Phoenix Gallery Update

[theultimatebrucelee]

I second sensei. Sorry to hear about your vacation experience turning out this way. Now that the ill fortune subsided perhaps some positive changes would follow to balance things out. And its great to hear that there was already a new position lined up for you.

Nice to know that you already made awesome investment on the amazing Yurika ending cel, I'm sure any person would be thrilled to know that their investment made out of sentimental value is also backed up by great monetary value, definitely ideal situation to be in for collector of this art form.

I wish you a speedy recovery process and am looking forward to your future update!

[Quacker]

G'day everyone,
I am ashamed to admit that it has been quite some time since my last full proper update. Over the weekend, despite some distractions & delays I was able to get a start on the awaiting pile of artwork pieces calling out to be scanned & uploaded. I am both excited & proud to share with you all some truly beautiful, original pieces from my favourite series, some of which were drawn by my favourite artists.

First up is one I consider a genuinely beautiful piece in which you may recognise from this year's sketch 'competition'. In fear of delving into unwanted ** Spoiler ** territory for those not overly familiar with & ruining the "Rahxephon" story, the enigmatic Reika is a character that is meant to convey beauty & desire.
Reika genga
I was also fortunate enough to have this genga signed by Toshihiro Kawamoto who was one of the original creators of Studio BONES, the studio responsible for the "Rahxephon" production.

Next is another fantastic close-up shot of the TERRA commander.
Jin Kunugi douga
I am in awe how, for such a 'simple' drawing, how much emotion the artist was able to impart into their work - the eyes especially are very expressive. This character is portrayed as the 'tough as nails', no nonsense & take no crap type of leader, someone you would not readily disobey - which I believe this picture emulates superbly.

This next piece represents a Very large genga of the enemy Dolem named 'Forzando'. The genga itself approximately 80cm long (and slightly longer/higher than the 'average' genga page) and because my scanner is only slightly above A4 size, the uploaded image took me just over 2hrs to get the whole genga uploaded onto the gallery website and share with anyone who wishes to see it.
Dolem 'Forzando'
Despite the length of time spent getting it ready to upload, it was an enjoyable experience. Learning to "edit/join" images using the Apple 'preview' function, finally taking three separate edits and a heap of fine-tuning adjustments in order to join together the resulting image now available in the online collection. Sure, it is not 100% perfect, but I much prefer this end result instead of having only one-third visible in the gallery with whole sections cut-off and missing.

Another new character added to my collection is this Layout depicting Haruka's younger sister, Megumi Shitow, the series' "tsundere" character.
Megumi Shitow layout
A little factoid I actually was not aware of until I started researching for this update is that the Seiyuu for Megumi, the immensely talented & popular Ayako Kawasumi, also gives voice to my current geek-crush 'Saber' from F/SN franchise! Awesome!!

And it would not be a proper "Rahxephon" update unless there was at least one Quon item included within the mix!
Another piece that participated in this year's sketch competition - she took out 1st place for the "Accessory" category, something of which I am very grateful for.
Putting that to one side, it represents another fantastic piece of artwork from a group of dedicated & hugely talented artists.
Quon
One needs to see the finished animated sequence these pieces belong to in order to fully appreciate how lovingly detailed the artists were, mimicking the natural movements of a violinist.

Last but certainly not the least, is this Great somber layout of Hiroko as she contemplates her memories & feelings.
Hiroko Asahini layout

Of course, I have to have at least one new "Escaflowne" item to share. And what an item!
A complete cel + original the background as well as the original layout from "THE" Bridge scene involving Hitomi & Allen.
"Altering Fate"

This is an awesome find as "The Bridge scene" is quite memorable for those who enjoyed the series. At the same time, that one scene singularly pushed up Allen's popularity with some while for other's it plummeted (especially among 'Team Van' viewers!).
Just as equally exciting to acquire was the original layout, drawn by the Episode Director Hiroki Kanno where there are some huge differences between the initial layout compared to the finished production cel (Allen's clothes for one & the position he is holding Hitomi).

I still have an absolutely massive pile of scans & uploads to work through which I aim to work through over the coming weeks.

As always, I hope you enjoy the scans & find the research informative yet interesting and of course if you have any feedback, just let me know either via PM or the RS feedback function.

[sensei]

This is certainly an eyeful and an interesting exploration through your very careful commentary, which I find essential with RahXephon. Your enthusiasm for the art certainly is well founded, as your taking a first for your fiddling Quon. I personally find your sinister Jin Kunugi very impressive as a sketch, a good illustration of how squinty eyes can be fully as effective as big saucer-sized eyes. And of course your Esca set-up is a very important acquisition, especially given the way you explain its importance in the overall story arc.

