Todoroki Kawaii

"A figure is not done well unless action appears it in it that expresses a state of mind."   -   Leonardo DiVinci  "If you don't have the gesture and the action, you literally don't have anything."   - Glenn Vilppu World renown Disney, Dreamworks and UCLA drawing instructor  Glenn Vilppu   is returning to Tokyo again for his second drawing masterclass with Master Drawing Japan.   It will be a four day drawing seminar on November 7th, 8th and 14th and 15th. One of the most coveted drawing instructors in the animation and production art industry, Vilppu has taught the art of figure drawing for over 40 years in workshops around the world teaching principles and techniques professionals in the animation industry such as Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros.    Vilppu will help participants master techniques of drawing the human figure in the first session and teach a special class on the human head in the second session..     He...

How do these movie titles make you feel?  King Kong (2005), Godzilla (2014), The Chronicles of Narnia, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Adventures of Tintin and the Academy Award nominated for Best Picture film, District 9.   If you are at all familiar with the outstanding visual effects of these films, you might know that they were all designed under Peter Jackson's award winning special effects company:   Weta Workshop .   You should also know that all these films were all designed in part or directly under the creative direction of  Greg Broadmore .   Sunday, October 17th, 2015, for ONE (1) day only next month, Greg Broadmore will be coming to Tokyo, Japan to conduct a concept design masterclass at Akiba Hall.  At the event Greg Broadmore will discuss working as a concept designer on major blockbuster films,  his experience with Weta Workshop and do a live demonstration of for all the attendees.  The event is being produced by Japan's  Born Di...

"No rules just tools."  - Glenn Vilppu Internationally renown Disney, Dreamworks and UCLA drawing instructor Glenn Vilppu will be giving a two day drawing seminar in Tokyo on August 16 th and 17 th .     As a premier drawing instructor to the studios in Hollywood, Vilppu has taught the art of figure drawing for over 40 years and has done workshops around the world teaching principles and techniques of drawing to professionals in the animation industry such as Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros.   In each 6-hour seminar, Vilppu will teach participants the master techniques of drawing the human figure as well as anatomy.    It will be an opportunity to receive instruction and feedback from a drawing master whose instruction has been coveted globally by artists and illustrators for generations. Vilppu does not teach a style but teaches the tools to master drawing so that the artist to use them in any direction he or she wishes.   The event w...

These are the paraphrased words of Antoni Gaudi that will greet you entering the Mori Art Exhibition:: Takehiko Inoue Interprets Gaudi's Universe.   It would be plain to say the works of both Gaudi and Takahiro Inoue's were impressive and compelling. The greater thing to come away with from exhibition is the consideration of  artistic creation and expression come from.   We are moved and compelled by what we observe. Nature served a great part in influencing Gaudi's hand.  As for Inoue-san it seems that Gaudi, the man himself has compelled his hand rather than his expressive voice.  Indeed he has interpreted Gaudi in his own way -- interpreting his work with Gaudi's voice would be of course, just copying. "The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create, he discovers.  Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator.  Copiers do not collaborate.  Because of ...

Another inspiring exhibition is about to hit Tokyo.   Takahiko Inoue ( 井上雄彦)   artist of the hugely popular Japanese manga titles "Slam Dunk" and "Vagabond" apparently has has been admirer of modernist architect Antoni Gaudi for some time.  So much so that it inspired him to tour Spain and record his travel memoirs, in his art book, "Pepita:  Inoue Meets Gaudi" . This tribute to  Gaudi, Spain and its people resulted in Inoue being awarded the honor of becoming Spain's goodwill ambassador.   All this is culminating in a final celebration of the 400th Anniversary of diplomacy between Japan and Spain. (400?!)   An exhibition at the Mori Arts Center in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills:  Takehiko Inoue Interprets Gaudi's Universe   will start July 12.   100 art pieces and works comprising of rough sketches, models and architectural designs related to Gaudi will be brought from Spain to Japan, along with 40 original illustrations by Inoue himself....

ディズニー夢と魔法の90年展　スッキリ!! 20140320 投稿者 dm_5232ea58af3f6 Matsuya Ginza department store is holding yet another Disney event on it's exhibition floor in Tokyo's Ginza district.   Disney's 90 Years of Dreams and Enchantment .  Definitely worth taking a look.  There is a story about Walt Disney who sat through a storyboard pitch for a cartoon involving Mickey, Donald and Goofy by one of his directors.  The director decided to take a different turn in the characteristic approach of what Disney's headline trio were known for.  I'm certain as in many cases the director was nervous about approval from Walt.  However during the pitch, Walt apparently couldn't restrain himself from laughing at the gags proposed in the cartoon.  Even to the point where Walt was in tears from the laughter.   Surely the director had a "hit" on his hands.  The director closed his pitch and likely waited for Walt to catch his breath and wipe the tears from his face before ask...

Japanese Wildlife:  OL: (Pinkimus Collarius)  Otherwise known as the shokuba no hana ( 職場 の花)  or 'Office Flower'.   The Japanese term for a female office worker is "OL" or 'office lady'.  Life Expectancy:  4 - 6 years....or marriage.

Once made the mistake of telling a Tokyo resident that Walt Disney couldn't actually draw Mickey Mouse well.  She never spoke to me ever again.  Seriously. The image of Walt Disney is damn near sacred in Japan.  Or Tokyo anyway.  It's difficult to leave your house and not see at least one Disney related image between home and your final destination. In honor of Walt Disney's 110th birthday, the Disney Family Museum put on an exhibition with the Matsuya Ginza department store in the high-end shopping district of Ginza. Occasionally pedestrian, but it was  very much worth taking a look (despite the aftertaste of the sledgehammer merchandising).  Lots of artifacts from Walt's personal possessions as well as artifacts from the past and wall in the Bambi section that paid tribute to Tyrus Wong that was nice to see. Below are some shots from the exhibition.    Apparently Walt's early drawings of Mickey Mouse were there, but I didn't get to see them...

Her work is the antithesis of femininity in Japan. Her designs were always BIG and BOLD and sometimes a little BAD . Instincts say there will be a tribute to Eiko Ishioka during the 84th Academy Awards this coming Sunday. For those who she is not a household name with will likely say --- "Oh, she's the one who did that?". Whether it's Eiko's work for Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, The Fall, Miles Davis' album design "Tutu", or even that Parco ad with Faye Dunaway eating an egg on camera ---- it's all there. The balance, energy and that statement that reads as her work is all there. There was clear theatricality in her work. A magic that translated well to film. Ask some people and they will tell you the real star of Coppola's Dracula wasn't the actors but Eiko's costumes. Who's going be the Art Director for Tarsem Singh's films now? She never threw together random and clashing bold elements just to hustle y...