Why does a good GK work seem to have no personality?

Have you ever had this feeling while painting a garage kit?

Maybe my painted work is not unique enough.

I often get into this feeling myself. I often feel that if someone else painted it, it could have been more like this, or I could have done something creative with it, or I realize afterwards that a PVC piece uses a gradient like this... I often feel this way.

There is nothing strange about that. It is normal for the output of a work to be different from others because it was created through your own filter. That is why it is important to look at many works and input a lot of information and ideas that you have never had before when you are troubled and stopped.

Now, to the main topic, I am sure that you have seen works by people who are good at painting that seem to have "no individuality.

Especially when you are just starting out as a GK artist, you try to create your own individuality.

On the other hand, however, the works of advanced artists who have been creating garage kits for many years look like PVC finished products, and you wonder why they don't show their individuality even though they are so good. I sometimes wonder why they don't show their individuality even though they are good at it.

It's different. A really good artist doesn't show his/her personality in his/her work in an immediately visible way.

I've been writing too hard a blog, so this one is very light.

If the image of the work (especially the character) is particularly important, the painter not dare to show his/her personality

┃Paint (completely) freely → △ , Paint (within a defined range) freely → ◯

It is difficult to do whatever you want with garage kits because they are a canvas that has a certain amount of boundaries in terms of the original character, illustration, and modeling.

Painters do not need to give their work individuality, especially if the emphasis is on character and theme.

Think about it, for example, if you were to paint a garage kit of everyone's favorite Toki from the Blue Archive, you would not make the hair color black, the eye color red, or the bunny suit green, right?

Of course, you are free to paint it any way you want, so that would be a new challenge, but if you do that, you will no longer be recognized as “Toki” from the Blue Archive. It would become a different character.

Coloring is a more important element than you think because it is a symbol that everyone recognizes as “Oh, this is a bull-accented ibis!” and it is a more important element than you think because it is also a symbol for recognition. It is easy to understand the importance of this when you are aware of copyright identity preservation.

Don't change the image without permission is what we are told.

If you are doing it completely as a hobby, you are totally free to do it. However, if you are planning to do commercial work in the future, it is a different story. You have to make sure that the painting matches the image of the character.

So if you want to do commercial work or dealer paint samples, your attitude of incorporating your own personal style into your work with any coloring you want may be a bad move. Saying, “I will create works that are not bound by the image of the character” is almost the same as making the lofty declaration, "I don't know the character's image or anything like that, and I have no intention of matching it. This is a bad idea in many ways.

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Personally, I think free painting is a great idea as long as it is a completely personal hobby, and when I see the work of someone who is good at combining colors, I honestly think it is amazing. I don't have the habit of “painting freely” at all, so I find it quite difficult... It is also the evil of prioritizing images.

┃Individuality is often a “quirk of the creator” (whether good or bad)

By referring to PVC finished products, dealer examples, production videos, and many other materials, we spend our days creating and practicing painting from the perspective of a painter who can be active in the commercial world, without even knowing it.

Depending on how you look at it, this can be thought of as a guarantee of the quality of the work and the identity of the character's image. This is not a bad thing.

"OK, I understand that painting without being confined to an image is not individuality but a new challenge. So how do I make it unique while ensuring identity?"

I am sure these questions will arise. The answer is focus on the details. This is because it is the safest and quickest way to create individuality while maintaining identity. There are many ways to do this.

• Water-based paint with brush strokes (or lacquer and add water-based strokes only in some areas)

• Try to do eye painting more than others.

• Try to use highlights and gradations in the hair (e.g., by adding brush strokes).

• Use gradations in areas that could be painted solidly.

• Try using textures and veins to express skin tones.

• Use pastel colors.

• etc.

If you have read this far, you will understand the true meaning of the first statement, "Why do the works of good artists seem to lack individuality?

It is because they dare to make their works in such a way that their individuality is not visible. It's a bit of a stretch to say it, but he is a pervert in the skin of an ordinary person. Their enthusiasm for detail is insane.

The more insanely skilled people (intentionally or unintentionally) create their works in this way. And while the photos posted on X may look normal at first glance, a closer look reveals an extraordinary attention to detail. I personally believe that this is the kind of “individuality” that we should really strive for. It is often said that "God is in the details. That's it.

Because I focus on the details, I can pay attention to the whole, and because I look at the whole, I can see the details, the places that still need work. I think it is like that. Attention to detail is a peculiar quirk of each person in the production process, and I think it may lead to individuality. The details that each person is particular about are different.

┃Individuality is not something that is intentionally produced. It oozes out on its own, even if you don't want it to.

Sometimes I wonder what it means to bring out the painter's individuality in a work of art.

A canvas that is pure white but has many restrictions. It is strange, isn't it?

But wouldn't you be troubled if you were given a blank canvas with no restrictions? It has been proven to some extent that people tend to be restricted in their thoughts and actions when they have too much freedom.

The more the brain is given some restrictions, the more imaginative and active it becomes, and the more creative it can be.

In the case of garage kits, it is easy to have a concrete image of the character because the image of the character is fixed to some extent, so it is easy to have a concrete image of how to paint it. It is easy to imagine how you would like to paint the character, and to challenge yourself to improve the details or to use a special technique.

But what if the original image is completely blank? You have to think from the point of what color to paint it with, and it is very likely that you will end up not doing it because it is time-consuming and troublesome.

In this sense, it is easier to be motivated to create a work with certain restrictions so as not to destroy the image of the character, but to utilize techniques and skills that will bring out the painter's individuality.

If you take it a step further and start paying attention to details, it is completely unique. It may not be obvious at first glance, but if you can make people feel “this is amazing” when they take a closer look, you've done it.

I would like to do my best every day to polish that part of my work.