REKIRA THE SUPER-MONSTER - 35th Anniversary of Planning - and New Art!

 I really wanted to post this yesterday, but I only just overcame a bunch of technical hiccups at the eleventh hour. But I'm nonetheless very excited about this.

 Yesterday was the 35th Anniversary of when I officially began production on what would eventually become my original kaiju story, Rekira the Super-Monster! Originally a Godzilla fanfiction, which I would revise and refine in subsequent years; in 1997, I was encouraged by a dear friend to turn the story into an original work (because - and he put it so much better than most other people did - of the benefits of doing an original story; having creative freedom and owning it personally). I agreed, and after much revisions through the years, I refined it into my ultimate love-letter to Godzilla and other tokusatsu (as well as other aesthetics, like midcentury modern cartoon styles and 1950s/'60s retrofuturism).

Here are two finished pieces related to my project, both modeled on Blender and texted/signed on FireAlpaca.

One is the finished figures of Rekira fighting his first adversary, Cheligon (which you've seen in past posts), from one of my render sessions on January 23rd.

The other is new finished figures of the three main characters of the story: Tatsuo Kongoji, Raitaro Hayama, and Verena Freston. The new V6 figures are lower-poly and easier to shape/texture, with much better rigging poseability, and these are the best ones yet! I finally nailed the cartoon style I was going for.

I've got some more pics on the way, from other modeling sessions. But otherwise, it's hard to believe that 35 years have gone by... Enjoy!

Mysti-Girl and Dengekid in CGI!

 Two more characters from Rekira the Super-Monster have been completed! Made with Blender, these character profiles were assmbled on FireAlpaca (the logos were done in Flash).

 Last time, you've seen Raitaro Hayama and Verena Freston. Now, here are their Dynamic Heralds superhero forms!

Here's Verena as Herald 3/Mysti-Girl:

 And Raitaro as Herald 6/Dengekid:

Dynamic Heralds Design Extras

 Some new designs related to the Dynamic Heralds, the protagonist superhero team in my original project, Rekira the Super-Monster.

First up is a speculation design: WHAT IF... the Dynamic Heralds wore matching suits? This is what it would look like. Naturally, the Super Sentai influence is still there, though I also imagined not only the Fantastic Four and early X-Men (both by Jack "The King" Kirby), but also the Beatles and the Monkees (the latter became a superhero team called the Monkeemen, with matching costumes/capes).

And next, here's something that will actually be used; the Heralds have special work uniforms (the Olympus Elite Staff uniforms) at their tech-industrial workplace/default residence, Olympus Tower (underneath which is their secret command center). This is influenced by the Beatles' Pierre Cardin suits, the blue uniforms of the Science Special Search Party (Science Patrol) from Ultraman, as well as something Wes Anderson could create if he did a 1960s-style sci-fi movie!

Verena Portrait - April 8, 2022

Contemporary manga-style portrait I did this afternoon of Verena Freston (AKA: Herald 3/Mysti-Girl) from my original project, Rekira the Super-Monster! Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.

 

Rekira Color Profile Sketch - Alternate 2020 Design

 I got to the Outer Banks two nights ago. Just finished this pseudo-watercolor sketch of Rekira (the alternate 2020 design), drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.

REKIRA Character Portraits: Verena and Raitaro

While I'm working on the characters of Rekira the Super-Monster on Blender, I did these character portraits for fun. Done on tablet in FireAlpaca, here's Verena Freston (AKA: Herald 3/Mysti-Girl) and Raitaro Hayama (Herald 6/Dengekid) of the Dynamic Heralds team. Dated December 2nd and 13th, respectively.

Tatsuo Kongoji Portrait

Portrait of Tatsuo Kongoji, one of the main characters of my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster, in a new design!

Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca. Started on October 7th, finished on the 13th (today).

 

Raitaro 2021

Drawing of Raitaro Hayama, one of the main characters of Rekira the Super-Monster! Drawn while at DragonCon 2021, on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Dynamic Heralds 2021 Design Lineup

 While my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster, is in production, I've finalized the designs for the featured superhero team, the Dynamic Heralds, which I intend to use for the project! I've decided to go with a sort of Incredibles influence, with a bit of 1960s Jack "The King" Kirby, Japanese superheroes (most particularly Super Sentai), and also Olympic speed skating suits/helmets (which look very superhero-ish)!

 It's also a convenient day to post these, as today is also the 55th Anniversary of the official premiere of Ultraman (Tsuburaya; 1966) on Japanese TV (discounting the B&W pre-premiere special from a week earlier, Ultraman's Birthday)! With Rekira, I hope to continue that tokusatsu-style tradition.

Each character design was done from June 9 to July 17, on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Here's the team in Full Helmet Mode:

Mask Mode:

And with masks off:

Theresa 2021

A stylish drawing I did tonight of Theresa Lin, another character from Rekira the Super-Monster! On tablet in FireAlpaca.

Verena 2021

I'm currently on vacation in the Outer Banks, so here's a stylized drawing I just did of Verena Freston, a character from Rekira the Super-Monster! Drawn tonight on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Prelude - Rekira 2020

 A preview of things to come!

A sketch of the new 2020 design for Rekira, my original kaiju. Done on tablet in FireAlpaca, started on the 1st, but completed tonight (September 10).

Cheliosaurus Portrait

This is based on the updated design for Rekira's first adversary, Electric Eel Monster Cheliosaurus (sketches of which you've seen on Facebook), so this is how it will look in color!  Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.  Started yesterday, finished today.

The two faces of the Japanese Batman!

Currently recovering quite nicely from angioplasty over a couple of weeks ago, and with Dragon*Con just around the corner, I'm back to the drawing board.

I came up with yet another update to my Japanese-style Batman, and it's more satisfying this time around!  Inspired by Moonlight Mask (Gekkou Kamen), naturally, I referenced both the 1958 tokusatsu version and the 1972 anime version.  Done tonight on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Dynamic Heralds - 2015 Edition Designs

Yes, Rekira the Super-Monster is underway!  The storyboards for Episode #1 are already done, and designs are being finalized before I hit the board.

One such update you'll be seeing is the current designs for the Dynamic Heralds, my own Super Sentai-style superhero team.  You’ll notice the body molds are the same here; this is deliberate, just to illustrate the basic design for each member.

There's a slight change in color, but the designs are more streamlined (each bodysuit is black), and very satisfying!  My inspiration is mostly from bobsled suits.  Note that each member wears a different "mask" (goggles) on their caps.  These were done on FireAlpaca, based upon recent sketches I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago.  Dates depicted in the signatures.

Here's the group shot (with mostly Japanese text):

Herald 1 - Captain Vertex (Red)
Raymond Wertz

Herald 2 - Mysti-Girl (Blue)
Verena Freston

Herald 3 - Steel Hammer (Yellow)
Isaiah Vanterpool

Herald 4 - Therma-Gal (Pink)
Theresa Lin

Herald 5 - Aquati-Kid (Turquoise)
Brian Copcutt

More to come!

Happy 22nd, Rekira!

22 years ago this Wednesday was when I began work on Rekira the Super-Monster!  Here are two designs I did this year:

This one was earlier this year, back when I was still getting used to FireAlpaca.  It’s a new variant of the Chinese dragon/dog-style design, which I can do better, like the one below...

The dog variant, which I started on Wednesday and finished in FireAlpaca the next day (by which point my skill improved)!  That’s quite a difference.

Note the simplified "Hydrogen Lamp" on the forehead.  (I like how it blends in with Rekira's stripe, like an "X" formation!)  Expect that on all designs now.  :)

Red Sketch 01

Fire Alpaca is still a lot of fun.  Really enjoying the pencil mode!

Here is a Shane Glines-esque sketch done in red, featuring characters from my project, Rekira.  Done tonight (March 8) on tablet in Fire Alpaca.

