Today is the 34th Anniversary of when I started the project that ultimately became Rekira the Super-Monster, my own original kaiju project! Production is still underway, and to mark the occasion, I did two versions of the teaser poster, in Japanese and English! This has my current V3 Beta model of Rekira, done in Blender (with which I'm animating the project), and the posters were done in FireAlpaca.
Japanese:
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My first art of 2025 has Rekira, my original kaiju, celebrating the Year of the Snake (in a snakelike physique)!
Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.
Here's my final art of 2024, with my original kaiju, Rekira, waving goodbye to his inspiration/hero, Godzilla, after the King of the Monsters' 70th Anniversary turned out very well. Despite its problems, 2024 was still a very good year!
Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.
Despite these difficult times, I still have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:
-Mom and Sissy being in good health.
-My big brother Peter and his friend Panda had a great and safe two-week trip to Japan, and showed me all sorts of stuff!
-I went to two Galaxy-Cons this year and met wonderful guests.
-This is, to date, the best Godzilla Day I've ever had (the Godzilla Fest livestream, going to see Godzilla Minus One for the 4th time, and watching my Criterion Blu-Ray of the original 1954 film)!
-I'm making very good progress on my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster! And for Thanksgiving, I'm sharing a bit of it: I'm unveiling the final look for the eponymous monster, as completed in Blender! Assembled in FireAlpaca.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Not quite Ultraman, but it'll do for today!
Finally completed in Blender (the texture map done in Flash), here's the cyborg superhero Dengeking, from Rekira the Super-Monster! This is the giant form for Herald 6: Dengekid (Raitaro Hayama). Obviously my own tribute to Japanese superheroes, including Ultraseven, Spectreman, Silver Mask, Hyuman, Zone Fighter, and others. The color scheme is an obvious homage to Jet Jaguar (where my interest in Japanese robots and superheroes came from). I'm especially proud of how the head turned out!
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At last, for Rekira's 33rd Anniversary today, you get your first full look at the new V3 Beta model!
Done in Blender and FireAlpaca.
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At last, the first full-quality Rekira CG work of 2014! Here's Rekira flying over a warm dawn, done in Blender, with text added in FireAlpaca. This is the first official look at the new Rekira V3 Beta, completed last night. (Same model as V3, different physique.) There'll be even better pics of Rekira V3 Beta to follow!
For (after) Valentine's Day, I did this drawing of Mysti-Girl and Dengekid (Heralds 4 and 6, respectively), two members of the Dynamic Heralds, from my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster! Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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So yesterday was the Lunar New Year! The Year of the Dragon. :)
So I thought I'd do another New Year's drawing featuring my original kaiju, Rekira, and I started on it yesterday. But because we got Chinese food for dinner (it was delicious!), and I got to spend a bit of time with my family (even watching some of the animated movie Wish Dragon, which was cute!), I was a bit delayed, but it was still worth it. It took several hours, but it's a gorgeous bit of art!
Here, the Dynamic Heralds, the superhero team from Rekira the Super-Monster, perform with a dragon dance pole puppet based on Rekira himself! A concept I thought up in the last few days.
Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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My first work of the year, and a convenient one: 2024 is the Chinese astrological year of the Dragon, and my original kaiju Rekira is, partly, a dragon (combined with a dog)!
Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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I'll be taking a break from CG work for the rest of the year, so it's fitting that I would post this superb CG recreation of my "Final Art of 2022" drawing! Once it was finished, I got a bit emotional seeing the result (and the original drawing was emotional enough as it was). A Christmas present for all. Done on Blender on the 15th, and assembled in FireAlpaca today.
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At last, after two years, I finally got all of the Dynamic Heralds translated into 3DCG!
