writer and editor for Cave Drawing Ink, penning a story in their Rise of the Outlanders Anthology book and also as an editor for future anthologies and as an assistant editor for the successfully Kickstartered Grave Soldiers.  In his spare time he is also an award winning international volleyball coach, which also isn’t even his real job.  He lives in Ardmore, PA with his wife Elizabeth and their menagerie of animals.

Follow Sam on social media: Twitter |  Tumblr  | Instagram

👊🏼

#ABeatdownIsComing

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 3 September 2018

Quick Bits:

Ant Man & The Wasp #5 concludes what has been a fun series from Mark Waid, Javier Garrón, Israel Silva, and Joe Caramagna. The artwork from Garrón and Silva has been excellent and this final issue allows them to show off some more incredible and strange ideas.

| Published by Marvel

Asgardians of the Galaxy #1 adds another fun little wrinkle to the current expansion and exploration of Marvel’s Asgardian characters, spinning out of the current Thor series, the Infinity Wars crossover, and other reclaimed threads from the past few years. You needn’t have read any of that, though, as this still serves as a good introduction on its own, the rest just adds flavour. Cullen Bunn adds some nice touches of humour to the story, while a large part of this story rests in the action depicted by Matteo Lolli and Federico Blee. This is off to a good start.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers #7 is a single issue story expanding upon the first Ghost Rider from Jason Aaron, Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, Justin Ponsor, and Cory Petit. I like the 1 Million BC Avengers, so this is a welcome exploration, especially when coupled with this beautiful art.

| Published by Marvel

Black Science #38 gives a very interesting perspective on the book’s reality, and the purpose of all of the different realities, as we reach the prime reality. Phenomenal art as always from Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Bully Wars #1 isn’t a bad debut, filling in a similar-but not quite as extreme-humour place as Skottie Young’s recently concluded I Hate Fairyland. Nice art from Aaron Conley and Jean-Francois Beaulieu.

| Published by Image

Call of Duty: Zombies 2 #1 serves as a prequel to the forthcoming co-op portion of Activision/Treyarch’s Black Ops 4 video game, introducing some of the characters who will be featured in that story. It’s very much a kind of Indiana Jones pseudoarchaeology type story so far, but it’s good. Nice work from Justin Jordan, Andres Ponce, Mauro Vargas, Dan Jackson, and Nate Piekos. 

| Published by Dark Horse

Captain America #3 teases out a bit more of the conspiracy of a group behind the Nuke terrorists and an attempt to take control of America in the void left by Hydra’s demise. It continues to be a slowburn, with Ta-Nehisi Coates leaving a lot of the moral and ethical decisions up to the readers themselves as to whether or not what’s occurring is a “good” thing, even if being a byproduct of potentially nefarious ends.

| Published by Marvel

Clankillers #3 is more gorgeous artwork from Antonio Fuso and Stefano Simeone as they bring the darker aspects of Irish mythology to life. I quite enjoy how Sean Lewis is constructing how incredibly messed up this family has become.

| Published by AfterShock

Cloak & Dagger #4 starts pushing us closer towards the endgame as Ty goes on the offensive to find and rescue Tandy. Marvel’s digital originals have really been delivering some high quality stories lately and this one from Dennis Hopeless, David Messina, Elisabetta D’Amico, Giada Marchisio, and Travis Lanham has helped lead the charge. I know this one’s only supposed to be a limited series, with a couple more issue left, but the story and art have been top notch and I’d really like to see more.

| Published by Marvel

Cosmic Ghost Rider #3 brings the ultraviolence as Donny Cates, Dylan Burnett, Antonio Fabela, and Clayton Cowles give us what amounts to an issue long battle between our time-spun, deranged Frank Castle and a seemingly infinite army of Guardians of the Galaxy led by Cable. It’s fun. 

| Published by Marvel

Dark Ark #10 concludes this arc in fairly spectacular fashion, including a very impressive double-page spread from Juan Doe of the confrontation with Echidna.

| Published by AfterShock

The Dead Hand #6 is the conclusion to the first arc in this series and it is rather good. It ties up the events throughout the series so far and gives us a very interesting change to what happens next. I can’t say it’s unexpected because pretty much every issue has given us a surprise revelation or twist in the story, but it’s very well done. Kyle Higgins, Stephen Mooney, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles have told a very compelling story of intrigue and spycraft here.

| Published by Image

Deadpool #4 is a fun single issue story dropping Deadpool into Weirdworld and just kind of running wild with it. It allows Scott Hepburn (with colours by Ian Herring) to really cut loose with some of the designs and layouts, and taps into the zany, bizarre humour and fantasy that Skottie Young has become known for.

