#studying junji ito style

[winnie-illustrator]

If you love Junji Ito's horror stories... What if in his au!

[nymphlly]

Trying to get back into art and figure out my artstyle after months of not drawing anything at all 🥲

Here's a Bloom drawing because I've been binging the first three seasons of Winx 🧚🏼‍♀️ I'll try to post more art soon 🌼

[flailingpeanut]

Just wanted to draw a bunch of things/characters with varying styles

[sorrel-schematonics]

I’m alive! Did a Junji Ito style test recently with a Shion drawing, of which I decided to go ALL IN and do this in traditional ink with a bit of after-inking digital edits (which is the medium of which he typically does his work in).

Honestly, I wish I did have thinner pens so I’d be able to reflect the style’s hatching a bit more faithfully, but I made do with what I had.

… Though say, what are they worried about?

HEADS UP: If you’re considering looking up Junji Ito, please be wary that he does some SERIOUSLY HORRIFIC BODY HORROR. You hath been warned.

[necrotic-nightshade]

Did another style study with my ‘sona, this one being Junji Ito’s style!

This stuff’s very different from my usual style but it was actually insanely fun to draw! I might do some more studies where I focus on drawing facial expressions and stuff.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

Reading Junji Ito's "Billions Alone" from a post-lockdown, culturally individualist perspective

Today, I met up with some local writers at a cafe/comic shop for some group discussion and writing. One of them is a fiction writer like myself; the other is a video essayist. Since becoming more involved in the local artistic scene, both as an artist and a writer, I feel like my mental health has been improving, at least when it comes to my personal life- I'm building a circle of like-minded creatives, surrounding myself with others who have similar beliefs and interests as me. As I'm finding community in the creative scene, however, I'm also realizing that many people I'm meeting feel much of the same way.

At the writers' meeting, while we discussed our stories, our goals, and our writing challenges, the idea of "third spaces" also frequently came up as well. My video essayist friend was talking about a new project studying how public infrastructure is designed to favor drivers over pedestrians, and we all agreed on something that I've been hearing many times in online circles- the internet itself is changing. Despite social media platforms supposedly promising to bring people together, they've only become more isolating as they've become more corporate, AI, and algorithm-driven. We talked how lots of online users are returning to the "old internet," forming their own blogs and seeking an escape from the increasingly stifling major platforms. We discussed how while everything is filled with SEO and short-form content, nobody actually likes TikTok or Instagram, but they've become so ingrained in online society that we tolerate them, using them to promote our small businesses or connect with others.

After the meeting, I decided to look around the comic store, and was drawn to a copy of Junji Ito's manga collection, Venus in the Blind Spot. I'd become a Junji Ito fan way back in college, and his art style has had a big influence on my own work. While I also take heavy inspiration from styles like Expressionism and New Objectivity, and artists such as Edward Gorey and Stephen Gammell, Junji Ito's painstaking pen-and-ink hatching, bulging eyeballs, and grotesque faces have played a distinct role in my artistic growth. However, I didn't own any of his mangas (having read some online), but I'd been wanting to get one so I could study his art style up close. I ended up buying Venus, and after my conversation with my writer friends, it was strangely coincidental that the first story in the collection was Billions Alone.

