Nor can the requests for more versions of the big lizard.
The studio asked to see how I would draw Godzilla, and my first reaction was to stare blindly into the sun. What? Seriously. WHAT?! I’ve spent hours, days, trying to get the Godzilla I’d been drawing to look like specific versions from film and animation, without just looking like a photo tracing. My version? I want to draw the one I enjoy as a fan! Sure, depending on the type of story, it may shift from alligator-zila, to puppy dog eyes, or one of the other film variations; but still!
I was floored, and had no ideas, so I searched for other artist’s versions of the big G. Most seem to fall into previously mentioned categories of massive amounts detail (which would make a monthly book a nightmare), minimal use of texture (as I had done already), or the more current solution of ink thrown all over the page to look extreme! When anyone does that, all I think of is the WB update of Looney Tunes called “Loonatics Unleashed”. I won’t post a link (because it’s not safe for kids to see), but if you’re an adult, track down the “extreme” fan parody cartoon about Loonatics; then you’ll really know how I feel about it.
Anyway, I decided to emphasize stuff I thought about G when I was as a kid; mainly that I thought he was made of rock. Odds are, my brain was mixing stuff up, probably old Daimajin and Godzilla reruns. Problem is, drawing rocks and how I had been rendering him, were pretty much the same. How to draw stone differently? Hmmm, what rock comic characters are there? The Thing, but that’s the Arthur Adams look when you thing about it- see what I did there? Then I remembered Paul Chadwick’s Concrete! That made me decide to go with a more graphic approach, as if the book was a collection of Ukiyo-e prints.
Lastly, I always liked it when Gojira was more athletic… jumping around, and land surfing on his tail. The plan was to give him more animated movements/poses, which a few are seen here, but you’ll see more of this second point in future posts. 