|
 |
[Comments on the award-winning work]
I heard about insect pupae from a friend who told me that an insect first dissolves inside its pupa. It is formless, surrounded by an outer covering, as if it is returning to an egg. When an insect emerges from its pupa it is not awaking from sleep but rather reconstructed and born again. This made me think. Before they are born, animal embryos trace back on the history of life. I thought perhaps a similar kind of transformation was repeated inside the pupa as a sign that an adult insect was being forming?
I first drew an adult stag beetle using Illustrator and created its path data, and then reproduced the change within a pupa based on my imagination, like turning back time. (A series of five works) |
|
|
 |
|
| When did you start using computer graphics to create art? |
| I first started drawing on a computer in the spring of 2004, about a year after I entered university. Before entering university I had hardly used a PC at all, and I certainly didn't think I wanted to draw using one. But for some reason I ended up in enrolling in a department of the university in which the main tool was a computer. Now, it feels like it was fate. |
|
 |
|
What first led to you to use computer graphics?
The reason for taking up CG seriously was the result of winning a prize in a competition I entered in university. I was very glad to receive praise for the CG I submitted in that competition, and this fed my ambition. |
What motivated you to submit a work to the DCA?
This competition was perfect for me. I actually looked for a large competition specializing in CG and I came across DCA, which is an ideal forum for my work right now. Also, because we were given a set of subjects beforehand, this was a great chance for me to experiment with something I had misgivings with my work so far: "human imagination." |
What aspects of your winning work "saikousei" did you pay particular attention to, and what aspects did you find particularly difficult?
The hardest part was wondering whether I could create something that was a fusion of my style with the subject matter and still make it fun, and I was very particular about that. The fun thing about drawing is that it allows you to experiment and develop your own expression or style that you are good at. And there are going to be certain subjects that are more suited to that style. I experimented and clarified that as far as I could in my own way, because I knew that would lead to an original motif. |
Your work gained the overwhelming support of the screening committee members, who commented, "It is a work never seen before. It combines art with science, which is wonderful." What does creating artwork mean to you? What subjects do you take up for your creative activities?
Before winning the DCA Grand Prize, my works revolved around the themes of "loving animals," "loving to draw," and "loving to receive praise in fields that I am confident in." So I started out drawing animals using my own form of expression. But that alone wasn't interesting enough, so this time I decided to add the fantastic element of "imagining a metamorphosis in my own way." I think this type of activity is similar in scientific terms to forming a hypothesis. By adding a new essence, which is "imagination," I was able to achieve such positive evaluation. So in future works I intend to add "imagining fantasy in my own way" to the other three themes of "loving animals," "loving to draw," and "loving to receive praise in fields that I am confident in." I think it will be good if my selection of motifs constantly involves the changing of themes in this way. |
Has anything changed since winning the DCA? (Have your friends told you that they've seen your work or have you become even more enthusiastic about your work?)
I have an even greater desire to create more works now. Receiving praise from so many people has reinforced my view that I made the right decision. I also feel that I want to continue drawing on this experience in order to continue creating works. |
What types of art do you want to create in the future?
The digital art community is not made up only of people who are specializing in painting and sculpture at art schools as seen at exhibitions in the past. There are also many people who are active in photography, design, advertising, and completely different fields. There is much to be gained through contact with neI think the things that stand out as interesting to other people are things that make up something that they haven't seen before. I want the art that I create in future to be based on such unprecedented things. |
Do you have any message for those intending to submit works for DCA 2006?
I believe that CG is now the easiest of art forms. It can be shown just with a click of the mouse on the screen of your home computer, it can be copied any number of times and can be transferred onto a range of paper or flat surfaces. For art lovers I don't think there is any more accessible form of art. However some people think it is too simple and is lacking in some kind of virtue. I believe the true pleasure of CG creation lies in creating a motif while considering all of these merits and demerits of CG in the context of the world of expression.
What do you think? |
|
 |
| Click on each picture to enlarge it. |
|
|
1. First, draw the model for the stag beetle using Adobe Illustrator.
Do the drawing while looking at a photo or a real stag beetle. When doing this drawing, get a feel for the beauty of this living creature both microscopically and macroscopically, such as the hairs growing from the joints, the varying thinness and thickness of the skeleton, and the lines that determine its shape.
Based on that feeling, loosely draw the exoskeleton armor of the head, chest, abdomen, legs and eyes. |
|
 |
2. Imagine a different stag beetle to the one you've just drawn.
Use Illustrator's filters or pass transformation to create a stag beetle with a different shape than the model stag beetle. |
|
 |
3. Load the stag beetle and the background data created into Adobe Photoshop.
Convert all of the data created in 2 to a bitmapped image. Then choose the images that best suits the metamorphosing image of the stag beetle, narrowing down to 5 stag beetles. |
|
 |
4. Create a collective background line.
Using Illustrator's tools such as puncture and expansion create a background that matches the 5 stag beetles. Then also convert the background to a bit mapped image. |
|
 |
5. Combine with the background.
Combine the stag beetle with the background.
Then reduce the background so that it doesn't interfere with the form of the stag beetle.
|
|
 |
6. Consider the color.
Think about possible colors that match the image.
Then create several prototypes. Choose the one that matches best. |
|
 |
7. It's finished!
Choose the best match with white light reflected off the black stag beetle, and the work is complete. |
|
|
|
|
