I just bought this excellent DVD. It’s a short animated film called “Negadon: The Monster From Mars“, and it’s the first 100% CG Monster Movie. A wonderfully crafted tribute to the classic Japanese kaiju films of 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, this amazing film was mostly put together by just one guy who never made a movie before! It has an interesting visual style that goes out of its way to look old and worn out to create a nostalgic feeling, but the animation is excellent with very impressive effects. The DVD also has a lot of extra material about how the film was made.

If you love monster movies or unique animated films, then you gotta check this movie out. I love both, so naturally I really dig Negadon! It’s got a creepy monster, a cool robot, a decent story, and it proves that anyone can create an awesome piece of work if they work hard enough. It rocks!

Check out more about Negadon at the official Negadon website.

Sayonara.

I remember when I was in high school and I first became aware that there was a Street Fighter II animated movie from Japan. I likely found out about it from some kind of video game magazine. I was desperate to see it, even if I had to resort to a raw bootlegged copy with no subtitles. I begged and pleaded to get a copy from people who told me that they had seen it, but to no avail. Eventually it was officially released on VHS, and I rented a copy and just loved it. What an awesome movie. Soon afterward I bought a VHS copy of the uncut edition of the film, which had more blood and didn’t compromise on the violence. I must have watched that movie 20 times. Still own the tape too.

Yesterday, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the film, Manga Entertainment finally re released the Street Fighter II Animated Movie on a DVD they are calling the “Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed” edition. There was an early release back when the DVD format was still in its infancy, but it’s hard to find and not really worth getting. This new release, however, contains not only the English version, but a completely untouched Japanese version that runs a little bit longer on the other side of the disk. This is the first time ever that the Japanese audio has been made available in North America. I promptly snapped up a copy, having wanting a decent version of this movie on DVD since forever.

Now, as far as being a DVD goes, this release really isn’t all that great. The picture quality is really poor in comparison to what a DVD is supposed to look like. There are scratches, specs of dirt, and other visible flaws. The colours aren’t really as bright as they ought to be, and the picture is not true anamorphic widescreen. I have to believe that they did the best they could with the material they had, but still, it’s disappointing. The sound, however, is very well done on this disk. There really aren’t any significant extra features, and I think that was a missed opportunity, but I suppose that having the uncut Japanese version is extra enough.

Now, this is the part where I have to chose my words carefully. If you know anything about this movie, then you probably know that the original uncut VHS release was not exactly completely uncut. There was a certain sequence involving Chun Li. In the shower. Even the version of the film released on VHS all those years ago that claimed to be uncut had a few frames removed from a certain shot at a certain angle, if you catch my drift. This new DVD release of the film restores that sequence to its original splendor. Was it worth waiting 10 years to finally see it?

Oh yes. If you don’t mind me saying, I am inclined to think that it was indeed worth the wait!

Anyway, the movie is still as awesome as it ever was. As far as Street Fighter animation is concerned, it has yet to be topped. The fights are incredible, all the characters you know from the video game are in there, and the story isn’t a complete abomination. They really don’t make kick-ass animated films like this anymore. If this is your thing, pick this new DVD up. It’s not a perfect release, but the movie itself far outweighs any flaws in the disk. Plus it comes with a cool little comic book from UDON!

Hadouken!

Sayonara.

I recently got a message in my guestbook that I thought warranted some discussion. It comes from “May”.

I am currently dealing with disappointing reality that a friend of mine has been copying my artwork. I appreciate your stance on the subject, and hope to find a way to make myself clear to others on what is acceptable and what is not, when it comes to enjoying my artwork.

Well, this is an important issue, and there are a few things to consider here.

First of all, when people start getting an interest in art, copying images is very common. It’s a step in one’s artistic development, and it helps to improve hand-eye coordination and visual acuity. That said, some people never grow out of that and don’t learn that copying artwork is only a step. Copying artwork is fine as something to use as a form of training, but it’s definitely not cool to show that copied artwork off as if it’s a finished piece, especially if they are trying to pass off that artwork as their own without giving credit to the original artist. I was just looking on deviantART a minute ago and saw a bunch of pencil drawings that were copied exactly from artwork that I had seen before. What is the point of that? Why would somebody want to show that off? You can copy a picture that someone else already drew… so what? Isn’t that effort better placed in drawing something that no one else has drawn before? Well, I think so!

There are other forms of copying that are also sticky subjects. There is swiping, where an artist will steal a pose or composition from another drawing and apply it exactly like it was but with different characters. This is generally a bad idea. There are also situations were someone will take another artist’s work and change it slightly so they can claim it as their own. This is also a not very good, and is a particularly scummy thing to do without giving credit. But it’s ok to take inspiration from other artists’ work, and it’s not cheating to use reference images as long as they’re only used for reference. Sometimes there is a fine line between being inspired and outright copying. An artist should have the better judgment to know if they are crossing that line.

The thing is that if someone copies a piece of art, it obviously means that they like it. That can include professional images as well as artwork done by people they know. So, you could look at it from a flattering perspective too. It means you have a fan. I can remember several occasions when I was in grade school where I would draw something really creative in class, only to have a significant portion of the other students doing the exactly the same thing once word got out. It’s pretty annoying, but it also means you’re doing something right. Ultimately, however, you have to be protective of your own work. When one person gets away with copying your work, then suddenly it’s ok for anybody to copy anyone else’s work. It sets a bad precedent and pretty much says that your artwork is a commodity without much value. Certainly I think that friends should understand that is not what you want.

Unfortunately, this is part of the world of being an artist. While everybody else might admire your talent, think all seem to think that being an artist is real easy and it’s all fun and games. They don’t really know what it takes. Often times it feels like we are part of a world that seeks only to take advantage of us and not give us our due. It’s a hard way to live, especially when you’re just starting out and have big goals. That’s why I have recently come to understand that, since this part of life can be so difficult, it’s best to try to keep the other side of life as simple and as positive as possible. The way we handle our relationships with friends and people we know is a big part of that.

I take this issue pretty seriously since I was once accused of copying and being unoriginal based on the content of my website. The guy was a rude, ignorant jackass who hated anime and thought that I copied and just drew the same things over and over again because I have an anime style, so obviously I didn’t think much of anything he had to say, but still. I don’t see where he could have gotten off with accusing me like that since I take a great deal of pride in being original. But that’s just another example of the nonsense artists have to deal with from people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

To specifically address May’s problem, I don’t think that your friend copying your work is a big deal as long as no one else sees it. Maybe it will help to inspire your friend to become a better artist, and that would be a very good thing. But when it really comes down to it, an artist shouldn’t have to rely on other people’s work or something to copy from or anything else but their wits and their hands to create something good. It’s got to come from within, and copying just isn’t going to make that happen.

I hope that helps.

Sayonara.