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.

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.

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.

 

 

Happy 50th Anniversary to GODZILLA VS. MEGALON!

 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!

Godzilla's 67th Birthday!

New drawing of my own kaiju, Rekira, shaking hands with his main inspiration, and one of my favorite characters of all time, Godzilla, for the monster's 67th Birthday today! Not the first time I've drawn such a moment, but I always have fun doing so.

Drawn on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Godzilla's 65th Anniversary!

Anniversary drawing, done on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Happy 60th Anniversary, Godzilla!

I haven't forgotten.  I'd never forget Godzilla's 60th Anniversary!  I've been planning this drawing all day, and was surprised I did this in short order!  :)

On tablet in FireAlpaca.

Godzilla and Toothless

Here's a little something I drew on July 4th (this past Friday); two big reptiles at the Hollywood box-office!  :)

Done on tablet in FireAlpaca.

Godzilla 2014 Pencil Sketch 01

Whilst working on another project lately, I've been able to whip out this hand-drawn pencil sketch of the new Godzilla, finished on May 30, and colored tonight with tablet in Photoshop.

GODZILLA - Now Playing!!!

Technically, Godzilla is already out in theaters, as tonight was an early-bird screening, and among the people seeing it was my big brother Peter!  I'm sure he'll enjoy it, as will I tomorrow afternoon in 3D-IMAX.

Tonight, during the timeframe of an hour to an hour-and-a-half (on tablet in FireAlpaca), I did this quick little doodle of the new Godzilla, in honor of that occasion (and also to calm me down until then)!  My Godzilla-drawing spirit is stronger than ever.  :)

GODZILLA - In Theaters Tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow's the big day!  I'm pretty anxious about it myself.

But I'll bet you forgot who else lives in San Francisco (where a major part of the movie takes place), so I'll let Bessie Higgenbottom get a word in...  ;)

Done tonight/this morning on tablet in FireAlpaca.

One week before GODZILLA hits theaters!

A week from today (May 9), the new Godzilla hits theaters!  As a lifelong Godzilla fan, I am extremely excited.  It's also very surreal to not only see Godzilla finally getting respect in Hollywood, but a whole new generation of fans getting excited over the new movie (even people you wouldn't expect), as well as rediscovering the character's history.  I am very touched.

I wanted to draw the 2014 Godzilla design before the film hits theaters!  Let's just say, getting this version right was difficult.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great design; it's also very busy!  I can always find a way to simplify the design, but hey, this was the first time I drew it, so this is my way of getting acquainted with drawing it!  :)

Done today on tablet in FireAlpaca.

SNOOPY VS. MECHASNOOPY

After seeing the trailer for the new Peanuts film, I was inspired to draw this, something I always wanted to draw and present!

As some of you know, Snoopy ties with Godzilla as my all-time favorite character, even to the point where I switched them around.  Now, an extension of such a fantasy has finally been realized!  Here's Snoopy Vs. Mechasnoopy!

Done tonight on tablet in FireAlpaca, the titles done in Flash.

First art of 2014!

Here's my first artwork for 2014!  On tablet in FireAlpaca.  Here's to a great New Year, and 60 more years.  ;)

59 Years of Godzilla

Happy 59th Anniversary to my all-time favorite character, Godzilla.  The most versatile movie monster ever created, in the course of 28 Japanese-produced films by Toho Company, Ltd., he has evolved from a poetic avatar of nuclear destruction to a reluctant antihero, an anthropomorphic superhero, a tragic force of nature, and even a specter of war.  This monster has played many roles through the years, and people either appreciate them all or have a favorite.  And this is what made Godzilla a timeless, enduring character.  It is also hoped that the upcoming film by Legendary Pictures (to be released next year) will capture all of his best qualities.

In tribute, I did this quick illustration on tablet in Photoshop this morning.  Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and Happy 40th Anniversary, GODZILLA VS. MEGALON!

As I'm one third Irish (I'm also German and Puerto Rican, BTW), I've always wanted to do a St. Patrick's Day-themed doodle!  But at the same time, 40 years ago today, one of my all-time favorite films was released in Japan: Godzilla Vs. Megalon (Toho; 1973)!  Besides being my personal favorite Godzilla film, it was also the first film I was ever taken to see in theaters.

So why not do a crossover art?  Here's Lily Merriweather, dressed in green, and wearing a 4-leaf clover brooch in place of her regular flower brooch.  She's riding piggyback on Dengeking, as Rekira watches in interest.  This is basically a reenactment of the closing scene of the aforementioned film.  :)

The line at the right, incidentally, says, "Don't cry, we'll try harder, too!"  (My translation of the closing sentence, "Naku na, bokura mo ganbarou!", in "With Godzilla And Jet Jaguar, Punch, Punch, Punch!" - the closing theme song for Godzilla Vs. Megalon, sung by my all-time favorite Japanese singer, Masato Shimon.)

This makes a good companion piece to the one I did last year!

 

Japan's Avengers - English Version

Using the same resources as last time, I have just assembled (pun intended) an English-language version of my very popular Japan's Avengers poster (originally in Japanese)!  Done in the style of international posters.  I had to do a lot of last-minute changes to make sure there weren't any typos or such!  I hope you will enjoy this one, too (though the Japanese poster is my favorite).  :)

Japan's Avengers - Assemble!

I saw The Avengers in theaters twice in May, and it has become one of my favorite superhero movies ever!  So I was imagining my own version of the film, where Japan's famous superheroes are assembled the same way Nick Fury assembled Marvel Superheroes!  After pondering and pondering over it for about a month or two, I finally decided to realize it!  Using various pics from the Internet (mostly toy pics from the manufacturers' websites, or from online stores like Hobby Search), I put them together into this fake poster.

