A Kawaii in the right direction

  On my recent escapades through the sea of art known as dA I stumbled upon a gallery that proved to be a treasure trove of inspiration and potential. Much like the Bats up there I'm tailing this Catwoman like there's no tomorrow.

  The artist behind the heart pumping adorable chase above goes by the name...the name...Wait! What do you mean he doesn't have a name...

Unfortunately there isn't much information behind the clever mind who created the cute gland bursting image above. What I can tell you is that he goes by the dA handle "Karioks".

  That's right Karioks...I may not know your real name but I will hunt you down... I swear it O_O

<insert creepy breathing and fierce lighting here>

 Now I first discovered Karioks when I saw the piece above. Fool thought I wouldn't stalk an artist who drew such a stylishly cute Chun-Li. 

WELL HE WAS DAMN WRONG!!! Mistake #1 Karioks!

The piece just put a smile on my face when I saw it. There's nothing mind blowingly amazing about this rendition of Chun-Li. It's just subtle, cute and stylish. Enough to send me on a psycho stalker journey to find the artist responsible.

  I mean just look at how adorable all those girls are. When I saw Supergirl and Morrigan I seriously wanted to smash my face into a jar of jelly beans and snort the glass sugar blood mess that followed. Their expressions are so cheek numbingly great. Really love how timid Poison Ivy looks in between Catwoman and Harley.

Peering through Karioks gallery I found myself as bubbly and giggly as a school girl devouring jelly beans.

When you get to the chemical breakdown of his work you discover that the main ingredient in his smile inducing art is a great understanding of anatomy being smoothed down to simple eye pleasing shapes. I mean are you seeing those ti-knuckles on Morrigan? 

Talk about eye pleasing shapes...

  The ability to simplify things in your work (even in life) is a lesson that can be easily overlooked. It happens to me all the time. However you can see through out his gallery that it's the core of his style which is of course coupled with fantastically kawaii facial expressions.

  

  His color work is de-saturated most of the time through the body of his work. It clearly doesn't take away from the vibrancy of his characters though, it enhances it. Soft and huggable.

  While the majority of Karioks gallery is adorable pinups the work that most inspire me are the few pieces that are like the ones above. Amazing shots that looked ripped from a cartoon or comic strip. Pieces that tell a story.

  Being able to tell a story visually without words is something that I've been really trying to incorporate into my work. It takes artwork to another level and it's clear as day that Karioks has a knack for it. I'd love to see him create more of these.

  I chose to write about Karioks this week because from what I know (which is basically nothing) he seems like an artist still in the early stages of his development. My good pal Sweez had suggested that I write about an artist who showed great potential and he reminded me of Karioks. To shed light on someone who might be overlooked when they clearly have a great set of work to show.

  While I don't know if he's an industry professional or an up an coming kid working his way through school I can recognize the great potential and skill that he's showcasing to the world on dA. I greatly admire his talent.

In conclusion...

  If you're having a hard time drawing or just having a rough day surf on over to Kariok's dA gallery. It's a guaranteed smile and your imaginations will thank me for it :D

Karioks changed his dA icon after I made the images of above CLEARY TO SPITE ME. Click on the angry albino penguin above to visit his dA gallery.

Check out my pal Sweez's dA too, he's got a level of style that will make you understand that you're two banana's short of a pineapple. Click on that wacky little head ;D

And of course if you have a moment stop on by my gallery (Click the cool shark above) and let me know what I can do to incorpate some of Karioks kawaii-ness into my own work. :3

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Eye Candy so sweet it'll rot your brain

  If you know anything about the legendary artist FuShark (He's not even remotely famous) then you'll know how MUCH I LOVE VENOM. It's practically instant stalker status if you paint them.

Seriously...I know where you all live...not creepy at all.

  ANYWAYS the amazing eye melting jaw numbing sugar coated painting above belongs to none other than the master Mike Henry, better known by his dA handle "Zatransis". Born in Sleepy Hollow, IL (Anyone else get chills when they say that?) he's withstood an amazing 7 years within the gaming, comic and animation industries and is apparently "ready to take the fish by the gills and dominate the globe." Statement attained from his bio on his website BIG MENACE INDUSTRIES.

While I applaud world domination I'm simply appalled by his indecent manhandling of aquatic creatures...

For I am part shark.

  Now I've been watching Zatransis for a little over 2 years now ever since I saw his painting "We Are Venom" (Still amazing) and what really chains my eyeballs down to his gallery is his radiant style. His pieces are so phresh that they make you question your own personal swag levels.

  I mean for God's sake he made Dhalsim look cool. In my book that's his GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT. I mean c'mon!!! Dhalsim is SO DAMN LAME BUT LOOK HOW F@!#ing badass he looks up there. He's making Ryu AND Wolverine look like punks. Straight up B@#$hes if you ask me bub.

F@!#ing Dhalsim...