Good to see your new pretties starting to go up: here's hope that your scanning and describing go smoothly through your "massive pile" of new treasures.

[cutiebunny]

I'm glad to see that you got a chance to update your gallery and the Escaflowne stuff is really nice. I like the new additions. Did Kawamoto say anything when you showed him the production artwork? I hope he was impressed.

[KinoLRB]

I always look forward to your updates, Quacker. Each piece is a gem. Your new Esca cel is achingly beautiful, and your Rahxephon additions, Quon in particular, are exquisite highlights. I can't wait to see the rest of your updates. Keep 'em coming!

[Quacker]

Thank-you everyone for the positive feedback & PMs. I am sorry I did not put up anything new over the last weekend, admittedly I was feeling a bit under the weather so concentrated on resting up.

It seems you are not alone Sensei - out of all the new 'Rahxephon' additions, the Jin sketch currently shows 70+ views followed by the Hiroko dougas/layout sitting around 50 with the remainder around the 40 & 30 view mark (but the new 'Escaflowne' is racing ahead with 110+ views!?). Usually it is the girls, Reika & Quon, that seem to attract the hits, but squinty eyes appear to have won out for this round.

I'm glad to see that you got a chance to update your gallery and the Escaflowne stuff is really nice. I like the new additions. Did Kawamoto say anything when you showed him the production artwork? I hope he was impressed.

Thanks CB I think he may have been in one of his notorious 'grumpy' moods you had warned me about, but after signing nothing more than blank pieces of paper & the occasional DVD cover he was visibly surprised when I passed across the Mishima genga to him. 'Rahxephon' was not a series he exclusively work on production-wise, but he was involved behind the scenes. He did say something as he was signing which his translator missed & ask to restate. Through the translator he asked where I got the Genga from & if I had anymore - unfortunately, this was the same convention as Kotono-san so was being ushered aside by the Secret-service agents even as he was signing the genga!

I always look forward to your updates, Quacker. Each piece is a gem. Your new Esca cel is achingly beautiful, and your Rahxephon additions, Quon in particular, are exquisite highlights. I can't wait to see the rest of your updates. Keep 'em coming!

Thank-you so much Kino. Your statement is like a vindication. I do not believe in the 'black-hole collection' methodology, instead of an item getting sucked up & disappear either entirely or at least until the next over-priced auction a few years down the track I prefer sharing what I collect & making it available to anyone who may be interested.

[Quacker]

I have been threatening for a little while now to start conquering my on "pile of shame" which I am ashamed to confess contains 18+ months of purchases & acquisitions. Friends & fellow A-B-ians who correspond with me outside of the A-B forums will know of my recent employment 'issues' - but for those unaware, the last Firm I worked for nearly went belly-up so Senior Management decided to basically make all but six of the most Senior Advisors redundant back in late April. Since then I have been actively searching for a 'Full-time' position, not a contract role which seems to be the current trend - and it has been tough!
One potential role I applied for had a total of eight separate stages to progress through and at the end of the 8th stage is when you are informed if you are hired or not - after 5weeks I had made it all the way through to the 7th stage and was waiting on an official time & day for the 8th stage. I received a call just after 17:30 on a Friday afternoon from their HR Manager informing me that they had decided not to continue on with the 8th & final stage for the current candidates because they had already filled the position by an "internal applicant"?!
Working the one or two-day contract job (data entry, trade booking etc.) plus the occasional bar shift at a mates' pub to generate a weekly income flow helped supplement the payments/distributions received from the Investment Business & property development portfolios - but concentrating on finding a full-time took up most of my time. The hard work was not in vain as two weeks ago I received an Offer from a Nasdaq-listed Finance & Tech. firm which I readily accepted & today was my first day! lol I am buggered, my brain has expanded to its maximum size I believe, what with all of today's info-dumps & training, once I finish here I plan on heading straight to bed! I spent the majority of last week trying to relax & prepare myself for this new role; also figured it would be a good time to at least get a start on reducing my "Pile of Shame". Some of you may have noticed some updates getting posted up into my R-Slug gallery.
Below is a complete run-down of what I was able to upload over the week:

The first is a brand new section and is a new personal favourite series - "Kara no Kyoukai - The Garden of Sinners". A series of movies released from 2007 to 2009 by Ufotable (Fate/Zero, the currently airing "God Eaters", Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works series) which are based upon novels by Kinoko Nasu & illustrations by Takashi Takeuchi, the two otherwise known as "Type-Moon" or "Notes Inc." and the same creators behind the "Fate/Stay Night" franchise & "Tsukihime".
Signed Limited Edition Shiki portrait

