18. New Art, Updates, and 90's Anime
18. New Art, Updates, and 90's Anime
The ongoing newsletter for THE PHANTOM PLEASURE Comic
Check out The Phantom Pleasure Instruction Manual (Always being updated with new info/art!)
Follow my Phantom Pleasure Instagram account! It’s still pretty new, but the post schedule will increase. Feel free to spread the word and thank you.
← Previous Newsletter (17. Echo in the Dark)
This was a fun, quick experiment! 90’s Sadamoto watercolor art was so special, I tried my best to capture its spirit. Plus, because of a lot of the Evangelion concept art was intended for animation, all of the suit designs are so clear with an economy of lines. I learned a lot from drawing this image, breaking down what made the plug suits so aesthetically pleasing. I will apply the knowledge to my own designs.
The early to late 90’s was such a special time for anime and manga. I love watching the documentaries, or videos from cons and events of that era, the culture was so different then. The entire otaku/ hardcore fan world was. In a pre-social media dominance world, there was very little financial or celebrity reward or glory involved in anime fandom, outside of small bubbles with very low stakes. People really seemed to be dedicated for something other than material gain or fame. True community, mutual understanding of niche obsessions, pure fun or debauchery? I can’t really say, but the feeling of what those moments must have been like warms my heart for reasons I don’t fully understand.
Speaking of, have you ever seen Gainax’s 1991 film, Graffiti of Otaku Generation: OTAKU NO VIDEO? I like to rewatch it once a year, partly to remember why I do what I do as an artist. Plus, it’s hilarious. The ultra-serious (satire/parody) live action interview segments have me laughing so hard, no matter how many times I watch them. Check out the Wiki article if you want a quick summary, but I highly recommend obtaining it. Not too long ago, I bought a version that came with a really cool concept art and design booklet.
For the darker side of the obsession of art, animation, and filmmaking; I recommend watching Mamoru Oshii’s TALKING HEAD. It’s surreal and unnerving yet absolutely true. It’s not for everyone, but some of you will appreciate it on levels we rarely get to go to.
I’m working on a large chunk of pages for the comic, sorry for the delays but I hope the art will make it worth the wait. I’ve been studying and applying new painting techniques to make the 404EVER world look more realistic and cohesive. I’m juggling a lot of work at the moment, it’s exciting but can be extremely time intensive. I hope to fully clear my work schedule soon and devote all of my time to this story. Your kind support and readership means so much, and it keeps me going, so thank you.
Thank you to everyone who has been checking out the Instruction Manual/Info Guide thing I made for THE PHANOM PLEASURE. I’m going to keep updating it with more art, terms, locations, characters. I’ll add some more character art and summaries this weekend, so please remember to check back on it often! I’ll always link it at the top of every post going forward.
I hope the manual makes the story and jargon that gets thrown around easier to understand. The way the story is told in the print version, it just sort of drops you in the deep end first, then slowly explains how the world works through character interactions and conflicts. Maybe one day someone will make an RPG out of all this.
I will be careful with certain terms and location descriptions to avoid spoilers. There are a bunch I can’t share yet, but will add them as the comic gets released. There is an extremely deep and winding story behind all of this, it kills me that I can’t release it faster. I may have to hire some assistants and work with others to get the comic finished faster. I am seriously considering it at this point. Now that the concept art and guidelines are being completed, it will make working with others more feasible.
This isn’t truly how it appears in the print version of THE PHANTOM PLEASURE, but this concept painting is much closer to what Geo-City One will look like. I spent quite the amount of time on it. Here’s an unfinished close up of one of the Epocholith structures:
I’ve been practicing a lot of new painting techniques to better capture the world visually. The structures are made out of active Bio-techtite, a substance which evolves and grows new technology and architecture like mold. This process has been going on unchecked for thousands of years, and I really want the art to demonstrate that.
I also tried out some single layer digital illustrations, painting straight over photos of pencil and pastel drawings that I did. I keep experimenting, some have worked better than others (the top one in blue is the newest):
And here’s a portrait I did of Echo:
There are some proportion mistakes, and much that I learned by doing this. Lessons I can apply to the comic, for sure. I usually post these drawings early on the Phantom Pleasure Instagram, so please follow me there too.
More soon! I’m working on the comic pages and an 18 x 24 Phantom Pleasure poster that I think you all will like. As always, thank you to my subscribers <3
Best to you,
Lordess