  Now when you have such an amazing cupcake of style on your plate you really gotta take a knife and see what makes that cupcake tick. (Or maybe eat it like a regular person)

We don't have Zatransis's brain on hand BUT we can use his sketches to break down the ingredients...

For now anyways...

  Now under the microscope you can see an incredible blending of organic and inorganic shapes. More square than circle but never quite a rectangle if you know what I mean (I don't even know). Now this fantastic union is baked together with exaggerations that really enhance the flavor of his work. You can see great examples of that on 1.Sagat's back and 2.Dhalsim (F@#!ing Dhalsim...so cool).

Whether it's a bicep, rib cage or luscious ti-...knuckles... this technique really helps him stand out against other cupcakes in the industry.

  Now while I love exaggerated knuckles (tits) as much as the next guy the icing on Zatransis's style is really his EXTRAORDINARY color work. Especially the eyes he paints like the ones above. I've found myself seriously staring at them for almost an hour. They really put a soul to his characters.

  This man has seen the rainbow and swam in it. His vast knowledge of vivid colors and how to make them swirl into a vortex of pure delight is rarely outmatched by many of the artist galleries I've visited over the years. It's a skill that I struggle daily to attain in my own work. I find myself many times seeking his work for this very reason.

 It's ABSOLUTELY my favorite aspect of his work. Although who could resist the icing on a cupcake?

In conclusion...

  If you've got an artistic sweet tooth you need to satisfy or your an artistic glutton like me head on down to Zatransis's dA gallery. Your imaginations will thank me :D

 <- Click on the little bearded fellow and he'll take you to Zatransis's                    

                   dA gallery.

 <- And of course if you have some spare time check out my dA    

                   gallery as well and let me know how I PALE in comparison to                          

                   Zatransis so I may one day defeat him. :3

ALSO...BUY SOME SWEET SHIRTS I DESIGN BY FOLLOWING THE LINK BELOW :D

You know what...those speak for themselves

  Lets start this blog up right this time. How does one get attention and mass followers on the internet you may ask? Well clearly by featuring luscious ti-...beautiful knuckles like the ones above. Yeah. Knuckles.

...

  Nosebleeds aside this incredibly well crafted (arousing) piece was created by none other then the master from Hong Kong Stanley Lau widely known on dA by his handle "Artgerm". He's an industry pro with companies like DC Comics, Square Enix, Capcom and plently more universally acclaimed entertainment studios under his belt. He's also the co-founder and creative director of Imaginary Friends Studios.

Now on to the tits in hand...I mean matter at hand...

boobies...

  To be honest the above painting wasn't the first of Artgerm's work I stumbled upon. I can't actually remember what the first piece was since I've been following the man for several years on dA. I just thought the knuckles (tits) would hook some art enthusiasts (pervs) and reel them into reading my blog.

  This however is the painting that reminded me of Artgerm's incredible talents and why he's an important inspiration in the growth of my personal art. The particular attribute that I fell in love with when I first saw this piece was the lighting. It was so captivating that I fav'd it on dA just because of it...Then I realized how amazing and beautiful Supergirl turned out.

Yes. Lighting gave me an artistic orgasm before a gorgeous render of Supergirl.

Deal with it.

  Now what's so inspiring to me about Artgerm's work is how BEAUTIFUL he makes his women pieces. It's an incredible mixture of a almost photo real quality with a heart pounding sense of style that sends you straight to the hand-sanitizer and kleenex.

  His line work blends so well with the colors you hardly ever notice they are even there. They subtly take you on a journey through the twists and turns of the piece without you ever realizing it. In my personal opinion this feature really defines his style and is something I hope to one day achieve in my own personal work.

  His sense of composition perfectly centers his or trademarked characters. The backdrops create a fantastic stage for them to be shown off with a keen sense of color blending and empowerment. They are simple and entertaining but DO NOT in any way distract from the characters themselves.

But to be fair who wouldn't take their eyes off of knuckles like those?

 He was clearly crafted a mind by god (or whatever higher power gifted us with the female figure) to create such splendid and enticing figures that leave you with zombie jaw for years to come. I've only made one attempt at a pinup and I'm still light years away from crafting muses of wet dreams like master Stanley.

Now ladies I haven't forgotten about yah.

  Artgerm's portfolio is also filled with an immense amount of incredibly well rendered muscle ripply men that will help you tickle your ginies. They as well incorporate every attribute I mentioned earlier, but you know...minus the knuckles. :I

In conclusion...

  Please ladies and gents, do yourselves a favor. Light some candles, find some lotion or a phallic object and take a stroll through Artgerm's dA gallery. Your imaginations will thank me. :D

<- Click on the adorable bear to be whisked away to Artgerm's dA gallery

<- And if you happen to have some spare time, check out mine as well. I'd love to know how you guys feel I can improve to one day reach Artgerm's level. :3