| Published by Marvel

Death of the Inhumans #3 continues the slow, surgical excision of the Inhumans and much of their supporting cast from the cosmic Marvel scene. There’s some fight left in them, but I wonder if Donny Cates is setting us up for disappointment. I really quite like what he’s carving out for himself with this, Cosmic Ghost Rider, and Thanos Legacy. Also, beautiful artwork from Ariel Olivetti and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Eclipse #10 makes me really quite appreciate Giovanni Timpano’s artwork more, especially finding out that he’s developing the layouts and panel progressions himself. Not only are they visually interesting, but it elevates the level of collaborative storytelling that he and Zack Kaplan are accomplishing here.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Giant Days #42 complicates things a bit between Ed and Esther, continuing to navigate the tricky relationships between the characters. The humour and heart are at an all time high this issue.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / Boom! Box

Immortal Hulk #5 gets pretty heavy as the issue drops a few bombs in regards to Sasquatch and on whatever it is that keeps bringing the Hulk back to life. Five issues in and this is already on part to me with much of Peter David’s run, particularly the Dale Keown, Liam Sharp, and Gary Frank eras that I greatly cherish. Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Paul Mounts, and Cory Petit are crafting an enthralling horror story, while greatly developing and embellishing upon Banner’s history. This is damn good.

| Published by Marvel

James Bond: Origin #1 is quite good, spotlighting a young James Bond, still in school, set during World War 2. It’s pretty straightforward in its action, but the artwork from Bob Q is quite a draw. He’s got a style that reminds me a bit of Peter Gross and Patrick Olliffe and it works really well for this kind of story.

| Published by Dynamite

The Last Siege #4 attempts to shift fates again this issue as Lady Cathryn and the stranger try to free themselves from Feist. The intrigue and shifting tension to the story are palpable, with Landry Q. Walker and Justin Greenwood keeping us on the edge of our seat with the action. 

| Published by Image

Leviathan #2 is not quite as over-the-top insane as the first issue, as it starts to fill in the details of what’s going on, but it still tries really hard to throw as many crazy ideas at you at once. Especially Hollow Earth dinosaurs in addition to the rest of the madness going on. Another satisfying outing from John Layman, Nick Pitarra, and Michael Garland.

| Published by Image

Old Man Logan Annual #1 introduces us to the Punisher of the wastelands, with two stories centring around Old Man Frank. The lead from Ed Brisson, Simone Di Meo, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Cory Petit is an interesting story about legacy, actions and consequences, as interpreted through the lens of this destroyed and crumbling world. After the start of the new Hillbilly mini, it’s nice to see Di Meo’s art again here.

The back-up goes further in to developing Old Man Frank himself with a “Punisher Wastelands Journal” story from Ryan Cady, Hayden Sherman,  Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Cory Petit. I want more of this story.

| Published by Marvel

Optimus Prime #23 is a bit scattered, delivering overlapping narrative points of view, while a larger conflict erupts on Earth between two factions of Cybertronians and a contingent of GI Joe operatives. It’s chaotic, which is part of the point, but it’s made more so in that you’re probably going to need to read it a couple of times to get the most out of who’s presenting what at any given time.

| Published by IDW

Outpost Zero #3 really starts to turn things up as interpersonal conflicts start coming to the fore and the colonists being politicking amongst themselves in the face of oncoming doom. I quite like it. Sean McKeever has really fleshed out the characters’ motivations and voices, engaging you to see how the pieces fit into the overall narrative.

| Published Image / Skybound

Paradiso #7 gives more insight into the dwellers underground, Jack, and the city itself, but as it does so more and more questions are raised. It’s very interesting how this story is being constructed and embellished, the world-building doesn’t ever seem to stop in favour of just following a singular narrative path.

| Published by Image

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #4 delivers a few revelations and some more nasty twists for our valiant knights. As usual, the artwork from Oleg Okunev (with colours this issue by Guy Major) really makes the series shine. The designs for the advanced stages of the plague are very impressive. 

| Published by AfterShock

Predator: Hunters II #2 has some really nice artwork from Agustin Padilla and Neeraj Menon. It’s interesting how Chris Warner is weaving some of the geopolitical strife in Afghanistan into the story and how it colours the Hunters’ hunt.

| Published by Dark Horse

Project Superpowers #2 is good. I’m sure that if I had read more than the original Alex Ross/Jim Krueger series, I’d get more depth out of this, but Rob Williams is making this story enjoyable for those of us that haven’t been following the broader story all along. Great art from Sergio Davila and Felideus.  

| Published by Dynamite

Quicksilver: No Surrender #5 leaves us a fairly interesting place after this character study, and quasi-redemption arc, of Pietro. While I’m really interested to see where this goes next, this has been an excellent series from Saladin Ahmed, Eric Nguyen, Rico Renzi, and Clayton Cowles. I’ve really enjoyed how this series has used colour to enhance the storytelling and this issue is no different.

| Published by Marvel

Relay #3 gets weirder. I’m getting even more David Cronenberg and Philip K. Dick vibes off of the story now, as it shifts even further into the mystery of the nature of the Relay and what exactly is going on with reality. There are some very interesting sci-fi ideas being played with here.

| Published by AfterShock

Shadow Roads #3 is another wonderful issue, giving us a bit of Henry’s history, and a lot of action. AC & Carlos Zamudio are really doing a great job with the artwork.

