Hiroyuki Takahashi (タカハシヒロユキ) is an absolute genius with no concern for limits. He has clearly established his aesthetic of over-the-top, playful, colorful, Japanese techonophilia, applying it throughout his images, on the character, for the character, and around the character. His compositions, although cluttered with aesthetic props and objects, are masterfully composed, making dynamic use of the simple/blank spaces within the chaos of each subject.
Other than his overall aesthetic, I deeply admire Takahashi for his use of patterns and vectors. I immediately noticed that he used a lot of patterns, but it took me some time to realize how much a part of his art they are. He has a set vocabulary of patterns (like with his object vocabulary) which he employs throughout all of his art, but where he applies them and how they work in each picture really varies. There are a few that seem to be his favorites, and they are as much a part of his art, to me, as his characters are. On the other hand, his vector lines and coloring/shading are handled with mechanical precision and mathematical perfection, making his aesthetic possible while multiplying its effect.
Outside of the aspect of Takahashi’s art and life shown here, there seems to be much more. From what I have seen of his personal taste for fashion and his live art performances, I have come to respect and admire Takahashi as an artist and a person.
I have very high hopes for Hiroyuki Takahashi, and hope he goes very far with his art. In many ways he reminds me of Takashi Murakami, and I could see him leaving a similar impact on the world as a Japanese artist.
Amatiz has a masterful grasp of the digital brush, capable of rendering the subtlest of details with eloquent and seductive style.
I personally love the way they handle the texture of water, hair, clothing and skin. Amatiz’s water has more smoothness and liquidity to it than actual water — and he handles hair in the same manner. The intricate textures and patterns of each characters clothing consistently blow my mind with richness. And the skin of each character has a unique feeling to it, that does not feel warm or soft, but rather smooth, in a classic, statue-esque way that you don’t see to much with modern digital artists. The other aspect of Amatiz’s art I love is their anatomical stylization of the face and body which is hardly a stretch from realism, but very definitely a trademark style with a consistent ideology. This style is often paired with a nature theme (frequently marine life) that is both original and evocative.
Being a professional artist, you won’t find all of Amatiz’s greatest works for free online — much of their best pieces are only available in their art books and comics (which I would highly recommend — go to their Deviant Art if you are interested). However, there is still some of their work available online, and if you would like more of what you see here…
Note: Their base name is Amatiz — sometimes they are called Amatizqueen or Amatizking, depending on the location.
I thought I had asgr (or あさぎり) figured out — dark, machine-horror, with lots of black, orange, and red. They have proven me wrong.
Asgr is defining a new aesthetic not only for their own art but for the entire genre. I don’t know exactly what to call it, but it is still on the darker-side… just without as much darkness anymore. Futuristic machinery is still a pretty important part of each piece, but it isn’t exactly serving the same role anymore. Their new color scheme that involves a lot more white/off-white, as well as bits of blue, is working extremely well with the style, and is also giving some nice contrast to their past work which used a lot more black. And their intricate details and rich textures are as beautiful as ever.
UPDATE: Thanks to some of you, asgr’s new Pixiv has been located, as well as their Tumblr. (also, I switched one of the images for a newer one)
Upcoming Change
When I first started Anime Clay (which really wasn’t that long ago at all), I didn’t know where it was going to go or how much I would get into it. I just knew I wanted to share some artists that I adored — so I started with some of my favorites.
Now, after featuring 50 artists and with nearly 1,000 followers, I look back at some of those first few artists and really want to bring them back. Some of them have a lot of new work that I want to update you with, and for most of them I simply want to redo the feature (now that I know how I like to share each artist). I also figure that with the large difference in followers now as compared to back then, they will get a lot more attention — which I believe they deserve!
And so, at this half-way point to 100 artists, I will be re-featuring 5 artists, with updated artwork and reviews. After these 5 “re-runs”, Anime Clay will resume with new artists starting with #51.
Thank you for following, and I hope you continue to enjoy the artists here on Anime Clay,
Miq
Rain (translation of 雨) is incredibly skilled at bringing drama and emotion to their scenes. On one hand, they are able to take a bustling environment and put you in it — surrounded by the crowd, noises and excitement of the moment. On the other hand, they are particularly masterful at capturing the intensity of silence.
