343 Days of Sketches!

...lot of trouble posting today.
This is Shera. She's a murderous thug...say's that on her business card.

Artstream: Masakazu Katsura

Around my second year of college I was introduced to the work of this Japanese comic creator. Since then, Masakazu Katsura has been a huge influence on me as an artist. What I liked the most was how subtly the over detailed work goes together. His backgrounds are like photos but he seamlessly blends them with these manga characters. His action is great, too, and his romance illustrations are unparalleled. What I think other people will easily notice though, is the strength of his storytelling. This guy does AMAZING panel work. I uploaded a scanned/translated page from on of his more popular mangas, I"s. Also, and as a side note, Katsura worked closely with Akira Toriyama in their Shonen Jump days, and just like how I sometimes draw Triumph for Henry, I guess he did the same sometimes :)

Keith is probably the only one who can really appreciate that Goku.

On a related note, I've recently started watching the I"s Pure anime. Katsura had his hand in the production, just like with Video Girl Ai, but I"s is really an epic so crunching it down to 6 episodes, kinda hurts. I'd like to hear someone's opinion on the anime who hasn't read the comic.

344 Days of Sketches!

Here are some redesigns for the Studio Monster mascot "Mister Monster". Wanted to try something with a bigger head, but that turned out to be too cute, so I settled on the left version.

345 Days of Sketches!

Went to the Wicked Faire last weekend. Its kind of a Steampunk Ren fair, and this year it was Alice in Wonderland themed. Lots of fun. My favorite part was the performers who were just skulking around in the shadows waiting to jump out and entertain me with belly dancing or magic tricks. Also, there were lots of Top Hats with goggles around them...very Victorian style sci fi.

346 Days of Sketches!

Little Big Planet is a blast. I recently got this red cape and I just want to put it on every costume!

John K is weird...

So i was in the supermarket the other day and passed by this really cool looking 50s retro cereal box called Quisp... I flipped it over and there was a John Kricfalusi comic strip on the back! It was 3 bucks, so I grabbed it for "artistic inspiration", but when I sat down in front of a bowl, it was not inspiring at all! It was Captain Crunch in a cool box. I don't regret it though, because the box is reeeeeeally cool.

347 Days of Sketches!

Every time I get a new sketchbook, I draw a character on the first page and write a letter to myself. The letter includes words of encouragement, advice, and sometimes a P-Wing to get through those tougher stages...