Macross Books

[jvmacross]

[Bolt]

If anyone is interested, this is a great episode covering Takani San and a gallery showing of his works in 2015. His Macross illustrations (and much more) are discussed. It's interesting to hear about Tamiya, Nichimo , Imai ,etc. and how each preserved his works. Some not so good. There's a lot of good info here..!

https://www.macrossworld.com/speakerpodcast-ep-25-talkin-takani/

I was mistaken about Tenjin's 3rd Sortie , he was adamant about interviewing Takani san for his SECOND sortie (not 3rd)  ! And , of course, Tenjin san owns a few of his Macross originals.

[jvmacross]

3 hours ago, Bolt said:

And , of course, Tenjin san owns a few of his Macross originals.

I think I had seen a pic of Tenjin posing with the Takani GBP illustration, which other does he own?

I think he may have won them off of some YJA auctions from a few years back.  I wonder if anyone knows more about how those Takani originals ended up on YJA...

[Bolt]

47 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I think I had seen a pic of Tenjin posing with the Takani GBP illustration, which other does he own?

For sure the GBP Armored Valkyrie. Tenjin has been seen with it. Otherwise, It's definitely supposed by the speaker pod cast crew he owns more. But they don't elaborate. 

 

50 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I think he may have won them off of some YJA auctions from a few years back.  I wonder if anyone knows more about how those Takani originals ended up on YJA...

Not sure, but a clue may reside in the fact that many pieces of Takani's were from private collections . Gwen made it point to mention that. Perhaps someone wanted to cash in on a few..
And yes , he was given line art for Macross and told to paint box art, etc. without much more details.

Images courtesy of the speaker pod cast crew.

He also did art for Xabungle, Gundam, Lens Man, Dunbine and  Omega Boost, Power Dolls and Metal Slug, to name a few !

[jvmacross]

[Shawn]

On the back of one of an 1985 Japanimation magazine, I saw this on the bac. It looks like its a flyer from Arii, regarding their 1984 Summer to December releases. 
The GMP and Galvion art has been seen before on their respective boxes, but that Strike VF-1 Gerwalk is new to these eyeballs
Never seen it before except for this advertisement. There is an amazing amount of detail in the VF-1!

I believe Masami did the HEWAT Lineup (bottom pic..the yellow Skull tends to be his trademark)...but I can't quite tell if this is Masami or Suzuki or another artist.

[Bolt]

Yup. That strike Valkyrie is new to mine eye balls as well. Thanks for dredging that up @Shawn 👍🏼

[jvmacross]

Here is an original Masami illustration covering DYRL style valks...you can check his style and do the art forensics...lol

We need to load all this art by illustrator into AI and have it start spewing out new illustrations "in the style of" Takani....Suzuki....Masami...etc....

[Bolt]

That's an awesome piece there!  You can tell it was done with scant details about skull squadron.

2 hours ago, jvmacross said:

We need to load all this art by illustrator into AI and have it start spewing out new illustrations "in the style of" Takani....Suzuki....Masami...etc....

That would be cool. And kind of sad at the same time. But I'm sure someone is going to do it. 

[Shawn]

I DEFINITELY want to see some AI generated variable fighter concepts...that has some crazy potential.

[Shawn]

What the heck is this in the corner?

[sketchley]

16 hours ago, jvmacross said:

We need to load all this art by illustrator into AI and have it start spewing out new illustrations "in the style of" Takani....Suzuki....Masami...etc....

As an artist, believe you me when I say just say no to AI generated art.

 

14 minutes ago, Shawn said:

What the heck is this in the corner?
 

The Zentradi Heavy Attacker (aka Gorg Ganz Charts) from DYRL: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiAerospace/golggants.php

Edited March 5, 2023 by sketchley

[jvmacross]

12 minutes ago, Shawn said:

What the heck is this in the corner?

[jvmacross]

7 minutes ago, sketchley said:

As an artist, believe you me when I say just say no to AI generated art.

If you mean that the "art" being generated is not that good or original...then yeah....but if you are fearing that original art from "human artists" will go away somehow, then I am not so sure about that....IMO, AI art is no different that fan-art, it's just being created by a machine...like AI generated art, fan-art is taking the original works of say Kawamori and using that as their inspiration for attempting to create something "original" that could exist in the universe that he originally created.....the big fear is that AI will do the same thing and somehow stop new and existing artists from creating new art...However, fan-artists have been copying the "styles" of artists, for example anime/manga artists, for years...and yet we keep getting new anime and manga styles all the time from new artists that develop all-new styles....