Junji Ito's Billions Alone tells the story of Michio, a reclusive young man who has a crush on his former classmate, Natsuko. Natsuko is planning a school reunion, and invites Michio to reconnect and meet her new friend group. Meanwhile, a mysterious series of mass murders have been taking place, as a group called "Billions Alone" appears to be killing people en masse and sewing their bodies together. As Michio and Natusko's friends are killed and the heaps of bodies grow bigger and bigger, the public is warned not to form gatherings, and to isolate from one another. Eventually, Michio sees military planes that he thinks are attacking Billions Alone aircrafts, but are actually dropping pamphlets about "coming together" onto the town. As he thinks the government is finally taking action against the murders, he goes to tell Natusko, only to see her sewing the bodies of her family together, implying that the murders have not been carried out by an organized crime group as suspected, but rather civilians being compelled or brainwashed into killing each other. I've seen analyses before that Billions Alone is a commentary on Japan's collectivist culture, and that many of Junji Ito's works critique different aspects of Japanese culture- for instance, Gyo has been interpreted as a metaphor for the Japanese government's denial of atrocities committed by Japan during WW2, such as in Nanking, China, while My Dear Ancestors has been read as a criticism of the concept of filial piety. While these interpretations are certainly fascinating, I admittedly don't know enough about Japanese culture to properly analyze Ito's works from that lens, and will leave that up to people more knowledgeable than I am. However, coming from the United States, which has a heavily individualist culture as opposed to collectivism, Billions Alone resonated with me in a different way, especially after the Covid lockdowns and the increasing isolation of people, ironically in part due to the internet, which has simultaneously allowed people to "come together" and drive them apart.

Before I get into my thoughts on Billions Alone from my own cultural perspective, I want to add a disclaimer- just because Covid lockdowns are over doesn't mean that Covid itself is over. People still get the disease, it's still contagious, and it's still deadly. If you're sick and going out in public, it's common decency to wear a mask; public health is still important. This analysis is not anti-mask or anti-lockdown, but does discuss the social and psychological effects of lockdowns. I'd also like to say that when I call myself "culturally individualist," I mean that I come from an individualist culture, not that I consider individualism to be a superior ideology; both individualism and collectivism have their pros and cons. That being said, back to Junji Ito.

One thing that stood out to me the most in Billions Alone is the way the concepts of togetherness vs. isolation are framed in both positive and negative ways. Natsuko is a very social character; she has a friend group, a fiancee, and is planning the school reunion. She's also the only character shown sewing people together at the end. Meanwhile, Michio is very isolated; he's spent the last seven years at home. He misses Natsuko at the beginning of the story, and while he wants to confess his feelings towards her, while he's been shut up in his house, she's found someone else she loves. Togetherness prevents social death, but it also means physical death. Isolation means mental anguish and loneliness, but it also means survival.

The characters in Billions Alone both crave and are terrified of togetherness. As they're ordered to stay separated by the authorities, many young people, including the main characters, ignore the orders to gather in groups. This definitely brought the Covid lockdowns to mind for me; like the characters in the manga, to protect ourselves and the people we loved, we had to avoid gathering with them. Michio thinks that by the end, the Japanese government "finally" decides to take action combatting Billions Alone, but only after the death toll has become impossible to ignore and increasingly large masses of bodies begin to appear in public spaces. Worse yet, the planes he sees are in the control of Billions Alone, dropping propaganda to even more people (this page points out they're possibly an allusion to Allied planes during WW2; the allusion to John Lennon's music on the radio also makes a possible case for an analysis of the Billions Alone group symbolizing western globalization, but that's a study for another time). Notably, the bodies don't appear in workplaces or the home, but rather in "third spaces"- public parks, hiking trails, and areas being used for parties, like the school reunion. To survive, people must avoid these places, leading them to become more and more isolated. Natsuko's desire for social connection leads her to continue with the reunion despite Michio's insistence, justifying it as a "memorial" for the members of her friend group. However, the auditorium is empty, and she and Michio are confronted with a large web of bodies.

Looking at Ito's (frankly amazing) drawings of the corpses (I found myself analyzing his use of hatching and texture in every single one), I was reminded of the discussion my friends and I had about the modern Internet. In the story, technology is shown as a way to keep people connected while isolating from each other; Michio watches the news on the television for updates, calls Natsuko on the phone, and reads online forums to see what people are saying about the murders. But, as in real life, technology is not a substitute for social interaction, and while people can communicate and receive information over long distances while being isolated, they still continue to gather, despite knowing about the murders. They increasingly rely on technology, but still crave connection, enough to risk their lives for it; even Michio, who is used to being alone, says he wouldn't mind being sewn to his crush Natsuko as he ventures to see her again despite the risks. It's a line that was probably intended to be humorous, but speaks to the fact that even for him, there's only so much isolation he can take. When he sees the military planes, she's the first person he goes to talk to- if not the only person he knows who's still alive.

