Creature paintings

Hi,

So this is the painting that I`ve done over this weekend. I`m thinking that I better draw more, focusing on human face structure. These creatures are really just crazy version of big and mantis. But I will sculpt them anyway as practice with ZBrush.

I`m gonna refresh my brain with ZBrush a bit from now, hopefully can start to put in-progress images soon at my 3D blog.

Mikio

Creature Doodles

Hi,

As I announced at my 3D blog, I`ve been trying to draw some creature bust for my ZBrush project.

My plan is to sculpt several creature bust as practice, using these doodles. I`m gonna draw more, and probably paint some.

Looking at my website, I felt shocked, realizing that there are few CG creatures! This is Mikio, you know. I gotta create more creatures and monsters!!

Mikio

Doodles p.2/3

Hi,

These are another doodles again. Blue pencil one may need to be loosen up more. I used black and blue col-erase for these. I think black col-erase is great, coz it`s not so smudgy as regular graphite, yet holds graphite`s delicate line quality.

Mikio

Portrait Oil Painting

One of the focus of this year has been painting, and these paintings were done at Local Art school, uninstructed workshop(3 to 5 hours).
Black and White ones are self portrait,and were painted as homework for the painting class that I took early this year.

Since I`ve learned sculpture, I tried to achieve 3dimensional look, using value. I also tried to adjust the focus with value and edge control.

Mikio

Doodles of the Month No.1 !!

Hi, guys.

I have started this Doodles of the Month project. Just like everybody who loves drawing, I draw tons of miscellaneous stuffs, and I thought it might be fun to put those on this blog.

I tend to feel a lot of stress these days, feeling I gotta improve, I wanna reach to that famous artist level, and so on. But main reason that I draw is supposed to be simply because it is fun.

One famous artist, Terada Katsuya published great book, called "Rakuga King." You can see many great sketches in this book, no restriction,but tons of imagination. Many people must have kind of experience that after feeling bored in the class, started to draw mustache on a female author`s photos in the text book. I`m feeling that I gotta go back to the very core feeling to draw. Drawing just for fun.

Anyway I will keep on doing this periodically, hope you guys like these Rakugaki !

Mikio

Imaginary Animal

This time I wanted to design animal for fantasy world, appealing enough to travelers, but also can carry stuffs on his back.

One thing I noticed is that I tend to find it difficult to make names for my characters/creatures. The name that I could come up with this time was, Camel butterfly........ (well, very descriptive,right?.....)

I may try another environment, or totally something else for next, you`ll see :)

Mikio

Environment design project No.2 (Gathering)

The scene that I really love watching of all the movies is a gathering one in Never ending story. First time I watched so many different characters and creatures at Ivory tower, I got amazed and fascinated by its imagination. The tree bears in Lord of the Ring is also my favorite, discussing about the war in the Middle earth. I also remember the gathering scene of old creatures in Dark Crystal.

I always wanted to be in those scenes as a chosen one from human kind, and discuss serious things in imaginary world...

What`s next?

I`m planning to paint imaginary animals for next project, plus I`ll start periodic project from this month :)

Mikio

Environment design project No.1

Hi,

I finally posted my environment painting! Theme wise not much thinking, I just used some references that I collected for my last project.

My focus here was to draw and paint the environment design with different emphasis, such as value, shape, composition.

This my first painting for this project was started from interesting shapes that I created.
The shape that I got from "happy accident" really reminds me of the flying castle, and I added dragon and fighters to the scene. I struggled a lot with unifying chaotic scene, using value focus, color. I hope you like it.

Shape driven exercise :

Many artist use so called "happy accident" for their work, some use 10% marker, some use Ink. I often used graphite and literally draw chaotic images on a paper, then I tried to find the interesting shape,then using those shapes, I start to put face, muscle,etc, till it starts to look like creatures or characters.

Before I did the painting, I practiced generating the interesting shapes with one theme, such as circle, triangle, curve. I found the result of these shape exercise itself interesting, and decided to post this too.

Value driven exercises :

Another approach that I`ve taken for this project was value driven approach. Compare to the approach above, I could control many element, like, where I should put horizon line, vanishing point, where I should put this and that, etc. If I have something in my head already, this way might be better, coz I have more control over the scene, but I had to spend more time on each small sketches.