All AI will do is force artists to up their game or perhaps they can use it to inspire the quick evolution of their current art style.......think of how Mikimoto has evolved his "style" from the original SDFM....his current "style" which was introduced for Macross the First, is similar but significantly different from how he originally started drawing these same characters decades ago...will AI be able to do this or do this faster?  Will AI be able to "evolve" the style of art that it has copied to begin with and come up with something that looks sufficiently different from the source material?  I have not heard of it doing that yet.....of course, if AI becomes sentient....all bets are off! LOL

[sketchley]

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

If you mean that the "art" being generated is not that good or original...then yeah....but if you are fearing that original art from "human artists" will go away somehow, then I am not so sure about that....IMO, AI art is no different that fan-art, it's just being created by a machine...like AI generated art, fan-art is taking the original works of say Kawamori and using that as their inspiration for attempting to create something "original" that could exist in the universe that he originally created.....the big fear is that AI will do the same thing and somehow stop new and existing artists from creating new art...However, fan-artists have been copying the "styles" of artists, for example anime/manga artists, for years...and yet we keep getting new anime and manga styles all the time from new artists that develop all-new styles....

All AI will do is force artists to up their game or perhaps they can use it to inspire the quick evolution of their current art style.......think of how Mikimoto has evolved his "style" from the original SDFM....his current "style" which was introduced for Macross the First, is similar but significantly different from how he originally started drawing these same characters decades ago...will AI be able to do this or do this faster?  Will AI be able to "evolve" the style of art that it has copied to begin with and come up with something that looks sufficiently different from the source material?  I have not heard of it doing that yet.....of course, if AI becomes sentient....all bets are off! LOL

I do not want to derail this topic, so I'll keep it short:

The problem with AI art is the dubious means used to acquire the art database(s) the AI were trained on.  The vast majority was "scraped" from the internet, and violates copyright, on top of not having asked the individual artists for permission to be included in said database(s).

It should also be noted that some artists have been fired (or otherwise lost their job) because of the advent of AI generated art.  The issue was not whether the artist was good enough (i.e. at the top of their game), but the quantity produced for the cost.

Truly AI produced art per se is not disagreeable.  However, the current incarnation is violating artists' rights, causing detrimental harm to artists, and like an ingrown toenail—based only on what it is trained on, and not able to evolve beyond that.

 

So, while it would be nice to see more Masami (et al)-style Macross art, can we ask Masami-san (and the others) permission to do that?  Can we get permission from Macross's copyright holders to use their IP in this way?

[jvmacross]

3 hours ago, sketchley said:

I do not want to derail this topic, so I'll keep it short:

The problem with AI art is the dubious means used to acquire the art database(s) the AI were trained on.  The vast majority was "scraped" from the internet, and violates copyright, on top of not having asked the individual artists for permission to be included in said database(s).

It should also be noted that some artists have been fired (or otherwise lost their job) because of the advent of AI generated art.  The issue was not whether the artist was good enough (i.e. at the top of their game), but the quantity produced for the cost.

Truly AI produced art per se is not disagreeable.  However, the current incarnation is violating artists' rights, causing detrimental harm to artists, and like an ingrown toenail—based only on what it is trained on, and not able to evolve beyond that.

 

So, while it would be nice to see more Masami (et al)-style Macross art, can we ask Masami-san (and the others) permission to do that?  Can we get permission from Macross's copyright holders to use their IP in this way?

Do folks who do fan-art and fan-fiction ask the IP holders for permission?  Do folks that produce other things like limited kits or 3D renders for 3D printers ask the IP holders for permission?

The majority of the time the answer would be....rarely at best.

Again, not sure why AI doing the "violating of artists rights" is any different than when "human" artists do it?

I do not think AI threatens "real" artists in any way.  Will some artists lose their job due to AI....sure, and apparently some already have.  But, that happens all the time when new technology becomes available.  Artists shouldn't feel that they are more entitled to have their field more protected than say librarians,  production line workers or fast food employees...all whose fields have been affected by technology...internet, robotics, automation, etc.

Progress always brings about winners and losers....welcome to what some may consider the dark side of capitalism.

 

[sketchley]

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

Do folks who do fan-art and fan-fiction ask the IP holders for permission?  Do folks that produce other things like limited kits or 3D renders for 3D printers ask the IP holders for permission?

The majority of the time the answer would be....rarely at best.

Again, not sure why AI doing the "violating of artists rights" is any different than when "human" artists do it?

I do not think AI threatens "real" artists in any way.  Will some artists lose their job due to AI....sure, and apparently some already have.  But, that happens all the time when new technology becomes available.  Artists shouldn't feel that they are more entitled to have their field more protected than say librarians,  production line workers or fast food employees...all whose fields have been affected by technology...internet, robotics, automation, etc.

Progress always brings about winners and losers....welcome to what some may consider the dark side of capitalism.

 

Fan art and other derivative work (i.e. 3D renders) is fundamentally different from an illegally acquired database of artwork used to train the AI.