Overall, I think there's a lot to analyze with Billions Alone, and while I saw some people on the internet also drawing parallels with the Covid lockdowns like I did, I think what we can interpret from it in terms of the long-term increasing isolation of society- while we paradoxically "come together" with the internet- and the disappearance of third spaces is just as interesting. Like my friends and I in the comic store today, the characters are desperate for connection, and lament not being able to have it. Even if isolation may help them survive, they ultimately fall victim to their desire to live.

[ofliarsandlovers]

(Lee Soo-Hyuk, 35, cis-male, he/him) - Look who it is! If you take a look at our database, you’ll find that BRYAN AHN is a COMIC BOOK/MANGA ARTIST that works in SECTOR 9. According to the file, they’re a mutant with the power of BIRD PHYSIOLOGY and PERFECT RECALL. That must be why they’re CALM and SECRETIVE. If you ask me, they remind me of the safety you feel when wrapped in a warm hug, birdsong in the morning and hushed conversations over coffee. They are affiliated with THE MUTANT SOCIETY.

basic information:

character name: Bryan Ahn

nickname (s): Bry, Bird Boy

face claim: Lee Soo Hyuk

mutation status: Gen ii

birthday: May 7th

sexuality: Homosexual

moral alignment: True Neutral

occupation: Manga/Comic Artist (former GP)

work sector: 9

affiliation: The Mutant Society

3 positive traits: Calm, Rational, Caring

3 negative traits: Secretive, Antisocial, Apathetic

biography (optional): TBD

questionnaire:

how do they feel about living in sol city? have they always lived there or did they travel from another settlement? "My Mother moved us here not long after Dad died, to be closer to her parents and siblings. It feels like home, nonetheless."

do they trust the council’s leadership? why or why not? "They were elected for a reason I guess? I don't really get involved with matters like politics."

if they chose their sector and profession, why did they make that choice? if they didn’t, why not? were they happy with their assignment or not? "I was initially assigned into Sector 4 and studied to be a Doctor. However, I was able to prove that my artistic talents were good enough for me to move to Sector 9 completely."

what’s one object that they always keep on their person? He always has a sketchbook tucked into his bag and a couple of pencils in case he needs to draw something on a whim.

(mutant only section)

what is your character’s ability (or abilities)? Bird Physiology & Perfect Recall

are they gen i or gen ii? Gen ii

what can your character do? what are their strengths? Bird Physiology - He can transform into any species of bird he has studied extensively, his preferred forms are a Harpy Eagle or a Sparrow Hawk. He can also manifest birdlike attributes like talons or feathers if need be. Perfect Recall - The ability to recall an image from memory with high precision after seeing it only once and without a mnemonic device.

what can’t they do? what are their weaknesses? His bones are very light and easily broken, his senses are prone to be overwhelmed as birds have very sharp hearing and eyesight and he doesn't have perfect recall for sounds so he is not likely to recall conversations perfectly.

is there anything else you’d like to specify about them? Bryan is just a moody arty boy who likes being left alone to his drawings. He is known for his horror titles under his main published name Bryan A (think Junji Ito style work) but has a pen name Anda Song where he publishes more shojo/romance/isekai/one shot kind of stuff.

[serendictment]

October Books

1. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

9/10. I have a small hole in my heart that is Japanese literature shaped, and the fact that it took me this long (and a requirement for a class) to read this was a crime. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially with how happy of an ending it was. I really needed that pick me up after September.

2. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

4/10. I wanted to love this and by no means did I hate it, I just dislike the class I had to read this for. Also, because of other people in that class not participating, we were getting quizzes each class on the book, which turned reading it into studying it which just wasn't great. It was still well written and I quite enjoyed the usage of language and how the dialog was written.