There is something deeply psychological about the way Rain is able to handle the interaction between the characters and the integration of their emotions with the setting. The emotion radiates well beyond the characters and throughout the entire scene, tying each piece together in a potent package of a single feeling.
For Rain’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=27087
And for their dA: http://conronca.deviantart.com/
午前4時(or 4:00 am ) is a brilliant graphic designer who applies their gentle and charming minimalist aesthetic to a variety of anime series. They have an exquisite sense of color schemes and a solid philosophy for their shapes and lines.
I personally love how simple their work is while still being unique and recognizable. When it comes to the simplified style of “super-deformed”, a lot of artists’ styles lose originality and take on the generic look of the genre — this is not the case for 4:00 am . Subtle characteristics in their characters, such as diamond-eyes and unique fin-shaped face profiles, keeps their style distinguishable.
For 4:00 am’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=171408
Anime Clay Status
Hello everyone,
When was the last update on here? Answer: Too long ago. And I apologize for this. I have been busy preparing for an exhibition and didn’t have time for much else. However, that is over now, and things are somewhat returning to normal, so I should be updating here a bit more frequently again.
In other news, a few weeks ago I heard news (here on Tumblr) about Pixiv threatening to prevent international access to their site. Apparently, a lot of people here on Tumblr (from the US I assume) have been uploading pictures done by Pixiv artists and not only have they not been giving credit/source but they have even edited pictures while claiming that the art is theirs. I fully understand why Pixiv and its artists are so upset, and I consider their possible plan to restrict access reasonable.
As a blog that serves to make artists (many of whom are from Pixiv) known and appreciate their work, I thought I should say a few words.
First off, if you find a Tumblr where you believe people are ripping-off another artist and/or not giving source information, REPORT THEM. NOW.
If you are unsure of whether or not a blog/person is ripping-off an anime artist, feel free to ask me and bring it to my attention. I do not know every single anime artist out there, but I am familiar with quite a few and have a pretty keen sense of style and whether or not two images were done by the same person or different artists.
Lastly, if Pixiv is to prevent international access, it will be quite sad for a lot of us, but I have somewhat good news for Anime Clay. Not only have I stocked up on gigabytes of art from Pixiv and artists I plan on sharing here in the future, but I will be traveling to Japan within a few months and should be able to access Pixiv just fine from there (more about this later).
That is all for now, and I hope you enjoy today’s artist, 午前4時 (or 4:00 am)! And thank you for following,
Miq
Anime Clay
A very detail oriented artist, Honyalala (ほにゃらら) uses a variety of traditional themes mixed with modern elements in a modern style to create a unique and interesting look. Capable of excellent characters, beautiful settings, and graphics, Honyalala proves herself as a professional illustrator with a wide range of specialties.
Personally, what I like about Honyalala is very specific — I love how often her images catch me off guard. For instance, right when I was getting used to the second image, I noticed the large heart rising out of the pipe (in the top left of the picture). I was completely surprised, and even more pleased. Somehow, she is able to nestle in just one or two pieces to some of her images that seem completely out of nowhere, and break the otherwise consistent theme of the picture while not stealing the spotlight. I don’t know if I have ever seen another artist do anything quite like it, and I admire Honyalala for it.
For Honyalala’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=35944
And for her site: http://nantala-kantala.sakura.ne.jp/
The dream-like paintings of KanaOhtsuki drip with a beautiful array of controlled colors and delicate textures. She is somehow capable of creating a paradox of tranquility and chaos that moves the painting back and forth across a fence that most pictures stay on one side of.
Unlike a lot of the artists that I have shared, KanaOhtsuki seems to mostly use traditional mediums (acrylics, colored pencil, marker). Digital art has become the standard platform for anime artists, and suits many of the anime ideals very well. However there are aspects of traditional mediums that go hand in hand with some of the more classic styles. KanaOhtsuki is one of the perfect examples of those styles, in my mind, and I couldn’t think of a better approach to her aesthetic.
For KanaOhtsuki’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2849346
And for her site: http://ohtsuki.rillfu.com/
