|
Muttpop Bob's musings and rants for all things Muttpop, toys, videogames, hip-hop, and whatever else he's thinking of. |
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Zelda Art by Terada
When I was 8-12 years old, Nintendo Power Magazine was my Bible. Even before I had a Nintendo Entertainment System I would beg my friends to let me read their newest issue of Nintendo Power.
This was in the midst of a videogame Golden Age. Game companies hadn't figured out the gaming business just yet, so you'd have a huge variety of games. At the time, Nintendo Power would commission artists to do illustrations of new games that would be included in the pages of the magazine alongside screenshots of the game.
There was one particular artist who stood out to me. His art was sophisticated when compared to the cartoon-like styles of the other artists. But at the time I hated his unrealistic approach to color.
I would later discover that this artist was Katsuya Terada. Since his time as a Nintendo Power artist, he's made quite the name for himself as the character designer for Blood: The Last Vampire, the live action Cutie Honey, and the live action Devil Man. He also created a Monkey King manga and has a slew of really beautiful art books.
With age, I can see his obvious influences. His early work SCREAMS of Metal Hurlant and Moebius. His later work feels a lot like Frank Frazetta and Simon Bisley's painted work. But somewhere in it all, you can still feel a sense of originality.
Back during his Nintendo Power days, his illustrations of Dragon Warrior/Quest, Faxanadu, and Final Fantasy sold me on those games. Below are my favorite illustrations he did for Zelda. You can see a wonderful collection of his Zelda illustrations HERE.
Comments
Muttpop bob
Sunday, April 13, 2008
PoonDockTaint:
Interesting. I totally agree. Giger and Moebius are the perfect contrast of styles. You can really feel the presence of Moebius on all the Earth-based designs.
We're in good company! Thank for checking back regularly. It's always good to hear from you.
-MPB
PoonDockTaint
Saturday, April 12, 2008
I'm not sure if Moebius had any direct involvement with Alien, but in the special edition DVD, Ridley talks about having been hugely influenced and it really shows in the storyboards gallery. I think production designer Ron Cobb mentions Moebius as well. Overall, I think the look of the Nostromo really has the Moebius influence rocking with Geiger of course handling the Alien look.
Not to fear, though its been a bit since I posted I'm checking the site as part of my regular rotation: eMail/Muttpop/IMDB/VinylPulse get a look at least once a day!
Muttpop Bob
Friday, April 11, 2008
PoonDockTaint:
What's up man, it's been a while!
Very true. After all these years the Zelda universe hasn't strayed too far away from it's roots.
I recall reading that Moebius did some design work on Alien. Did he have any direct involvement on Storyboards?
-MPB
PoonDockTaint
Thursday, April 10, 2008
These really remind me how faithful the Zelda team have been to keeping the lineup of characters / enemies alive throughout the series. Even though these are pretty old, you can see versions of these enemies & scenarios in even the latest of Zelda games. Very cool. I agree; Moebius influence is heavy.
These remind me a bit of Ridley Scott's storyboards for ALIEN which were way influenced by Moebius, straight up.