 

Nevertheless, the finished works of both fall afoul of copyright law—both the moral rights and the economic rights of the copyright holders: https://www.cric.or.jp/english/clj/ocl.html

If I'm not mistaken, fan-art falls under derivative works, and one reason it is tolerated is that it generally doesn't compete in the market with the original works and doesn't damage the original creators' profits.

[Shawn]

I just wanted to see some crazy interpretations like Fast Pack Boosters becoming the feet, and the valkyries engines nozzles turning into hand clamps.
This is what I'd imagine an AI art generated piece might look like (sorry Suzuki...Imai made you do some weird stuff sometimes LOL)

Totally understand the additional considerations needed of new tech applied to other types of work, didn't mean it in that way.
We can return back to our escape from reality here and talk about planes and robots again

 

[Bolt]

8 minutes ago, Shawn said:

I just wanted to see some crazy interpretations like Fast Pack Boosters becoming the feet, and the valkyries engines nozzles turning into hand clamps.
This is what I'd imagine an AI art generated piece might look like (sorry Suzuki...Imai made you do some weird stuff sometimes LOL)

Totally understand the additional considerations needed of new tech applied to other types of work, didn't mean it in that way.
We can return back to our escape from reality here and talk about planes and robots again

 

That is cool ! We need a variable F-4 ! But the art will suffice. That clamp hand gives it the pirate with a hook for a hand look. 

[jvmacross]

5 hours ago, sketchley said:

Fan art and other derivative work (i.e. 3D renders) is fundamentally different from an illegally acquired database of artwork used to train the AI.

 

Nevertheless, the finished works of both fall afoul of copyright law—both the moral rights and the economic rights of the copyright holders: https://www.cric.or.jp/english/clj/ocl.html

If I'm not mistaken, fan-art falls under derivative works, and one reason it is tolerated is that it generally doesn't compete in the market with the original works and doesn't damage the original creators' profits.

I assume you must view yourself as an "artist" so your viewpoint is understandable...still, there is no difference to how current fan-artists take IP and try to develop it into something "new"....as I said before, new technology forces us all, especially those directly affected by newly introduced technology, to adapt to it and, in terms of the market, to either embrace it or let it fizzle out like a VHD player.....so unless you fear that AI will someday be able to adapt at "human" levels, then there is nothing to worry about or feel that this situation is any different or more worthy of protections than other past situations where technology innovations have been introduced that have both positive and negative consequences to different groups...

[sh9000]

Robot Hobby Life # 002.

[jvmacross]

Yes...let's do that!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/4049150271?psc=1&smid=AN1VRQENFRJN5&ref_=chk_typ_quicklook_titleToDp

Edited April 20, 2023 by jvmacross

[Shawn]

Another Macross modeling article, sold! Thanks for the link

 

[jvmacross]

👍

[sh9000]

[jvmacross]

The colors on the Super VF-1A look pretty nice...

[jvmacross]

Robot Hobby Life 002 Mook.....featuring plenty of Macross custom kits....

Let's enjoy Macross for Life! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Swann]

On 4/9/2022 at 11:12 AM, jvmacross said:

Macross Delta Zettai Live!!!!!! Movie Program Book....

I'm a Sheryl Nome "junkie".

[jvmacross]

Minmay...the original songstress of the galaxy.....accept no imitations! 

 

[Swann]

On 4/27/2023 at 6:30 AM, jvmacross said:

Minmay...the original songstress of the galaxy.....accept no imitations! 

 

I know JV. She is the queen and no one takes her spot. While Sheryl Nome just shakes her bunny tail. Only thing Sheryl could do;

[Bub]

On 4/27/2023 at 7:46 AM, jvmacross said:

Robot Hobby Life 002 Mook.....featuring plenty of Macross custom kits....

Let's enjoy Macross for Life! 

 

 

 

 

 

Took these pictures 2 weeks ago at the largest Yodobashi store:

 

[Bolt]

From the man himself. Tenjin san is preparing another North American Art book.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJlKANS2MD/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
 

[jvmacross]

4 hours ago, Bolt said:

From the man himself. Tenjin san is preparing another North American Art book.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJlKANS2MD/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
 

yep.... @sh9000 posted the upcoming book back in February....I'll get it once it gets discounted like the previous book...mostly reprints from the sorties books and Macross Chronicle mags.....

https://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/29133-macross-books/?do=findComment&comment=1653658

 

[sh9000]

9 hours ago, Bolt said:

From the man himself. Tenjin san is preparing another North American Art book.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJlKANS2MD/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
 

 

4 hours ago, jvmacross said:

yep.... @sh9000 posted the upcoming book back in February....I'll get it once it gets discounted like the previous book...mostly reprints from the sorties books and Macross Chronicle mags.....

https://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/29133-macross-books/?do=findComment&comment=1653658

 

Looking good.  Can't wait to get the book.

[Shawn]

Pre-Ordered a couple from Amazon US...1 week to go!

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1772942502