3. No Longer Human (Manga) by Junji Ito

9.5/10. No Longer Human is genuinely one of my favorite novels to date, so when I first heard of the manga version I knew I had to read it and I was by no means disappointed. Ito's art style is perfect for this novel and I love the changes that Ito made to the story (Takeichi's suidide, meeting Dazai in the mental hospital, and the ending in general). I also especially loved how at the very beginning we see Dazai and Sachi sitting on the river bank and then at the very end we see the newspaper on Yoichi's kite detailing his death. It was tragic, but it also felt like closure. I'm not sure how problematic it is to say, but I do, unfortunately, relate to Yozo due to multiple things he has said (particularly about the clown like persona, and the feeling of not being human, though that's for another time). I don't want to keep going on, but know that I definitely can.

4. Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto

8/10. Loved the art and the story, especially how it's only learned near the end how Yuta's mother was actually rather abusive/harsh with him. Honestly, the ending did confuse me a bit with Eri being a vampire (I'm not sure if this is a hallucination or real?) but the explosion at the end made me oddly happy.

5. Chainsaw Man volume 13

7/10. Loved the 'Goodbye, Eri' reference after Mitaka became the war devil. Other than that, amazing art as usual. Angel, Kobeni, and Cosmo/Halloween Devil, I still miss you.

6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

?/10. I definitely didn't. . . hate it. . . but I'm not sure if I liked it. I'm conflicted. Yeah. Ari and Dante's getting together was cute though. . . okay next book.

[tuherrus]

For the ask meme! 4, 7, 9, 14, and 24, please! :3c

Favourite things to draw?

already answered but i'll add to it anyways, i also like drawing different styles and emulating other artists, it's a lot of fun....!

Favourite works of all time excluding your own?

there's far too many to put everything here so i won't, but this will still be a long one so i put it under a cut!

näcken, ernst josephson

perfect blue promotional art, satoshi kon

the bed, henri de toulouse-lautrec

sleeping hermaphroditus, unknown

untitled, bill bate

repent, sara kipin

good girl, jakub rozalski

the tarot deck, pamela colman smith

the execution of lady jane grey, paul delaroche

centaur kiss, george leonnec

defense of the sampo, akseli gallen-kallela

the siren, john william waterhouse

tomie cover, junji ito

medusa with the head of perseus, luciano garbati

kiki's delivery service concept art, hayao miyazaki

danse macabre, micah ulrich

morning slumber, michael mao

annnd many more but i'm sure this is long enough by now lol

What are you currently trying to improve?

it's a neverending quest to get used to drawing the sort of backgrounds i want but always figured i wasn't skilled enough to draw....!

How has your art changed over the years?

i think it's gotten more sharp and high contrast, more confident?

How do you deal with artblock?

usually i just force myself to try and draw something anyway, anything i'm usually interested in.....i do studies if i'm totally out of ideas and even if nothing looks good i try to produce something to get out of that block

[theinvisiblemuseum]

a tree with its leaves on fire

MORE ABOUT THIS ONE !!! it's gonna be sooooooooosooooo art heavy. the book literally reads like a painting, if that makes any sense at all. but noah & jude and their relationship to art is almost as important as their relationships to one another. arguably, their relationships with art ARE their relationships with one another- and everyone else in their lives. i just ugh this book is so insane i love it more than anything.

but pandora's art focus is sculpting. she ends up having to do an independent study outside her university to work with a reclusive sculptor who works with very unconventional materials, and he becomes her mentor.

evan's art focus is drawing/painting, and i see his style being veryyyy reminiscent of some sort of combination of escher & basquiat & junji ito... lots of monstrous things with loud colors and a healthy dose of surrealism mixed in there.

wip ask game

[xxdr3amsnatchrrxx]

if its not a commission or an art trade, you can trace over my art with credit to me if you are trying to do art studies with my style. you can "copy" my style. you can take inspiration from my art no matter how heavy it is.

i keep seeing people get upset over artstyle theft and shit like that when like bro ur not gonna believe what happens in the professional art industry lmao. everyone "steals" artstyles all the time.

guess im stealing my brothers entire idea because he's why i'm an artist today. ig im stealing from Vivzie pop, Jhonen Vasquez, Dreamalgia, Sodikken, Pastra Spec, and Junji Ito. you see why i hate the term "style theft"

[theelispace]

TW: Blood and Gore

So, earlier this month I picked up Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito from a local bookstore, and I loved it!

