How is it t ruined? I’m loving the 3D sculpts personally. Its kind of like having someone else sculpt the things you can’t do yourself right? Except not really..
I definitely wouldn't call it "ruined." If anything I think it just lacks enough of a personal touch or uniqueness to make me want it over any other Garamon figure. I really wish he would have continued with a more stylized approach. For example, if you look at the earlier DesuGoji... it is very cartoonish, but a bit more quirky. Also, the textures are much smoother and washed out—one might argue that's just a result of amateur modeling technique or poor rendering, but I find the surface quality to be reminiscent of his Methyl sculpt (which honestly, looks kind of digital). The later releases sport some of the same design elements, however, it has become much more obvious which kaiju are being represented (i.e. they've become more generically caricaturesque). They're still cute, maybe just not as interesting as what other artists have done with similar characters. That said, don't forget who's involved in the project. For all we know there could be pressure from Medicom or licensing departments to maintain a certain amount of likeness.
Awesome points! ^^ I understand where people are coming from with most of the arguments on digital sculpts. But honestly and I’m sure this has been said before but it all comes down to whether you enjoy the toy or not. It doesn’t matter how it’s done. I think it’s especially ironic that there’s a guy on here complaining about another artists toys being watered down by a computer when he’s outsourcing other people to sculpt things he not capable of doing himself. NOT that there’s anything wrong with that, I seriously don’t care. It’s just funny, and yes I’m poking fun at you @JMRampage
coming from a guy that (as many of us do) loves Bwana’s stuff - which is often sculpted by Naoya. Silly post…
[QUOTE="JMRampage, post: coming from a guy that (as many of us do) loves Bwana’s stuff - which is often sculpted by Naoya. Silly post…[/QUOTE] Just food for thought. A ton of great artists I love don’t sculpt their own toys and I respect that. It doesn’t change my opinion on them.. Just like if one of them who normally sculpted by hand wanted to try 3D sculpting. Why does it matter? It’s their choice, just like your choice in choosing to support another artist by doing something you couldn’t at the time. I’m not familiar with why Anraku went this route, but there’s a reason for everything and I’m enjoying the toys he’s making also as a result.
He has Parkinson's Disease, which was discussed here on this thread. Sculpting something on a computer doesn't automatically make the sculpt bad. It's possible to do a 3D sculpt that looks like it was hand-sculpted. To me, though, these 3D sculpts do not look good.
My biggest complaint about the new AA stuff is in regards to paint applications. The colors are getting very repetitive and feel too "safe," while the sprays are often cut off abruptly at the seams. For example, take a look at the arms and neck on this 1962. It just looks like they forgot to finish the body at the factory. Photo courtesy of sofvi.tokyo.
The absolute symmetry is the problem. Having owned several now, there are some nice design aspects but perfectly symmetrical sculpts feel very unnatural. We are attuned to perceive/appreciate symmetry, but perfect symmetry just doesn’t feel right. It would be easy to make some tweaks here and there to give the toy a more natural look and feel.
We should be grateful he’s still at it. Especially with the level of reverence his work had before the medicom churnout. Y’all forget the times when AA was hard to get. I like the changes and I like that the artist remains involved in the medium. Way better than most of the dredge new sofubi makers are doing and with a catalog to back up any crazy designs and weird homages. At least he isn’t feeding rotten penis and postules to his fan base in smelly Chinese vinyl
This^^ I think it’s rad he’s able to continue doing what he loves through other means. And that it’s made him more accessible to collectors.. As much as that may piss more people off truthfully, which is sad I like that this style does not cater to your expectations. The supernatural symmetry is disturbing and off putting as the deformed faces suggest already.. These aren’t real things, they’re tangible blocks of plastic. It’s a nice “fuck you I’ll do what I want, with what I’ve got” scenario and still have something better than the majority of the PoOopSloP being dumped out lately..
I think it’s great he’s more accessible now. And no @gatiio i haven’t forgotten, OG Anraku is still hard/expensive to score but some of us still chase it anyway after all these years because we love it that much. I’ve been collecting Anraku for 11 years, go lecture someone else I think there is a lot to love with a lot of his new designs, I just prefer the ones with less symmetry.
Something tells me you were waiting 11 years to say this. That jab was not directed at you Michael, or anyone participating in this conversation currently for that matter lol..
I like it that I come here every here and then and you always jump to respond and throw shade. Dunno why, don’t care, but it’s nice to see sparks even when one’s dead inside. SB always charging the soul and toy nerds ready to make snide remarks when nobody gives a crap about them. Yeah, 11 years sounds like a fun time for AA collecting. Glad for you that 6 of those have been with medicom releases, better late than never.
Well I'll tell you anyway-I find you to be presumptuous and judgmental. I don't have to presume anything about your life, you lay your behavior bare here for all to see. Have done it for years. Remember kids..he's qualified. He's got an MFA.
Anyone else notice that the header art for the Medicom AA Garamon release is Shigeki Okuda/Atelier G-1's header art from his Pygmon figure releases, first used about 18 years ago? Seems odd. Did AA do the art for that header, back when? Or was some arrangement made with Okuda? Or...?
