Mothra

7/30/16
This original piece was done for a show at 'Creature Features', in Burbank California as part of their "All Art Attack: 2" group show paying homage to Godzilla and the many Kaiju that exist in the genre.  For my piece I decided to choose 'Mothra' as my subject matter, primarily because at the time she was the only female Kaiju, and her background has always fascinated me.  I decided early one I was going to encompass my illustration within the shape of Mothra, but I wasn't entirely sure what it was going to be of.  I rewatched the original 1961 film, jotted down my ideas (and what resonated with me from the film), and began to sketch something out.  I knew instantly that I wanted to include the 'Shobijin' (twin fairies), and also other parts of Mothra's origin, or evolution.  Initially I wanted to capture the likeness of the original actresses who played the Shobijin in the movie, but it proved elusive, and after many attempts, I decided that I should instead create my own original vision instead of a reproduction.  This however, also created another challenge.  How did I want to depict the twins, and to what extent did I want to remain true to the vision of the film.  My biggest issue was, I didn't want to westernize them, nor did I want them to appear as Asian caricatures.  As I worked on their likeness I opted (or tried), to depict them as more Polynesian, since their fictional island (Infant or Mothra Island), was presumptuously located in Polynesia. The piece is entirely digital, with the framed shape of Mothra having been created in Illustrator, and the illustrative work done in Painter, with some adjustments made in Photoshop.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
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 Mothra