Speaking of "Fate/Stay Night" I have been extremely fortunate to acquire some Original Production art for both the Studio DEEN 2006 series as well as their later 2010 movie production of "F/SN: Unlimited Blade Works". The 2006 series has not aged well, especially when compared with the two recent Ufotable productions of both "Fate/Zero" & their own version of "Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works" but back then it was still hugely popular and it did contribute to building the success that the Fate franchise now enjoys today. Original production art is heavily sort & fierce bidding ensues when some do find their way to the open market, so I am excited to share these:
"Fate/Stay Night 2006 series:
Opening Credit: Saber

Opening Credit: Rin

Saber

Assassin rough layout

Assassin rough genga

"Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works" 2010 movie:

Rin

Sakura Matou

Of course it would not be a complete update without either some "Nadesico" or "Vision of Escaflowne" cels to share. At this time, I have uploaded a handful of "Nadesico" Opening Credit cels. Each of these came from the same collector, which means each one unfortunately were not that well maintained so had to do some tidying and repairing. The corresponding genga were also completely stuck and could only 'rescue' two of them.

Opening Credit: Akito

Opening Credit: Aestivalis
(Shared favourite along with the Yurika OP cel below).

Opening Credit: Ryoko's Aestivalis

Opening Credit: Yurika
('Wishlist' and shared favourite)

On the "Escaflowne" front, I was able to upload some truly beautiful pieces of art! Each item (for a change) came with all of their corresponding production work, thus making a 'complete package' for each cel - so not only the were the cels, their layers and the original matching background (or foreground in some instances) but also the initial layout, rough layout, changes, rough genga, genga, directorial instructions/changes/'suggestions' etc. Where I could, I included what I thought were the most relevant additional images to complement the main image (but thinking of sharing all of the initial production work in a new separate section?). The backgrounds on these cels are simply stunning and in some instances deserve a separate section of their own in order to properly show & share them. But as it is, I had to take multiple scans of each large cel then spend time trying to 'piece' them together to form a suitable complete image without any choppiness.

My favourite of the new additions - a large cel depicting Hitomi reading on the Escaflowne:

Hitomi guiding the Escaflowne

Hitomi

Hitomi gazing up at the Mystic Moon

Jajuka!

Unfortunately I still do have many more items needing to be scanned, but at this stage my time will be focussed upon training up in the new job plus finishing the "Open House" feedback.

[frozentime]

Wow, stunning Escaflowne and Nadesico additions!! I can still picture almost every one of those sequences in my mind, even though it has been a while since watching. Congratulations!

[cutiebunny]

I'm glad to hear that the new job is working out for you, even if they're cramming you with more information than you can process right now. I'm sure you'll do well!

I'm glad you were able to get some of the Fate production artwork that has been floating around on YJ every couple of weeks. The OP Rin and Saber sketches are really lovely.

[sensei]

I certainly owe you a PM, but I'll briefly say that I'm overjoyed that your employment situation has improved for the better. Someone with your energy and persistence (shown amply in your gallery and your updates) deserves a top-flight position with a firm that knows well what solid work you are going to do for them.

But I too have had a pretty busy summer (radical prostatectomy ) followed by a hectic prep. for classes (my first 3-days-a-week classroom class in years). But even a too-quick roll through your gallery yields some nice treasures. I could look at this wonderful background for an hour and still notice new details. The shadows through the barred window are especially nice. And your Kara no Kyoukai piece is also a delightful, eyeworthy feminine image. Dunno how many folks "wake up normally and still need to get ready for the day ahead just like the rest of us" and still manage bodicious sexuality anyhow. But it's nice to think it might still be possible...

More when I get to your open house feedback...

[JustVan]

Loving the Escaflowne cels. Saw them on RS before even seeing them here. Really beautiful pieces with excellent BGs. Can I ask your source? I've been keeping my eye on the regular places (Mandarake/YJ/eBay) and haven't seen anything like these. Private collection?

[teggacat]

well first off, all the best on your new position, after reading your posts for
the last several years I am certain you will become a valuable asset to your new company,
as far as your updates, Magnificent!
I do always check out your new goodies when I
see it on the RS gallery update page,
Thanks For Sharing and
Best to you on your new adventure!

[KinoLRB]

Wow! Congratulations on your new job, Quacker, and I'm impressed that you found the time to update amidst all the busyness. I love your Escaflowne and Nadesico additions, particularly the Hitomi guiding the Escaflowne and the Akita opening credit (the angle is interesting), and of course your descriptions are as lovely and engaging as always.