Reimagining Rekira's first adversary... Electric Eel Monster Cheligon!

 Finally, I finished the model on Blender for Electric Eel Monster Cheligon (Denki-Unagi Kaijuu Kerigon), the first adversary for the titular kaiju of my original project, Rekira the Super-Monster! I'm very satisfied with how it turned out.

 For good measure, let's revisit the original version, created on 3DSMax for my Rekira short in 2008...

 Originally called "Chelios" (based on "chéli" = Greek for "eel"), this monster was actually created from just copying the 2008 Rekira's model and modifying it, only it was rushed. It still did the job quite well!

 Here's the new version. Quite a difference, isn't it?

 Modeled on Blender (with the texture made on FireAlpaca), with this promotional image assembled on FireAlpaca, I crossed an electric eel with a salamander, basically. The new name, Cheligon, is a combination of "chéli"/"eel" + "dragon." The result is much more satisfying, with a sleek, slimy-looking texture, and a color pattern that is reminiscent of 1960s/1970s kaiju of the same type. This is very true to the design I've been working with for the last decade! Wait'll you see it in action with different gimmicks...

A Little Tribute to One of the Greatest Days of My Life.

 This coming Tuesday (January 6) will be 35 years since one of the greatest days in my life (the details of which I'll post about one day)! Long story short, I went to NYC Creation Con for the 4th time, with my mother, and bought a couple of videos (including the first five episodes of Ultraman, in English; finally seeing an Ultra Series for the first time, after hearing/reading about it for so many years), watching samples of other videos (including The Space Giants and Kamen Rider Black), and to top it all off, bought the first issue of the short-lived Markalite (Summer 1990), one of my favorite magazines of all time! (And yes, named for the Markalite FAHP/Flying Atomic Heat Projector mecha from The Mysterians.) It's like much of my questions were answered, including learning the word "tokusatsu" (special effects) for the first time! And it was my gateway to tokusatsu fandom, after trying to find out more about my favorite Japanese sci-fi stuff for many years!

 Here are the two main human characters from Rekira the Super-Monster reenacting Markalite's influence on my life. Raitaro Hayama reflecting my teenage self from the time, and Verena Freston looking on with curiosity (because tokusatsu, at the time, was considered so weird and not worthy of mainstream attention). Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca (in a pencil style).

Happy New Year 2026!

 Tomorrow (January 2nd), Tsuburaya's Ultra Series franchise turns 60 (when Ultra Q premiered in 1966)! (And Spectreman turns 55; five years apart!) So my original kaiju, Rekira, gets his own silhouette in the style of the original 1966 Ultraman show! Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.

 I picked a fine time to get into both the Ultra Series and tokusatsu fandom; January 6, 1991 (on the franchise's 25th Anniversary), 35 years ago this month, when I went to NYC Creation-Con and bought some stuff that changed my life... but that's another story. ;)

 Happy New Year!

Final Art of 2025!

 Here's my final work of 2025!

 Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca, here's the Olympus Key Staff (secretly the Dynamic Heralds), the main characters of my kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster, wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Self-portrait for my 50th year.

 So I finally turned 50 several months ago, and before the year is up, I decided to celebrate it with a quick cartoon self-portrait. I don't do self-portraits often, being fairly modest, but I finally decided to give it another try, only more up-to-date. :)

My final art of the year is coming up shortly!

Last CG work of 2025!

 I think I really nailed it this time. :)

 You may have seen them in some test footage I posted recently, but I recently completed updated versions of the main heroes of my original kaiju project, Rekira the Super-Monster! And with them, I did a second version of the reenactment of my last art of 2022 on Blender, and this time, I finally nailed it, for my last CG work of 2025.

 Once again, depicted are the main characters, the Olympus Key Staff (who secretly transform into the superhero team, the Dynamic Heralds), hanging out in a huge studio similar to the Rainbow Room from The Monkees! (It's the same exact one used in the previous version.)

Here's the original 2002 drawing for comparison:

And the first 3D version from 2023, which is not bad, but it's great to see how far I've come in my modeling skills.

 Either way, these deeply touch me. :) 

 I'll still be doing some drawn art by the end of the year, so stay tuned!

Rekira 2025

 I'm about to unveil my latest 3D models of my original kaiju, Rekira! Two variants made with the same model; a dragon variant and a bipedal variant. This is the first time since 2008 that I decided to make a fully bipedal version. These are the best models yet! I'm impressed with both versions. Made in Blender.

 

REKIRA THE SUPER-MONSTER - Teaser Posters (for 2025)!

 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:

English:

BONUS: Japanese with fixed text (thanks to Instagram user "masked_elone"):

2025: The Year of the Snake (Happy New Year!)

 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.

Final Art of 2024!

 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.

Rekira V3 Beta Complete!

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!

Happy 70th Birthday, Godzilla!

 Today is the 70th Anniversary of my favorite character of all time (tied with Snoopy), Godzilla! This was a super-quick sketch that I did (on tablet in FireAlpaca) while watching Godzilla Fest.

Introducing Dengeking!

 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!

Happy 15th Anniversary, Lily Merriweather!

 Today is the 15th Anniversary of the creation of my second project, Lily Merriweather! Yes, it's still in the works (while I'm at work with Rekira the Super-Monster). While it's possible to do it as CG (and you'll probably see that on the side at some point), I'd much rather do it as hand-drawn (mainly because this was meant to be a hand-drawn project).

Done this morning on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Rekira: 33rd Anniversary: V3 Beta Unveiled!

 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.

First Rekira CG work of the year: Rekira Flying Over the Dawn

 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!

Happy Chinese New Year 2024!

 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.

2024 - The Year of the (Dog) Dragon

 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.

Farewell to 2023

 In this fairly quick sketch, my last work for 2023, Rekira the Super-Monster joins Shin Ultraman, Shin Kamen Rider, and an uncharacteristically friendly Minus One Godzilla in bidding farewell to a remarkable year for tokusatsu in America!

Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.

 

 

Last CG work of 2023!

 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.

And here's the original: