Cool!

You've been calling these 'warm ups'. May I ask, roughly how long does a 'warm up' picture take to complete?

Ah yis, Ghost in the Shell vibes over here

Immediatly thought about Mamoru Oshii's "Tenshi no Tamago", for a scene he included again in his version of "Ghost in the Shell"...

Too bad he managed to screw up every name (and their position on the tree) shown.

Check it. It's so bad it's hilarious.

In Tenshi no Tamaho or GITS? Anyway, this may not be mistakes - first, japanese got their own, phonetical way to transcript back into English names that have been katakana-ized - they don't have any problem with that but for us the result can be quite weird. Second, knowing Oshii, I doubt he made any "mistake" in placing those names, I am rather convinced it has to do with his own obsessions and ways to see the world. And I am also rather sure the way he placed them has some special signification within his version of GITS too.

When Mamoru Oshii does strange things, just ask yourself what is it he wanted to tell us. It always got a special meaning, but that's just like Kubrick, you have to know the guy a little to be able to decipher some of his crypted messages. There are several layers of reading his works, above all when they are this personal.

I don't know... Putting names of fishes (and a big mix: species, genus, families...) all over the tree in every tag with just "hominis" on top doesn't look much like any encryption... Unless it's something like "us human are just fishes", and even then, it's a bit lazy...

Oh it is, believe me, especially with fishes - it is one of the five main symbols Mamoru Oshii almost always use. Tenshi no Tamago, TwilightQ 2, Ghost in the Shell are the main titles from him using this specific symbol. The four others are dogs (especially Gabriel, his hound basset), birds, little girls and tanks.
You can trust me, I've been an admirer of his works for almost three decades, and the french magazine I have worked for for half of my life allowed me to interview him while he was in Paris a long time ago. This tree of evolution is absolutely no mistake at all.

Has a very 'this war of mine' vibe to it.

Oooh, that's neat!

Very cool. Like others have said, this totally has GitS vibes from the big finale battle. Good stuff!

have you ever considered offering prints of these? or high res files so we can make prints ourselves (sometimes better for both parties, considering shipping costs). Because, frankly, i'd buy some of your "warm ups" and hang them on my walls :)

Also, just noticed there are branches, but there are also roots in this tree... this makes me very curious about what it is really about, if we don't make any interpretation mistake by thinking it's an evolution tree, but if it is... Then I am as stunned as the soldier here. A lot more questions arise from this pic now - who, what, where, when..............

Excellent handling of the lighting. You could cut the tension with a knife.

Daaaamn . . .

<--- You are here!


You are suppose to be, here! --->
"Gee, thanks..."

neat

Espionage Mercs storming a DNA genealogy company to seize those millions of surrendered sequences...

Geneology or a diatribe of points that relate to a consensus of understanding? From the roots of the ideology to the basis and support, then all the branches of varied placement of secondary points along the same first point supporting the idea in practical terms and course of actions to follow to the planned outcome?

Kind of the method used by an artist from an idea for a drawing to the actual completed work. :)

These are fun to figure out. The artwork is poignant and thought-provoking to provide upon the theme of the reason for each one. Or you play a lot of Starcraft.