| Published by Oni Press

Silver Surfer Annual #1 is a pretty straightforward morality tale about the conflict the Surfer has with fulfilling his role as Galactus’ herald and the hidden beauty and value of worlds that he’s serving up to his master. It’s a decent story, but what really elevates it is the beautiful artwork from André Lima Araújo and Chris O’Halloran. It’s unsurprising that this issue was dedicated to Moebius, because that who I immediately thought of when I saw this book.

| Published by Marvel

Spawn #289 lays out some of the steps in Spawn’s plans to stop the shadowy evil elements seeking to control humanity, incorporating some old characters and plot ideas back into the overall story. It’s kind of what you’d expect from a Todd McFarlane-penned story and it is fairly entertaining, especially for longtime readers, even if a bit stilted at times. What takes it a peg above the norm, though, is still the artwork from Jason Shawn Alexander (with colours from McFarlane, Brian Haberlin, and Lee Loughridge).

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual #2 is easily one of the best Star Wars stories I’ve read this year, telling a humorous and exciting archaeological adventure story of Winloss and Nokk attempting to capture a legendary beast. Si Spurrier is great at humour, subtle winks to deadpan black humour, and it comes off in spades throughout the dialogue here. Winloss and Nokk’s banter is just perfect. To add to that, we’ve got Caspar Wijngaard’s first interiors for Marvel and he just knocks it out of the park. His creator owned work is phenomenal, beautiful, atmospheric art and he brings all that care, attention, and wonder to Star Wars. This is a great comic.

| Published by Marvel

Thanos Legacy #1 serves as a capstone to the recent Thanos series from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, while also being a companion piece to Cosmic Ghost Rider and being enmeshed in the current goings-on with Infinity Wars. The lead story written by Cates, with great art from Brian Level and Jordan Boyd gives Thanos’ perspective for the Infinity Wars events and is fairly essential in what looks like is coming next in Marvel’s cosmic realm. Like his work on the recent Avengers: Back to Basics digital original series, Level’s panel compositions, transitions, and page layouts are phenomenal. The craft that goes into his storytelling is impeccable. 

There’s also a silent back-up from Gerry Duggan, Cory Smith, and Ruth Redmond of Thanos training Gamora that highlights his sadism.

| Published by Marvel

Transformers: Lost Light #23 continues to tie up threads and drop huge revelations as we approach the end. James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, Joana Lafuente, and Tom B. Long are going out on a high note.

| Published by IDW

Transformers: Unicron #4 continues the systematic destruction of IDW’s Hasbroverse. It’s never looked so good with stunning art from Alex Milne, Sebastian Cheng, and David Garcia Cruz.

| Published by IDW

War Bears #1 is an interesting comic from Margaret Atwood and Ken Steacy, blending World War 2 working conditions, Canadian comics history, and propaganda comics into this tale. Great art from Steacy, especially as he incorporates the in-story comics pages into the work. I love when comics do that.

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: Aphrodite IX: Ares #1, Astonishing X-Men #15, Breathless #4, Come Into Me #3, Ghostbusters: Crossing Over #6, Invader Zim #34, The Long Con #2, Noble #11, Paper Girls #24, Secret Agent Deadpool #1, Spider-Man/Deadpool #38, Star Wars #53, Thief of Thieves #40, TMNT: Urban Legends #5, Unnatural #3, Vampironica #3, Venom: First Host #2, Weapon X #23

Recommended Collections: Brigands - Volume 2: Ruin of Thieves, Fear Agent - Volume 3, The Fix - Volume 3, The Further Adventures of Nick Wilson - Volume 1, Monstress - Volume 3, Monstro Mechanica - Volume 1, Old Man Logan - Volume 8: To Kill For, Prism Stalker, TMNT - Volume 20: Kingdom of Rats, Twisted Romance, X-Men Red - Volume 1: Hate Machine

d. emerson eddy does not have a brain slug attached to his skull. Why do you ask?

[ebonix]

I am exhausted!! I need to figure out HOW I'm going to be a full-time employee and full time student. My schedule is crazyyyy! I wanted to add another class for winter, but everything is closed so... Nah. And I'll probably have to drop my history class since my educational stuff still isn't sent to my school so, I could get my books and supplies. I'm REALLY NOT feeling this whole going back to school thing since I'll only get five hours of sleep after spending the evening at school then the night at work. Idk HOW I'm going to fit in studying so, I'm going to be full of anxiety this week. Next week, I'll breathe. Today... I'm so lost. Welp, I gotta go try to fit in two hours of rest before heading out to do errands and head to school. Ughhh then this ridiculous uniform is cramping my style! Idw carry it around all day AND I don't want to wear it all day. 🙄 Neither of these conclusions add up to me working here for long. 😱 I need to see that pay raise ASAP or I'm out! Time to focus on nails anyways!! Lol The BS of corporate America is gonna push ME... NOT! 😂 I feel that these next months are gonna TRY me, but I'm a warrior! I am the art of war.