And then I decided to redraw some of my favourite panels, because I really like the style and expressions of Junji Ito's work, and I wanted to study the techniques.

Panel 1: Dissection-chan, Page 121

Panel 2: Tomio • Red Turtleneck, Page 62

Panel 3: Whispering Woman, Page 207

Panel 4: Whispering Woman, Page 220

Panel 5: Wooden Spirit, Page 16

[reficu1]

hello i was wondering if i could get matched up (harry potter, male character)

im a girl, my prefered pronouns are she/they, INTP 9w1. the house i would be in is ravenclaw.

im filipino and chinese. im 5’2 and my skin is like a medium-light tone. i have black hair with curtain bangs and it goes a bit past my shoulder. i have brown eyes, theyre not dark but not light either, and i wear glasses that tend to stay at the tip of my nose. for my style, i wear a lot of sweaters or jackets, cropped shirts, and jeans with either converse or docs. i prefer dark, muted, or neutral tones over brighter colors. my style is kinda like the downtown girl aesthetic.

things i enjoy are reading, listening to music, playing video games, watching movies, and studying. my favorite books are schoolgirl by dazai osamu and our happy time by gong jiyeong. i dont read as much as i did before, but i do it here and there. ive been really interested in japanese literature and also manga, though, and ive always loved the works of dazai osamu and junji ito. i listen to music almost all the time since it sort of blocks out everything when it gets too loud. i wear my headphones even if im not listening to music since simply having it there kind of comforts me (i also have really bad sensory issues since im autistic. its not only with hearing but all of my senses in general). i listen to a variety of artists, but my favorites are laufey, mitski, lamp, tyler the creator, and childish gambino. besides listening to music, i also play the piano. i play a lot of video games, but its mainly genshin and osu, but i love horror and mystery games. its similar with movies, i love horror and psychological horror, mystery, and action. studying is what i enjoy the most even if it sounds odd. i love learning new things especially if its something im interested in.

personality-wise, im a very quiet and calm person, but im also very observant. i dont talk to a lot of people, but when i find someone interesting, i’ll most likely talk to them first. it also takes me a while to grow comfortable towards people depending on how they are. but once i get comfortable with someone, i become more talkative. i go on and on about what i find interesting and my passions. im also a good listener and im willing to listen to people ramble to me as much as i do to them. im open with my friends venting to me and i tend to only listen since im not the best at comforting people, but if they need it, then id try my best to comfort them. i have a really difficult time expressing emotions. i wouldnt call myself emotionless, i feel a lot of emotions to the point where it can be overwhelming for me sometimes, but expressing them it very awkward for me. im intelligent and i love all kinds of science (its my hyperfixation), but i despise english and history. im not bad at either of them, i just dont find them at all interesting.

just random facts abt me: i have the worst memory its actually concerning, im the youngest in my family i have two older siblings (a sister who im extremely close with and a brother), i love animals especially cats, i love the sky and i always take pictures of it.

(also dont know if this was necessary but just wanted to add it: stargazing, cafe, museum, park/flower garden, or study/library (except we wouldnt get anything done and we’re just in our own world) dates are my fav and my love language is acts of service!)

SORRY IF THIS WAS TOO MUCH HAHA but thank you so so much if you actually respond to this! i hope you have a wonderful day/night!

I match up for you...

