Ash Thorp's Amazing Akira Tribute Pieces

(Via)

Ash Thorp is a little of everything, a veritable visual jack of all trades: An illustrator, art director, concept artist, motion designer, interface artist, graphic artist - The result of working in the highly competitive field of cinematic visual design, where versatility amounts to steady employment. Initially getting his foot in the door as a motion designer, the knowledge gleaned there helped him build a career in film, contributing to high profile projects like Xmen: First Class, Thor, Iron Man, Total Recall and more.



However, Thorp recently turned his attention to paying tribute to the anime that began a revolution when it came out; Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, a movie that introduced millions of people to the cultural phenomenon of anime with it's hyperviolent, beautifully animated visuals. Down to the lineart, colors and presentation style, he absolutely nailed it with his take on Tetsuo and the light cycle driving renegade, Kaneda (After the break). Following the release of the illustrations, Thorp also collaborated with the Wisconson based motion designer John Fischer to create a sample motion comic of one of his earlier sketches.

With plans to render out more of the cast in this manner (With a Clown Biker in progress), I'm simply hoping that these illustrations will eventually come out in print form. Check out his take on Kaneda after the break!