In Japan's Avengers (Nippon no Abenjaazu), Godzilla, Ultraman, Masked Rider, Mazinger Z, Ultraman Zero, and Sailor Moon (and Tuxedo Mask, though he's off-poster) are assembled to fight legions of monsters and aliens led by Ultraman Belial!  And yes, that is Times Square in the background.  :)

The tagline is: "Earth's Mightiest Heroes Unite!  Defeat Ultraman Belial!"

The "Japan's Avengers" logo is completely original, done in Flash in about an hour.  The source poster was assembled from various photos in Photoshop, and titles were added in Flash.

Imaginary cast/crew credits on the poster are as follows:

CAST:

Susumu Kurobe (Shin Hayata/Ultraman)
Hiroshi Fujioka (Takeshi Hongou/Masked Rider)
Hiroshi Abe (Jirou Gou, Godzilla's human form/disguise)
GACKT (Kouji Kabuto, pilot of Mazinger Z)
Mamoru Miyano (Human form/voice of Ultraman Zero)
Miyuu Sawai (Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon)
Jouji Shibue (Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask)
Sonny Chiba (the Nick Fury character)
Hiroyuki Watanabe (the Agent Coulson character)
Yumiko Shaku (the Maria Hill character)
Shirou Sano (the Dr. Selvig character)
Hiroyuki Miyasako (Voice of Ultraman Belial)

STAFF

Director: Takeshi Yagi
Special Effects Director: Shinji Higuchi
Screenplay: JP Cassidy (obviously), Kei'ichi Hasegawa
(Based upon the Avengers screenplay by Joss Whedon and Zak Penn)
Executive Producers: Shougo Tomiyama (Toho), Tsugumi Kitaura (Tsuburaya), Hideaki Tsukada & Kazuhiro Takahashi (Toei), Dynamic Planning
Based on characters created by Toho Company, Ltd., Tsuburaya Productions, Shoutarou Ishinomori, Gou Nagai, and Naoko Takeuchi
Music by Alan Silvestri
Produced by the Avenger Production Committee
-Toho Eiga
-Tsuburaya Productions
-Toei
-Dynamic Planning
Jointly Distributed by Toho, Shouchiku, and Toei

I know that a movie like this will never be made, but the imagination is up to fans like myself.  :)

ADDENDUM: To justify my position on the two Ultramen (three if you count Belial!), I had both of them in mind.  (I thought of Ultra Seven, but I wanted to give his son Zero a chance to shine!)  Zero's inclusion aside, I wanted to pick out the characters most iconic and recognizable to the Japanese public, rather than just the fans.  Also, Zero plays an important part in Ultraman's surviving for more than three minutes in Earth's atmosphere.  :)

I also wanted Zero, because he parallels to Thor, as Belial does Loki.  As far as other Avengers parallels, Ultraman and Masked Rider share Captain America's role (although Ultraman is the team leader of the above depicted characters), as they're the pioneer archetype heroes of Japan.  Sailor Moon is sort of like Black Widow, Tuxedo Mask is like Hawkeye, Mazinger Z/Kouji is Iron Man, and you can guess Godzilla's role...  :)

I even got comments about not including Super Sentai!  LOL  Actually, I'd love to include them, but they're already a team!  The fun of this team is that they're a team of individual heroes, the kind you wanted to see together.

Megaro-Goji portrait and two Lily tests

Had a busy but great Thanksgiving!

Below is a quickie I just finished for fun:

A portrait of my personal favorite Godzilla design (the "Megaro-Goji" from Godzilla Vs. Megalon)!  Drawn on tablet in Photoshop.

And here are two Lily pieces I did before Thanksgiving (also done on tablet in Photoshop), with two alternate designs/hairstyles:

Shorthaired variant.  Drawn on the 18th.  Logo is close to the final version (already completed)!

I like this one better!  This is more like the final design I'd settle on, although the hairstyle might go back to the original (which this one is a variant on).  Drawn on the 23rd.

REKIRA - Promotional Work

I proudly present, the newly updated design for Rekira, to be used in my comic!

This pencil sketch was drawn on the morning of December 28 (the 2nd Anniversary of my grandmother's passing), while I was on vacation in the Outer Banks. It's the same design I had last time, but this time, I simplified the arms and legs, removing their yellow markings. I also reintroduced the padding into the talons (along with the already-added paws and webs).

As I learned especially from superhero designs, simpler designs have more appeal. Look at the original costumes of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, and Captain America, for example, from the classic comics, and compare them to their upcoming movie counterparts! Yes, they look very cool and detailed, although they're waaaaay too busy! Can you picture a little kid trying to copy these designs? Even an adult artist will need reference material at all times! So it's a good idea to start Rekira off with a fairly simplified design.

And let's face it, even Godzilla's design is so basic that it's both appealing and iconic! Thus, the designs of Godzilla's many adversaries are a metaphorical challenge to his own appeal and set a sort of contrast, as a basic-looking monster fights other monsters of contrasting designs that range from equally simple (Angilas, Rodan, Mothra - monsters he was often sided with), to borderline complex (King Ghidorah, Gigan) to complex (Mechagodzilla, Destroyah). So imagine how Rekira's own foes would look in contrast to him!

On January 30 (2 nights ago!), I did an inking/coloring test on Flash, using my Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet, and it turned out just as I expected!

I am very happy with the test, and you will certainly see Rekira looking like this in the comics, which I am currently storyboarding! I hope to maintain this level of simplicity to keep a consistent deadline.

I also played with doing a B&W version:

I really like how it came out! I can imagine how I'd have to do the comic in B&W.

Here are three promo images (all finished just last night), using the new design:

English:

Japanese - Type A (Horizontal Lettering):

Japanese - Type B (Vertical Right-to-Left Lettering):

More updates as the project develops!