GRAVITY FALLS Fanart

Happy Halloween!

I apologize for being rather disorganized here.  And I'm really frustrated, as I wanted to spend all of October doing the following, but I got sick with the cold for most of the month (still have coughs and partial laryngitis as I write this), and it really cramped up my schedule, so I was very disappointed, because I really wanted to surprise you all.  But I might as well turn up what I have, and rest assured, I would love to do more with this stuff later on.  :)

As some of you are quite aware, I've become a huge fan of the animated series, Alex Hirsch's Gravity Falls, which premiered on the Disney Channel over a year ago.  A really funny, wild, poignant, haunting, and sometimes dark series, with a great set of main characters: 12-year old twins Dipper (the protagonist) and Mabel (his goofy sidekick), who stay with their great uncle Grunkle Stan (the owner of the Mystery Shack, located in the titular town in central Oregon) for Summer vacation, and Stan's young workers Soos (a goofy man-child) and Wendy (a 15-year old girl and Dipper's secret crush).  Dipper & Mabel's stay in Gravity Falls turns out to be not-so-normal, with all sorts of supernatural phenomena permeating the town.  Dipper's guide to the phenomena is a mysterious book he found, labeled "3" on the cover.  There are secret messages hidden throughout the series, written in secret codes (including the Caesarian code; three letters back), and these hidden details have become a popular facet with fans of the show.  With Season 1 having ended (I will not spoil the season finale; it has to be seen to be appreciated), Season 2 (which is now in the works) promises to be more exciting and really ominous!  (Creator Hirsch intends for the entire series to take place over the course of an entire Summer vacation; he aimed for 3 seasons, but production on the series proved to be really difficult and challenging, so as it stands, Hirsch is trimming it down to 2 seasons, and a movie to close the series.  That said, I can hardly wait!  But I have to...)

So I was inspired to do full color fanart of the series, but was sidetracked by my above dilemma (and you'll notice huge time gaps, as a consequence).  I'll get to that soon enough, so I'll post what I did so far: my own personal model sheet exercise/design studies.  By default, I used series director/character designer Joe Pitt's designs/model sheets for reference.  I had little to work with on some designs, so I improvised by using screenshots from the series.

Here's Dipper, done on October 1st:

Mabel, done on October 5th:

This was after my first two weeks with the cold (the first week was the worst).  Wendy (done on October 21th) was a bit tricky at first, so aside from the model sheet I worked with, I looked at various screenshots to get a better grasp of the variations in her design.

The same deal with Grunkle Stan (done on October 25th), whose physique was even trickier than his expressions!

I'll get to doing Soos, eventually.  Otherwise, look for more Gravity Falls stuff from me soon!  I've had a lot of fun learning to draw these characters.

Lily Merriweather Design/Wardrobe - 2013

I've done more experimenting with Lily Merriweather in the last few weeks, and came up with this "CalArts-style" version (a style chiefly used by Disney and Pixar-trained students), which I have played with on occasion.

And yes, I plan to have Lily in both wardrobes depicted, depending on the weather.  I kept the striped dress I had her in last time, but decided to put her in something more stylish for Fall/Winter wear, so I went with a sort-of 1980s look!  I added glasses to one of the Lilys as a test, to see how she would look with glasses on (something else I played with from time to time).  I did the figure on tablet in Photoshop.  I simply had two sets of clothes/accessories that I could easily toggle, and pasted two types of figures onto this comparison picture.

 

This is very close to what I want for the final design.  As a matter of fact, my earliest drawings of Lily used a style very similar to this!  :)

Manga-style Lily!

Mind you, I'm firmly sticking with the current Franco-Belgian style I had just experimented with, but I simply did this piece out of amusement.  This is a highly-detailed manga/anime version of Lily Merriweather, which I would use if I had ever decided to work with a manga/anime style!  Done this morning on tablet in Photoshop (but started on yesterday evening, due to family commitments).