More reference

Hi y’all, wanted to share some of my favorite pages from this book today...

Famously known as the original artist for the manga version Ghost In The Shell, Shirow Masamune was killing the game before CGI dominated. This book, Intron Depot 1 (1992) is one of the best full color and most comprehensive collection of his early works... mostly done in color pencil, water colors, markers, and oil paint. He’s a master of robots, hot girls, and contrast.

I can say I’m decent with color wheels but I’m trash at values. It’s my greatest weakness and it bleeds over to my 3D work too. Value is basically the brights and darks is your work. It’s the contrast that drives the focal point or creates depth in the scene. Even in art school my teachers would tell me I suck hahaha it can literally make or break you and I still struggle with it today.

I really look up to this artist because he would plan out these paintings (there’s no undo/ctrl+z with traditional media) and I’m forever impressed with how he’s able to plan all the colors and contrast before he starts... this book is also sick because there are English translations for his commentary on his processes and the man is extremely humble. There’s not many artists out there who stick to their style or maintain such high consistency. He’s a machine basically.

His sketches, commentary, color studies before starting, and even his self deprecating explanations of how tired he was when he created certain pieces is a good reminder that we’re all struggling towards mastery 🤣

Really worth checking out... his later works are great too if you’re more interested in CGI!! Ah, & Bc someone’s bound to ask...! I got this on eBay in an auction for $15. It’s definitely possible to get cheap books if you diligently search. Bookoff is my favorite in-store option Bc it’s all used stuff (ideal)