Depictions of hero mecha
Depictions of emotion (anger)
Depictions of emotion (sorrow)
Background mecha design
From amateur to professional–it’s a path that every anime fan dreams of at least once. And here are some seniors who have walked that path. We asked Yutaka Izubuchi, who was very active in Xabungle and Dairugger, about the efforts and mindset necessary to become a professional.
You can’t do design without understanding the story
First of all, I think the reason I’m participating in this lecture is to talk about my work as someone who started out as an anime fan, so let’s begin there.
I have been an anime fan for a long time, and I felt a strong desire to participate in this field. I think it was when I was in high school. I’m sure many of you reading this feel the same way. So, let me talk about my work. I would be happy if you could get a general idea of what a designer-—or a concept artist-—does.
I started with Space Battleship Yamato III and have been working mainly on mecha concepts. Originally, I liked not only anime but also live-action—-especially tokusatsu—-so it was a job that suited my sensibilities. That said, I don’t always know if it will work well. After all, the design has to fit the story to be used.
The battleship shown below is the Arizona from Yamato III, which launched after Yamato to search for the second Earth. At the time, I submitted several other designs, but only one was selected. After all, it’s a story—-and one with strong imagery from Leiji Matsumoto—-so the design has to fit. I think the only way to do that is to study the story well, grasp the flow, and create the imagery. But anyway, Arizona launched on TV. It was a moment of joy for a mecha designer (maybe I’m overreacting?).
Now, when I was a fan, there was something that was extremely helpful in creating the images for that work. It was gathering in a group and drawing lots of original characters. Also, the reason I was able to start on the path to becoming a professional was because the late Tadao Nagahama noticed my work.
Battleship Arizona. Most of the other ships were decided by Katsumi Itabashi.
While considering the details, I sketch out the rough design
The series of design documents featured here are for the new reflection satellite cannon that appeared in Yamato III. Let me talk about the process of completing these.
[1] Start with a sketchbook or the back of a flyer. Think about what kind of mecha with these specifications would be used in this scene of the story, and draw as many sketches as possible. Since it’s a beam cannon, the barrel should have a transparent tip. It should look like an enemy mecha, and it should retain the image of the reflection satellite cannon from Part 1. Many ideas come to mind. [2] As these ideas gradually take shape on paper, I begin to draw in the details with careful attention. At that point, I think about the structure of the mecha, such as where the energy comes from, how it is operated, and the form I see here and there, while drawing. In particular, in the case of this new cannon, since it’s a large mecha that occupies a portion of the planet, I have to set up a huge command room, energy pipes, and the movement of the energy flowing through them.In other words, without a solid SF setting, the design could end up being disjointed.
Figure 1 shows the pipe that delivers energy to the cannon barrel. To make the movement more interesting, the pipe is transparent, allowing the energy flow to be seen.
Figures 2 and 4 show the cannon barrel. I kept the image of the reflection satellite cannon on Pluto from Part 1. However, to give it a new feel, I shortened and rounded the barrel and designed additional components around it.
Figure 3 is the command tower and launch site. The trigger is located here. The transparent cockpit-like windows allow you to see the energy pipes running outside. This should add to the tension at the moment of launch.
Figure 5 is a distant view centered on the cannon barrel. This gives you an overall image of the design.
The true identity of the planet Phantom from Yamato III. I tried to make it look creepy at first glance.
(Figure 1) Energy tube of the new reflection satellite cannon.
(Figure 2) Rearrangement of the design that appeared in Yamato Part 1.
(Figure 3) Command room. The trigger extends from the center.
(Figure 4) Overall view of the energy launch cannon.
(Figure 5) Energy is sent from the energy cannon.