BORINGNATION

Hello MFC!
So I was thinking of things to write about, and since I'm waiting on some things for one I'm writing (Testing an urban legend about haunted dolls >:D) I thought it'd probably be cool to share some of my favorite artists and show the works that inspire me personally, and explain why I like them so much! I myself have been getting out of an artistic slump, and there's nothing more fun and inspiring than looking at the creations of others!
To start off, I'll share information about one of my favorite sculptors, Guramani.

Guramani is a sculptor who creates really interesting and (to me) cute garage kits!! Mostly they feel like little artifacts from another world. They're lonely, mechanical, playful, a bit eerie. Built from rigid forms, each piece has its own personality, often contrasting cold machinery with the warmth of character. For me, I've always been fond of strange creatures, as well as geometry, like weird buildings and generally speaking, I also really love large sculptures as well. These wouldn't be out of place if they were in a museum, they have a crisp, impressive and professional feeling.

I wonder why I think strange things are so cute? Maybe I just think everything is cute? Kinda optimistic if you think about it. But anyway...

The first one I'll discuss is the Camera Lizard/Camera Tokage. It's so cute!! it makes me think of some kind of surveillance state dystopian future, where lizards could act as living cameras, scampering around... Its squatted posture and simple shape make it immediately endearing, yet its camera lens head reframes it as a living surveillance device.

Next is King Lear. Guramani said "I tried to create something based on the king from Shakespeare's "King Lear." For some reason, it's a goat."
The makeshift wire crown transforms it into a fallen king, minimalist but evoking the emotional decay and loneliness central in King Lear, which is a tragedy written by Shakespeare in late 1605 or early 1606.

Set in pre-Roman Britain, the play depicts the consequences of King Lear's love-test, in which he divides his power and land according to the praise of his daughters. The play is known for its dark tone, complex poetry, and prominent motifs concerning blindness, madness and human nature.

A goat works pretty well, they're very stubborn animals, as well as biblical and old-world. After losing everything, the king goat wanders the world alone... you can also see that it's eyeless.

I found art Guramani did of it in 2012, too! Their 2d work is good as well!

Next is Raijin!! Man, this is seriously one of my favorites, it's just too cool!!

Compared to the cleaner geometric sculpts, this one feels like a feral creature. The long limbs and crouched pose make it look like it could spring forward at any second! I really like this paint sample variant in specific too. The pale bluish body with those bruised purples and reds makes it feel almost corpse-like, but still divine somehow. It literally feels like a creature you'd see at 3AM during a thunderstorm like when lightning lights up the dark outside and you'd be like "nah i gotta go to bed wtf"

Raijin, the namesake, is the Japanese god of thunder, lightning, and storms. He's one of the most famous figures in Japanese mythology and is often paired with his brother/wind counterpart, Fujin. However, instead of depicting him traditionally, this sculpt is more of the feeling of him, being a chaotic, supernatural presence.

Next is Ugoku Haikyo: Elegyng, or Moving/Living Ruins: Elegyng.
This one is absolutely my #1 favorite. The contrast between decay and the persistence of life, with an abandoned structure with grass and trees, miniature people inhabiting it, paths and stairs... it's just so cute and cool!! It's post-apocalyptic, but not hopeless, actually quite hopeful. Like nature and humanity have improvised a new home using this creature.

I would totally live here, lol. I love the concept of mobile cities in futuristic/apocalyptic things. It's not really that similar, but it reminds me of Rivet City in Fallout 3. Ahh, it's just sooo so cute!!

You could always make it scarier, too...

Next up, The Night Walker!!

I have created a three-dimensional representation of a being that embodies the concept of "anxiety."

This sculpt looks unbalanced, burdened. The long hanging arm/cloak feels heavy, the thin rooted single leg makes it look trapped in place, and the skull-like face with the antennae gives it a nightmare folklore creature feeling. But the lantern makes it feel like a wanderer instead of a predator animal, like it’s moving through darkness trying to find safety. It's an interesting representation of anxiety, restless wandering and hypervigilance. Maybe it was paralyzed by anxiety and stood still so long its legs turned into roots or something?

Lastly, Kinoko no Haeta Mukade/Centipede with mushrooms growing on it.

This one feels very different from some of the heavier melancholy sculpts, because it’s so clean and playful-looking, but it still has that slightly eerie biological edge underneath. The contrast between the rigid body and the mushrooms is nice, it creates this really interesting feeling where the creature seems peaceful instead of threatening, like it lives quietly in a forest and you just happened to come across it. The lack of a face or mouth helps too, and for me, it's so cute, like I want one as a pet...

There are also some that I like but don't have as much to say about, like The House. I just really love this kind of simplistic, somewhat eerie thing!

Some haven't been sold but are really cool too! This one is called Kirin!

And this one, called Unadareru Otoko/A Slumped Man... just man, too good. This one was displayed at WF2012 Summer.

They also applied to sell a kit of The Traveler from Journey at WF2013W, but wasn't able to obtain copyright.

In a hobby often focused on polished anime characters, their strange wandering creatures really stand out to me. I love that things like this can be garage kits too!!

If you also like Guramani's works and would like to, you can follow them on Twitter ^^. What do you think about them? And thanks for reading! I'll try to cover some of my other favorite artists too (hence the 1), cuz well, sharing and discussing art is hella fun. Especially in the modern era, IYKYK smh