Topic: Do you wish Ayami Kojima was back?

[beingthehero]

This is some of her post-CV work she's done, and it's very good. Do you wish they'd bring Kojima back to do the art for the CV games, or stay the course with Lords' art?

Also she really has a thing for skulls.

[Neobelmont]

Yes there is a reason why I have three wall scrolls in my room of her artwork. yes I like Los style, but her work just has so much detail and if konami were to do a game again with her make it cel shaded game or something to repersent that dark style. I told my friend about her and the very first thing I say about her is how much detail she puts into her work it's mind blowing. So yes hell but also make the men more manly that would be it other than that yes

[PFG9000]

Yes, absolutely.  Together with Michiru Yamane, she defined the series at its peak.  Her art is beautiful and fitting, and got better with each game.

[Flame]

Yeah, she's definitely gotten far better, would be nice if she did some more CV art.

that said, the Lords art, EG the kind used for the bestiary/character entries, has an amazing style, which I wish they would utilize more, instead of making a generic looking CG'd cover. Japan got the special edition cover as the default, and EU and NA should have too. It would have cemented the tradition of CV games having epic box art, (DoS and PoR notwithstanding) and is more in line with the kind of work that Kojima did, highly stylized. I mean seriously, DAT HAIR.

[Ahasverus]

Of course!
While the LoS art is artistically great (Pitch perfect even) Kojima's art is less, ehmm, "literal" and more "Evocative", and I'd love to have her like Yoshitaka Amano is in Final Fantasy, a guest artist giving her vision in every game with one or two illustrations.

But I don't want her to be the main designer, she's repetitive, a lot.

[C Belmont]

Not really
There are elements of her style which I like but her art has never appealled to me all that much.

[crisis]

To those that think she's repetitive or her stale is style, you should check out Santa Lilio Sangre, she's very versatile (see wut i did there

also,






Kojima DEFINES Castlevania.

[C Belmont]

Kojima DEFINES Castlevania

Oh please
Castlevania did exist before Kojima came along and I think you would be hard pressed to convince someone that has had no exposure to the games released after SOTN that her art defines castlevania. Her work may embody aspects of Castlevania and a particular direction Castlevania took in it's history but not the whole darn thing that’s over exaggerating things more than a little, in some regards her work was the complete opposite of Castlevania’s early identity.

[Ridureyu]

I completely misread the topic, and was wondering why people wanted to turn her black.

[Fofa]

Kojima DEFINES Castlevania.

I thought a game series was defined by the gameplay rather than the artwork (unless the art was a major theme). Just might be me though.

[crisis]

Castlevania did exist before Kojima came along

Never said otherwise.

and I think you would be hard pressed to convince someone that has had no exposure to the games released after SOTN that her art defines castlevania.

you mean on the internet right? Cuz I personally know people that don't even play Castlevania & still recognize her art as "Castlevania," or if they see something else she drew (a lot of different stuff) they'd still think it was Castlevania-related.

Her work may embody aspects of Castlevania

Obviously, most definately, glad you agree!

in some regards her work was the complete opposite of Castlevania’s early identity.

You refer to the Conans wearing loincloths? That style went out with the 80s, and many other series used similar "tough guy with muscles holding a weapon" imagery, it was all over the place. So it's not like that particular style was unique to CV or anything. It was excellent artwork, don't get me wrong (CV1 still has the best boxart in the series in my opinion), but the Conan-esque look had to go. Belmonts are vampire hunters, not barbarians. However if they ever make a game or 2 set in the 1100s-1300s, I wouldn't mind seeing artwork depicting ____ Belmont wearing a bearskin or a Tanooki suit Since in those days, they must've been really roughin' it!

Just to further clarify, if we were talking comics and I were to say "Jim Lee DEFINES Batman," many would agree despite there being dozens of other artists that came before him. I'm not saying those artists sucked, it's that he's just that damned good, and there's a reason why his work is so coveted amongst fans and why he has attained a level of notoriety over his fellow [well-received] artists.



*waits for the tired "kojima draws effeminate girlymen" argument to ignite*

[Ridureyu]

But Kojima draws girlymen!

I kid, I kid.  Though I kind of prefer Simon to stay Conan-like, the Kojima version doesn't sit well with me. Just personal preference.  I really do love her art, though - she certainly defines a large part of Castlevania. Not EVERYTHING, but a goodly amount of stuff.

[Flame]

Hey...

Hey Guys...

Hey Guys...

A Castlevania game- with- get ready for this-

With Yamane and Arujo on music,

And Kojima and Vaello on art,

and Cox and IGA as directors/writers

with LoS' budget and scale.

[TheouAegis]

Anyone else reminded of Yoshitaka Amano by Ayami's art? I mean, Ayami puts more detail into the art, but both have a somewhat fluid art style and both draw the human figure similarly, I think. I dunno, I just see Vampire Hunter D and Final Fantasy in Ayami's art. Locke, Setzer and Edgar had very girly figures.

[Flame]

haha, yeah i see what you mean there, though Kojima's art is more detailed while Amano's is a bit more sketchy