HollowPhobiaArtA friend of mine commissioned me to draw Son Goku, in honor of the passing of the beloved Akira Toriyama. I've not really talked about it much, but Dragon Ball Z, like many other kids in the west from the early 2000's was some of the very first anime I was ever introduced to, along with others like Sailor Moon, Digimon, Pokemon, Monster Rancher and many more and from there I'd continued to watch Eastern animation way into my 30's.
As such Dragon Ball has always held a special place in my heart, even as much as I disagree and complain about the way Toei Animation is currently handling the property and I do worry how the property will continue without Akira, I will still love the show regardless. I remember burning the DBZ songs onto CDS with Napster, hanging posters on my fall, seeing Majin Buu from a Japanese exclusive poster and wondering what the hell it was. I guess what I'm saying is I will always love this show, for without it, I'd not be the person I am today.
As for the picture itself, I knew I could never replicate Akira Toriyama's style one to one and it be foolish of me to even attempt it, but I decided to purposely go with little design choices to reflect his influence, such as using a more muted grey-ish black for one, to make Goku's hair feel a lot more natural than what we were use to seeing.
2024-03-18 23:16:20 +0000