If I had to summarize the work of NEDLOG into a single short phrase, it would have to be: Structural Detail. Take a good look at NEDLOG’s work in full res (right-click, “open image in new tab”). First off, their images are pretty massive. Second off, every single aspect of each image is intricate to the bone. I do not know exactly how NEDLOG achieves that look of chaotic metal, but if it is done in a similar way to how Redjuice does some of their artwork, then some twisting and warping of 3-D models must be involved. Of course, it is not detail alone that makes NEDLOG the amazing artist that they are; their gritty textures and restrained color schemes compliment their mechanical subject matter very nicely. 

I personally love how NEDLOG plays around with abstract. Sometimes their work is  entirely abstract, while at other times their work contains a solid character — but one that is so enveloped in abstract surroundings that it is easy to miss them. This factor pulls at my curiosity while preserving the mystery of each new piece by NEDLOG.

• Pixiv

Painting with the full intensity and drama of their subject matter, Archlich (also known as Licheus) creates breathtaking scenes of heavenly exuberance and power. Archlich’s skillful control of lighting contributes to a large part of their dramatic compositions, while their bold brushstrokes bring in plenty of form and textural detail. 

I personally admire Archlich’s ability to bring that same sort of godly-emotion of scenes from classic Christian art to anime. Although anime covers a huge spectrum of themes and emotions, a lot of the more popular themes are rather polar — softly cute or aggressively action-packed. The anime style more easily lends itself to cute and simple, but as works such as Evangelion and Akira have shown, the style is fully capable of intensity. Artists such as Archlich are important and necessary for demonstrating this side of anime while maintaining the aesthetic of some anime classics.  

• Pixiv
• Deviant Art

Hitowa (ひと和) is an artist that I have really admired for some time, specifically when it comes to their faces and their hair. The eyes of their characters have a mesmerizing glow to them, like tiny pools of glistening liquid, and the features of their cheeks and noses are handled very gently, but with a charming glow of life. The thick, chunky, but feathery hair of their characters reminds me of the style of hair that many Korean artists do and that I like most.

Other than these aspects, there is plenty to enjoy — and I hope you will find something.

For Hitowa’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1095667

H.R. Giger meets The Matrix meets Jhonen Vasquez meets Half Life 2 meets… anime. This is how I would describe the art of Gia. If you know any of those inspirations, then you should already expect artificiality and nightmares. Throwing these subjects into the anime style (which is typically about cuteness) creates a juxtaposition that is usually very interesting — for Gia, that is to say the least.

Personally being a huge fan of Giger from youth, and then Jhonen Vasquez’s Invader Zim later on, I almost instantly latched on to Gia when I found his art in the world of anime. Being years since I first found his art, I look at it now and must admit that the non-anime aspects of their art is far beyond the anime side of it. Not because it is more complex, but because they just don’t seem to have figured out the shape and contours of the anime face (which is very common difficulty that new anime artists run into). Still, I know that with their artistic skill, they will eventually get a hold on the anime style like they have on the rest of their art — and I look forward to that day.

For Gia’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=34624

Oguchi’s (おぐち) use of smokey blacks and greys mixed with luminescent machine lights creates a very recognizable grimey glow. In most ways, their aesthetic overlaps that of the well known Black Rock Shooter series.

For Oguchi’s Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=19351

Intense, dark, and mechanical. The art of asgr (or あさぎり) simultaneously horrifies as it intrigues, dipping cute anime characters into a nightmare world of machines. If anime were to meet with the machine world of the Matrix as a horror video game, asgr would be the artist to execute it.

asgr’s Pixiv can be found here: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=24858

Becoming very well known for all their work with Vocaloid, the artist known commonly as Redjuice combines the anime style with absurdly complex 3D modeling. The artificiality of their work is what draws me in, along with the incredible machine-like detail in the textures and lines.

For Redjuice’s site: http://redjuicegraphics.com/

Their Deviant Art: http://redjuice999.deviantart.com/

And their Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=3446

Note: This artist also goes by the nickname しる.