The Dynamic Heralds is the superhero team featured in my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster; they are the (super)human protagonists of the story, investigating the strange phenomenon of giant monsters suddenly appearing in New York. Transformed into "die-cast" superhumans by the super-computer HERA (Hydro-Electric Re-Atomizer), The Dynamic Heralds are secretly based/reside in Olympus Tower on the small artificial island Olympus Island, located in the Hudson River in New York. As the Olympus Elite Staff, our heroes are excellent technological engineers for the privately-run Olympus Industries, Ltd. As the Dynamic Heralds, a mysterious team of vigilante superheroes, they fight crime and corruption, and keep peace in the New York area.
One to two years in the making, after several tries, all were modeled in Blender, with the textures in FireAlpaca. The bases for the Dynamic Heralds designs are based on these designs from 2021. There have been little changes in translation of design! The Olympus Elite Staff suits are based on these designs from 2022.
Helmet Type:
At last, I unveil my latest CG model of my original kaiju, Rekira! Here is Version 3 (V3), which is the best-looking version to date.
Done on Blender, with the skin/fur texture done on tablet in both Blender and Fire Alpaca. The skin/fur ratio was first attempted on the V1 model, but the result was unsatisfactory. Now, it looks far better, now that I got the hang of using particle fur both conservatively and efficiently for the model! The topology is also much better and more consistent. I also simplified Rekira's antlers (I eschewed the red lines), and the headlamp and Pulsar Plates are also now incorporated into the model itself (as opposed to just pasted on, like the previous two models).
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Completion test shots (using stock HDRI sky textures), from when the model was finished on October 12 (when I finally completed the glow features).
WIP test shots
This one is great, the best feral expression, so far.
Glow test:
Emulating the "strong" pose of the 1968-1972 Godzilla:
Shee!
Before I post the latest development for Rekira the Super-Monster, enjoy these test pictures for the previous Rekira V2 (Rekira 2021) figure! All rendered on Blender in mid-to-late August 2021, after finishing the figure.
Due to health issues and other unfortunate technical difficulties in the past few days, I'm extremely late in posting this cute Thanksgiving card I whipped out this past Wednesday evening, so I humbly apologize. :(
Done on tablet in FireAlpaca, here's a head portrait lineup of the Olympus Elite Staff (the Dynamic Heralds) from Rekira the Super-Monster for their staff Thanksgiving greeting card! Oh, it would've been such a great fit right before Thursday...
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The main (super)human protagonist of Rekira the Super-Monster, Herald 6/Dengekid, demonstrating his power to transform into his giant form, Dengeking!
Started on September 15th, finished today (October 26), done on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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From Rekira the Super-Monster, here's a new mod-style cartoon doodle I did of Verena! The new CG model on Blender looks very close to this. Drawn on May 26 on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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Another, done on the same date.
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Today has been the 50th Anniversary of my personal favorite Godzilla movie, Godzilla Vs. Megalon (Toho; 1973)! Not only one of the earliest Godzilla movies I ever saw, but also the first movie I was ever taken to see in the cinema, at the now-defunct Loew's Spooner Theater in the Bronx.
Here is my tribute drawing to said film.
Recreating one of the famous publicity photos from the film, here are (left to right): Rekira, Dengeking, Jet Jaguar, and Godzilla. The first two are original creations of mine, with inspiration drawn from the latter two. :)
Done today on tablet in FireAlpaca. Shared in full size!
Here's Rekira in a gag pose I've always wanted to draw him in! Here is my tribute to one of my favorite actors, Jackie Gleason, based on his iconic "And awaaaay we go!" pose.
Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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Happy New Year, everyone! Here's my first artwork of 2023!
I had wanted to do this for New Year's Day yesterday, but was busy with family at the time, but better to be just one night late than never (or any later)!
Here's the stars of Rekira the Super-Monster, the eponymous monster Rekira (right) shaking hands with the superhero Dengekid (a member of the superhero team, the Dynamic Heralds)! This year is the upcoming 50th Anniversary of my personal favorite Godzilla movie, and one of my favorite movies of all time, Godzilla Vs. Megalon (Toho; 1973), so this New Year's Day drawing is my tribute to that film with my characters.
Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.
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