Ron Weasley. And I'm talking about Ron from the book, because in the film he is shown as a coward, stupid, weak and only likes to eat. But in the original, Ron is quite smart, he has a lot of "beyond expectations". Yes, he lacks perseverance. Ron has a strategic mind, if you remember his interest in chess. But damn, his game didn’t end with a checkmate, it was a check and the enemy could be blocked by a queen_._._ Your love of reading and studying didn’t bother him, he would probably sit next to you and listen to you if you want to discuss something, otherwise as he has many older siblings, he has a lot of experience that they passed on to him. But because of them, he would be less likely to express his thoughts or knowledge. Ron is very insecure, due to the fact that his mother always set only the older ones as an example, and Ron is the only younger one. But every year the guy learned from his mistakes and admitted them! This is a wonderful quality in people, it helps us to improve ourselves.

[vilelittlecritter]

Here's some drawing I did tonight.

I had trouble on the one on the right side and honestly don't like it that much, but I really like how the left one turned out. Mostly because I used a lot of measuring so I need to keep that up.

I think I'm going to start doing master studies and just generally try to start honing in an actual art style.

Some artists I really want to study are Omocat, Yoji Shinkawa, Junji Ito, Studio Ghibli and Mortis Ghost. If there are anymore you think I would like please send them! I really want to develop a genuinely appeasing artstyle and not just doodles

I doubt I'll have anything crazy impressive for the time I'm in college but I'll have definitely improved I think.

I want to start working on things I really like such as character design, anatomy, colour, plants and just generally making cool stuff and not awful doodles. It's going to take some time before I'm really happy with my art but I'm already noticing progress!

Also I bought a manga art book today to try and use as reference for some things, I feel like I've committed a cardinal sin. I've always been told that the books aren't good and other crap but I just caved in today. I do want to try and generally get more art books though because I like em.

Anyway enough ranting ima snork mi mi mi mi mi now

[mr-parable]

Junji ito style study

[eienoah]

May 18 - Free day 2

Another day another dollar spent. Today was my second free day of the trip and I spent it yet again meeting up with Momo who I met on the last free day. It’s kind of funny that I ended up spending both with her but she took me around to cool places so I was super happy to be led around. Back in America I’m always the one making decisions for different things so it feels amazing to be able to just have someone make decisions for me. We started off in Nakano station and walked around a shopping mall. It was amazing truly. Japan’s shopping malls always amaze me with just how layered they really are. It feels like all of them are actually built to be a mall. Florida malls are all just super long hallways. I much prefer the style of just a bunch of different floors jam packed in a mall rather than just having a 50 foot hallways above me. I bought a couple of things including a figure of a vocaloid singer that I absolutely love so I was super happy. I’ve been looking for two week for a figure of her and this one was extremely cheap. I also found yofukashi no uta which Luke bought volume 1 of at the last store we went to. In addition, I managed to find volume 2 of gyo by Junji Ito which I am ecstatic to own. I’ve been looking for Junji Ito for so long and this will really give me motivation to study Japanese more. From there we went to karaoke which I wasn’t sure if I could do or not. My voice has been a little strange recently so I didn’t want to strain it too hard but it turned out alright to sing a couple songs. I also met Momo’s friends Rena there who was super nice. I haven’t been listening to music recently so I forgot a lot of the Japanese songs I knew but I still did a couple. It was so much cheaper then in Shibuya. We then went over to Ichiran Ramen where I had my second ramen of Japan and it was amazing. Though the ordering style was a bit strange for me. You didn’t even get to see who was serving you. Oh well. From there we took a little walk over to a hookah lounge where I just put a masked on and talked while my friends smoked but it was so much fun just sitting and talking to them. We had to say our goodbyes but not until we went on the train. I will always treasure Momo as my first friend made in Japan and I feel like I didn’t get to hang out enough with her. I feel the same about all the students from Musashi daigaku. I would’ve liked to hang out with everyone maybe just one more time. The goodbyes from everyone were sad but it’s not the last time in my life that I’ll see them. I’ll be back next year to talk with everyone and by then I hope to be significantly better at my Japanese.