How to Draw: Pop Stars and Other Celebrities
(well, not really)
It is easy to start believing that everyone in Japan is naturally born with artistic talent, as evidenced by their massive comic and illustration culture at both the commercial and self-published levels, varied artistic styles that are guarded neurotically by foreign purists and aped miserably by foreign wannabes, and the fact that some otaku-next-door can show up on a TV show and start dishing out Maki Goto portraiture. We would like to imagine that Japanese babies are born with G-pens in their hands, ready to start filling sheets of B5 paper as soon as they've had their umbilical cords cut and had a little chance to clear their lungs.
But that just isn't true. First of all, due to the cocked-up birth/death rate, it's hard enough trying to find Japanese babies being born, much less with G-pens.
To see how normal people draw, forget about commercially published manga, forget about artbooks, forget about doujin, and go straight to that equalizer of the 21st century: the Internet. On Japan's "image uploader" sites, the playing field is truly leveled. Everyone is anonymous, everyone can post, and everyone is free to share their artwork, whether beginner or pro-level. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Tezuka.
L to R: Chinami Tokunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Risako Sugaya, Momoko Tsugunaga, Yurina Kumai, Saki Shimizu, Maasa Sudo
Pop idol sensation Berryz Koubou is, perhaps, an ideal subject for hobbyists: built on the principles of group chemistry and visual appeal, they provide great source material for a casual artist who just wants to draw, for goodness sakes, and to hell with "innovating creative boundaries" or "revealing a universal truth." They're practically the bishoujo formula come to life: the tall one, the short one, the pretty one, the elegant one, the squeaky one, the funny one, the MASSIVE one. It's hard to go wrong with, say, a straight-up reading of the group as seen in one of their music videos:
which clearly takes its cue from this shot in "Koi No Jubaku". Other times, an artist with a more pronounced style can bring a personal touch to the group and really start to blur that line between representation and stylization:
In this interpretation of the "21ji Made no Cinderella" lineup (the outfits of which I always hated because they looked like the Crayola factory exploded on them), the girls have truly been condensed into anime mascots, or possibly game sprites, or something. The artist, Ken*Peace!, has built an entire portfolio on re-imagining the Hello! Project family as wide-eyed, ultra-slick mascot characters, but hey, whatever works, y'know? The one that amuses me the most is the Joshi Kashimashi Battle concept page, because any time a lot of distinctive characters and personalities are gathered together, a 2-D fighting game inevitably ensues.
One issue that got around the world of Berryz fanart was how to handle ex-member Maiha Ishimura, who left the group in October 2005. In the above examples, which were completed before her departure, this isn't a problem. But works from just after that time show interesting ways of coping:
Here we see Maiha reduced to a super-deformed character with the label "ordinary middle-school student" -- a cute homage, I think, that acknowledges her time with the group but also realizes that she's opted out of the pop star life. This illustration also continues to be my desktop wallpaper because it feels like the perfect balance between art and craft, between representation and stylization: an artist's individual expression coming through, but with enough fundamental skill to back it up -- the style is distinctive, but at the same time, it really looks like their faces. (The only one I think is way off is Risako's.) A lot of attempts to "manga-fy" Berryz result in weak caricatures, while more realistic drawings end up being dull copies from still photos or screencaps. This one miraculously bridges both worlds.
There's also a version for their sister group °C-ute.
This baseball-themed drawing allows for a more creative interpretation of Maiha's departure: she's been relegated to "bench" and follows the group from the shadows. Of course, I would not try to read too much into the lineup -- they've never had enough members to make up a full baseball team anyway (though I hear their basketball club is pretty popular). And how would you set up the batting order?
Later works deal with the Maiha issue the same way the record company does -- she just doesn't show up anymore. For example, this terrific Studio Ghibli spoof gives us the now-familiar 7-member lineup:
As well as a fantastic test of pop culture knowledge. Identify the girls by name, the character they're playing, and the movie that the character appeared in.
Answers (L to R, highlight to view):
And this is at the point where artistry is sacrificed for the sake of making a good joke. See, not everyone has to be a G-pen wielding tablet-owning CG master. On the image uploaders, everyone is equal, everyone is anonymous, and any artist with a great idea can throw that idea into the ether. If someone on the other end is entertained, that's good enough.
And finally, the ultimate act of reductionism:
Disclaimer: All artwork © their respective authors (most were posted anonymously online). Reproduced without permission.
It is easy to start believing that everyone in Japan is naturally born with artistic talent, as evidenced by their massive comic and illustration culture at both the commercial and self-published levels, varied artistic styles that are guarded neurotically by foreign purists and aped miserably by foreign wannabes, and the fact that some otaku-next-door can show up on a TV show and start dishing out Maki Goto portraiture. We would like to imagine that Japanese babies are born with G-pens in their hands, ready to start filling sheets of B5 paper as soon as they've had their umbilical cords cut and had a little chance to clear their lungs.
