Polyphonica Aphonic Songbird’s second volume is quite reminiscent to the first in that both have cover illustrations of a nature so soft and subtle – yet simultaneously, so incredibly suggestive and tantalizing.
Kantoku, master of all loli artistry, excels not only in physical technique – something quite obvious and highly apparent, yet he also has unmatched quantities of creativity which seemingly enable him to portray his subject matter, more than often cute little girls, in a fashion which offers a distinct emphasis that speaks sentiment, as well as simply satisfies the eye. Given that we’re speaking of artwork, visual gratification is quite integral – now to understand the style of Kantoku, it should be deconstructed into individual components.
Immediately upon glancing at the art piece, the eyes may become momentarily acquainted with the girl’s visage – however, they’re definitely strung in a manner inescapable by the visually inviting lower body area. The first aspect to recognize in this respect is that Kantoku doesn’t go a “one size fits all” method of character exhibition – it’s very clear that he legitimately understands the personalities of the characters he sketches, subsequently presenting them in a manner which is truly fitting of their person.
Once the essence of the character is captured, it’s at that point which Kantoku transcribes the compilation of ideals which make said character into a 2-D based form, paired with depth to replicate the third dimension, in a manner relevant to the desired outlook – which then ultimately emanates emotions of its own.
Attempting to simplify that all, see how the central accent of the image is upon the proximity of the skirt – this is the focal point, and Kantoku settled on such as this girl isn’t particularly the most impressive in the upper body. Yet breasts are not what define beauty – curves are what make females attractive, and Kantoku’s intentions with this piece, as is so heavily implied by the flowers and delicate palette of colors, was to bring out the innocent and feminine nature of the subject matter.
That in mind, it accounts for the reasoning behind giving highlight to her lower body region, as she’s clearly quite well-stocked in that department – and then of course, the appropriate elements of shadow were applied, alongside personal preference and artistic methodology.
Looking at the legs of the lovely subject matter, one can take notice of the slight waves in the lines of curvature – that’s a finer detail exemplary of Kantoku’s comprehension of the human body. In general, the skin is not flawless – nor would it be nearly as attractive if it were. As Kantoku includes even the most minute of specifics as this regarding the skin, not a single of his works feels “synthetic”. An intimacy is very much felt within this artwork – and that’s as Kantoku didn’t sketch a generic anime female, he illustrated a girl, and this happens to be his style of art.
And continuing in the recognition of his style in action, the skirt is definitely the most striking feature prevalent – with many an aspect of it being marvelous, although the plaid in particular is certainly wondrous.
With the shimmering orange brilliance of her skirt, it can be seen that the pattern above is partially translucent – further, make note of how fine the line is around the bottom edges of skirt, as well as the instant stark contrast against flavorful skin, and not to mention how the skirt is quite defined around her physique. These items, along with the incremental creases made mainly of masterful shadow, build her waist into the seductive segment of female it is.
Shifting attention only ever slightly upward, the point at which skirt meets blouse is entirely composed of immense value expertise. The intricacy is abundant – and also do give some focus to the color of white visible. Aside from it being logical, the darkened white additionally contrasts the more intense pure white of the background. Do note however, that the white works in conjunction with other similar instances, such as the background aforementioned, the more exposed portions of her shirt, and the faint intersections of the pattern of her skirt.
Recurring hues, of course, give the artwork a visual balance – and in this case, with the hue in question being white, there’s a serenity spread across the image, something also backed by the other characteristics of elegance throughout the artwork.
On that note, not too frequently will one find a split-complement being taken advantage of so straightforwardly – although Kantoku has done that here. The eyes of the enchanting girl are a gorgeous green reminiscent to flourished flora – which not only aides in the balance of the green introduced by the leaves and stems of the many flowers around the colorful bottom half of the canvas, but it also complements the lit-up red of her upper hair ribbon, as well as the pink of the lower.
Her vest of a darker shade, brown, contrasts against all to bring out everything which extends from her abdomen – meaning the remaining entirety of her figure. Although, the vest still has an impact in itself as it touches the pure white of the background – thereby making the most of her chest.
Smooth gradients which swivel from a brighter creamy color with a hint of reddish tone, i.e. pink, gradually lead into hard contrasting mid-tones – and subsequently into some solid dark outskirts.
Having concluded that the approach is unparalleled, and the pose is unprecedented, it’s quite necessary to also turn a moment of interest towards the visage – a spot which comes after her enticing lower body in focus. Much like the rest of the artwork, it’s the sophisticated and simplistic appearance which causes it to be so ensnaring – and likewise, this is a fine case in point of “making it look easy”. The complexity Kantoku tackled in making this illustration is nearly ridiculous – and looking only at the vicinity of the visage, the hair alone is frightening to imagine being drawn.
Setting that aside however, she certainly is sweet on the eyes – the silken blush being an unforgivingly tempting trait, whilst the white flower she holds is essentially the final touch of perfection.
Polyphonica seems to have also dominated the bishoujo space to go with their flawless loli.
Jul 23, 2012 @ 13:30 CDT
This is how you increase reading habits in society.
Jul 23, 2012 @ 21:51 CDT
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