I can't say I really followed this cartoon, but every time I caught it, I was consistently impressed with how well they used the vector graphic style. I was a huge japanimation nut growing up. Samurai Jack felt like one of the most original looking hybrids to come out of the fusion between Japanese and American cartoons.
I also loved the culture clashes often featured in the cartoon. Two of my favorite episodes involved Jack meeting up with an entertaining Scottsman and another with a visually clever African tribe.
Similar to Samurai Jack, I haven't really followed the story lines for Psylocke much. They sort of bore me, BUT every since I've been reading X-Men, the various pieces of artwork featuring Psylocke have been unbelievably inspirational!
From pages illustrated by Jim Lee and Joe Madueria to paintings by Boris Vallejo and some amazing fan art. I will never forget a Marvel trading card from the 90's featuring a painting of Psylocke wielding two swords. If anyone of you know the name of that artist I'd love to know.
So, here's my tribute to one of the most artistically inspiring Asian characters out there.
Last up is the one and only Ryu. The web is flooded with beautiful art featuring the Japanese stud. It was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at him.
This is the first of what I'm sure will be many pieces of my take on the original street fighter.
that's hot
ReplyDeleteThat's a terrific sword Samurai Jack has been hiding all this time.
ReplyDeleteGreat Work, Jezza!
Thanks, Centaureg!
Delete"Samurai Jack" is my all time favorite cartoon series. It has, IMHO, some of the best scripts and art direction to ever appear on television. I am consistently blown away by how dramatically the series could change artistically from episode to episode. There are episodes that have no dialog or very little while other episodes look like widescreen cinema. One episode is a ghost story that is done in haunting 9no pun intended) black and white images unlike anything you have ever seen from a cartoon series. The series won an Emmy award as best animated program and truly deserved it. I highly recommend purchasing the entire series on DVD. And then there's that little thing about Jack being insanely hot. To my mind "Samurai Jack" is to TV cartoon series what "Calvin and Hobbes" was to newspaper comics, a huge jump up in artistic brilliance. Lots of good things out there, but nothing has come out as good as SJ yet.
ReplyDeleteThough I can't say it's my favorite, I will agree it has some of the best art direction to be displayed by animated series. I choreography and music also impress me. My favorite aspect of the show was the consistent culture clashing. One of my favorite episodes involved Jack in Africa helping one tribe against another. The weapons were awesome, the fight scenes -epic and the the way the Africans were illustrated was a work of art. I felt like I was watching animated hieroglyphics.
DeleteAnother culture clash fave was when he went up against a big Scottsman.
Thanks for sharing your zeal for Samurai Jack, you've motivated me to explore more possibilities with Jezz'n him up. :)
Be well, Gregger