But that just isn't true. First of all, due to the cocked-up birth/death rate, it's hard enough trying to find Japanese babies being born, much less with G-pens.
To see how normal people draw, forget about commercially published manga, forget about artbooks, forget about doujin, and go straight to that equalizer of the 21st century: the Internet. On Japan's "image uploader" sites, the playing field is truly leveled. Everyone is anonymous, everyone can post, and everyone is free to share their artwork, whether beginner or pro-level. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Tezuka.
L to R: Chinami Tokunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Risako Sugaya, Momoko Tsugunaga, Yurina Kumai, Saki Shimizu, Maasa Sudo
Pop idol sensation Berryz Koubou is, perhaps, an ideal subject for hobbyists: built on the principles of group chemistry and visual appeal, they provide great source material for a casual artist who just wants to draw, for goodness sakes, and to hell with "innovating creative boundaries" or "revealing a universal truth." They're practically the bishoujo formula come to life: the tall one, the short one, the pretty one, the elegant one, the squeaky one, the funny one, the MASSIVE one. It's hard to go wrong with, say, a straight-up reading of the group as seen in one of their music videos:
which clearly takes its cue from this shot in "Koi No Jubaku". Other times, an artist with a more pronounced style can bring a personal touch to the group and really start to blur that line between representation and stylization:
In this interpretation of the "21ji Made no Cinderella" lineup (the outfits of which I always hated because they looked like the Crayola factory exploded on them), the girls have truly been condensed into anime mascots, or possibly game sprites, or something. The artist, Ken*Peace!, has built an entire portfolio on re-imagining the Hello! Project family as wide-eyed, ultra-slick mascot characters, but hey, whatever works, y'know? The one that amuses me the most is the Joshi Kashimashi Battle concept page, because any time a lot of distinctive characters and personalities are gathered together, a 2-D fighting game inevitably ensues.
One issue that got around the world of Berryz fanart was how to handle ex-member Maiha Ishimura, who left the group in October 2005. In the above examples, which were completed before her departure, this isn't a problem. But works from just after that time show interesting ways of coping:
Here we see Maiha reduced to a super-deformed character with the label "ordinary middle-school student" -- a cute homage, I think, that acknowledges her time with the group but also realizes that she's opted out of the pop star life. This illustration also continues to be my desktop wallpaper because it feels like the perfect balance between art and craft, between representation and stylization: an artist's individual expression coming through, but with enough fundamental skill to back it up -- the style is distinctive, but at the same time, it really looks like their faces. (The only one I think is way off is Risako's.) A lot of attempts to "manga-fy" Berryz result in weak caricatures, while more realistic drawings end up being dull copies from still photos or screencaps. This one miraculously bridges both worlds.
There's also a version for their sister group °C-ute.
This baseball-themed drawing allows for a more creative interpretation of Maiha's departure: she's been relegated to "bench" and follows the group from the shadows. Of course, I would not try to read too much into the lineup -- they've never had enough members to make up a full baseball team anyway (though I hear their basketball club is pretty popular). And how would you set up the batting order?
Later works deal with the Maiha issue the same way the record company does -- she just doesn't show up anymore. For example, this terrific Studio Ghibli spoof gives us the now-familiar 7-member lineup:
As well as a fantastic test of pop culture knowledge. Identify the girls by name, the character they're playing, and the movie that the character appeared in.
Answers (L to R, highlight to view):
| Chinami Tokunaga | Pazu | Laputa: Castle in the Sky |
| Yurina Kumai | Howl | Howl's Moving Castle |
| Miyabi Natsuyaki | Nausicäa | Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind |
| Risako Sugaya | Kiki | Kiki's Delivery Service |
| Saki Shimizu | Setsuko | Grave of the Fireflies |
| Momoko Tsugunaga | San | Princess Mononoke |
| Maasa Sudo | Totoro | My Neighbor Totoro |
And this is at the point where artistry is sacrificed for the sake of making a good joke. See, not everyone has to be a G-pen wielding tablet-owning CG master. On the image uploaders, everyone is equal, everyone is anonymous, and any artist with a great idea can throw that idea into the ether. If someone on the other end is entertained, that's good enough.
And finally, the ultimate act of reductionism:
Disclaimer: All artwork © their respective authors (most were posted anonymously online). Reproduced without permission.
1 Comments:
Sometimes when I'm experiencing an internet blackout I'm tempted to draw something also. (I tend to like to tell people "This is what a degree in Fine Art gets you" before showing people my stuff so they can see what a waste of time that was ;) ).
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