Next post :

I will paint one or two environment stuff, then more project coming ! : ))

Mikio

Japanese Ghost ver.3

So, this is supposed to be the in-between image of version 1 and 2. Though I really like this painting, I have to admit that I failed to gap between the two paintings. The reason is that the first painting was very cartoony, and the second one was more realistic. Though I tried to combine two different elements, they were too different in terms of style.

Since this is the very changing sequence, I used a lot of gesture and movement. Other than the fact that I just mentioned, I like this version the best of all. I hope you liked this series of Ghost painting ! I remembered John Carpenter(famous horror movie director) said in his interview, that he didn`t know why, but making horror movie is really fun. I felt the same thing throughout this project. I wasn`t even brave enough to save reference ghost painting images in my PC folders, but painting ghosts was definitely fun !!

My next painting(or sketches) would be environment. I still haven`t decided if I keep on using the same theme(Japanese ghost) or something else. But hope you guys keep on visiting here : )

Mikio

Japanese Ghost Ver.2

Hi, guys.

This is my second Ghost painting. My last painting was the final stage of the ghost`s changing sequence, and this one is the first stage, just started transforming into the ghost.

Though I wanted to leave her normal human quite a bit so that I can make contrast to the final stage, I had to make sure that she looks ghost, using crazy hair, top lighting, and so forth. I also wanted to use same type of props as Hitodama(small blue fire, hanging besides her in the last painting). Hitodama was believed to be human soul, often seen at the grave. This is another props that you often see in Japanese Ghost painting. For this painting, I instead used Blood, indicating that she was murdered(by her boyfriend !), also serves as framing.

My next painting might be a bit challenging, coz I need to combine this painting with the last one, and show the in-between. It`s also gonna be crazy and ugly for sure.

Mikio

Japanese Ghost !

When Summer comes in Japan, people starts to see many people in TV show talk about horror story. It is very humid in Japan during Summer, and listening to horror story is one way for us to cool down our body.

円山 応挙(Maruyama Oukyo) is famous for Ghost painting, and its painting is kinda standard of what the ghost looks like. Japanese ghost doesn`t have legs, and sometimges put triangular cloth on a head, with holding up two hands(like my Ghost painting).

My painting is far from his, but I wanted to paint Ghost for this Summer, and going to paint more. It`s gonna be a process of this Ghost turns into this stage.

ps. I recently made another blog for my 3D stuff, please visit there too ! (http://mikio3d.blogspot.com/)

What`s fun/difficulty about designing concept?

Hope this scene helps to show his personality, yeah, he is not brave one.

Seeing many concept artists combine African culture into design(especially Starwars), I myself come to want to learn thier culture too. I think one of the reason that many people enjoy drawing concept stuff is because of this process, learning things in nature, things that surround us.

The task is really change real things into something new, based on concept/ideas. The trouble that I have is that I`m really bad at research skills, but I`m trying to improve this skill by drawing real things as much as I can before drawing concept stuff.

Side-kick is rock!

When I was much younger, I used to identify myself with main character, like, Luke or Indy or whoever in the movie or novel. But after got older, I noticed that I tend to identify myself more with side-kick or sometimes even bad guy.

The reason would be 2 things, one thing is that I feel that I`m not main character in the reallife, doing so many stupid things :( The other reason is that I experienced many feelings, and noticed that there are many aspects and personalities in me,

Anyway, I wanted to design side-kick character for sci-fi or fantasy. He lives in desert planet, and supposed to be dangerous species, but he himself is quite stupid and always eating somethins that are easy to catch.

I`m gonna paint one more and put him in one scene.

ps. I`m currently making 3D art work with this design(http://mikio3d.blogspot.com/)(08/08/08)

It`s not his fault!

I always felt that Minotauros and Frankenstein have something in common. It is not their fault that they got born like that, you know. It was their father or scientist`s fault.

Anyway, since He is a mixture between human and bull/gaur, I think his body is supposed to be more messed up. So, here it is. The armor that he is wearing is chinese armor.

first post!

Hope these guys won`t walk around my country in the future.