The Art Of Lionel Yamasaki

(Via)

Lionel Yamasaki (ライオネル山崎) is a relatively new artist that I stumbled into during our hunt for fresh talent to feature, and I liked his work so much that despite seemingly only having 3 images online, I tracked down his Twitter to dig up some more work he hadn't shared elsewhere.

What I appreciate about Yamasaki's work is that he reminds me of an early Masashi Kishimoto (Creator of Naruto), who had a similar penchant for mixing diverse thematic elements into something altogether new when he was still in the early stages of working on the manga. Those similar vibes are differentiated by throwing a layer of pieced together scifi on top of his pieces, resulting in some truly fun pieces like the 'feudal-punk' bunny rider above. Keep an eye out for this artist and check out more of his unique illustration work after the break!

Kuchao - A Gum Boy

Tokyo University of the Arts grad Masaki Okuda (now Montreal based) created this insanely unique animated short as his first-year film back in 2010.  With a distinctive art style, the story of Kuchao, or, a Gum Boy, is about a loner little boy.  The animation is slightly jarring at first, with it's shakiness that made me wonder if I was seeing things (or gonna have a seizure or migraine), but it's style and sing-songy narration kept me going.  Within the plot, I felt that little Kuchao's situation is one we've all been in at some point: the lone kid in a world all their own.

Martin Klimas' Porcelain Fighters

(Via)

Created by dropping Chinese porcelain figures from a height of 3meters (approx. 10 feet) and a high speed camera to greet them at the bottom, German photographer Martin Klimas captured some truly spectacular explosions of lacquered porcelain, with statues of Shaolin fighters frozen in a state of dismembering combat.

As Martin put it: 'The porcelain statuette bursting into pieces isn't really what captures the attention, the fascination lies in the genesis of a dynamic figure that replaces the static pose.' These 'temporary' statues capture the birth of a dynamic sculpture from figures stuck in an otherwise static pose, which makes the concept behind this set truly unique. Check out more from the photographer after the break!

PENDULUM

Despite thinking that this was yet another clever ad for an upcoming Tekken title, it turns out that Tekken is actually the name of a TV talent with a love for animation. Its kind of odd, because after double checking, there's no other Japanese definitions for Tekken other than 'Iron Fist.' Oh well.

Pendulum is a 1,038 frame short with a unique them centered around a pendulum, which acts as both a framing device and means of narrating the passage of time. Its a heartfelt story, mainly centered around the ups and downs of two lovers over the course of their lives set to Muse's Exogenesis Symphony Part 3.

The Awesome Toy Designs Of ManiZamani

A Fairy Tale In The Sky (Via)

Mani Zamani is a Swedish toy designer with a knack for creating some really cool toy prototypes, especially of the transforming and highly articulated variety. I found an image of his work while researching another article and tracked it back to his blog, which was full of some really creative, nicely designed toys that channeled the works of Moebius and even Hayao Miyazaki.

 If this man had a chance to design a toy line that would go into production, I'd be first in line to pick these up. I'd keep an eye out for this guy, because I do feel that he's going to have his big break sometime soon. Check out a few more samples from his portfolio after the break!

AJ Fosik's Beer Sweaters

The holy grail of high level hipsters. (Via)

Remember AJ Fosik, the guy behind those amazing wooden sculptures we featured a week back? Well guess what? Turns out that he's also spent quite a bit of time collecting and rescuing some truly one of a kind sweaters from the 70's and 80's, with a very common theme. Check out 7 more knitted blasts from the past after the break!

TORIGUN: Birds Of War

The Robins are a very passionate, fiery and warmongering tribe. (Via)

This series of awesome illustrations was created by a Japanese artist who goes by the alias of 'Sato.' The idea was simple: If each bird species represented a country, what would their military garb look like? His execution of the idea turned out awesome, with each bird wearing a very distinct flavor of outfit to complement their colors, shape and demeanor. Check out 10 more examples from the Torigun series after the break!

Steampunk Ironman Is One Of A Kind

Indie sculptor and kitbasher Jonathan Kriscak just put this awesome, one of a kind steampunk Ironman on eBay.  The piece represents an exploration of what a Victorian era Tony Stark would have come up with, and this beast would be hand forged of materials from the era.  Copper, steel, and brass.

Instead of an arc reactor, this Iron Man features a chest full of light up combustion engine to power the mechanical monstrosity. As of when this was posted, the figure is currently up to a $350 bid..So if you're a fan of Ironman and have some cash to spare, go for it.  Kickass.  A ton of images and closeups of the figure after the jump!