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Which style do you prefer, Nomura or Amano?



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hemmoheikkinen

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So we know that Tetsuya Nomura, the creator of the Kingdom Hearts-series, draws the covers of the games, designs the characters and so on. This means that we get see his amazing artwork, which often has sharp shapes and many details( I really like how Nomura does the eyes in some pictures).
2dandk0.jpg


But also, Shirino Amano, the artist behind the manga adaption of Kingdom Hearts, has his ow style. As the manga has continued, Amano has made his own way to draw the characters. For me Amano`s style seems more softer than Nomura`s, and I`m starting to like it very much(I especially love how he draws Kairi).
zo6wzc.jpg


So my question is: which style of drawing do you prefer? Nomura`s or Amano`s and why? :)

EDIT: I had no idea were to put this thread, so the mods are free to move it.
 

Happyfunshineman

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This is kind of tough pick. I feel like Amano's art is good for the manga and Nomura's art is good for promotional art and concepts. I feel like if i could see a Nomura drawn manga I would have a better opinion.

Putting that aside though, I would go with Amano just because I've seen a much wider range of emotions coming from the manga.
 

Ruran

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Nomura.

Amano's style is just a little too "cutesy" for my taste, though it probably does work better for a series like KH. Nomura used to try drawing the KH characters rounder and softer looking, like the way Amano does it, but he seems to have given up on that, lol.

Your topic is in the right place btw, the Future of Kingdom Hearts section is pretty much "General Kingdom Hearts". It's where anything KH goes that doesn't fit squarely into the other specified sections and isn't a fan creation.
 

RoXi

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as detailed as Nomura's art is, I choose Amano. Amano's may not be as sophisticated as Nomura's but it makes all the chracters seem a little more inviting, probably because it is a very manga/anime-ish approach and I'm a borderline weeaboo.



This is kind of tough pick. I feel like Amano's art is good for the manga and Nomura's art is good for promotional art and concepts. I feel like if i could see a Nomura drawn manga I would have a better opinion.

Putting that aside though, I would go with Amano just because I've seen a much wider range of emotions coming from the manga.

this too
 

hemmoheikkinen

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Your topic is in the right place btw, the Future of Kingdom Hearts section is pretty much "General Kingdom Hearts". It's where anything KH goes that doesn't fit squarely into the other specified sections and isn't a fan creation.

Ah, yes. Good to hear. :)

So, I think I should answer also. As much I have come to love Amano`s art, Nomura`s way to draw I just magical. I really like the sharpness he gives to all of the character, and the amount of detail is also very astonishing. I`m mesmerized by Roxas`s hair in the KH2FM cover. Also his way to uses oceans and sky appeals to me, and the deep blue color fits really well in Kingdom Hearts.
Seriously Square, where is our massive Kingdom Hearts artbook, which contains every piece of art Nomura has ever made about KH? :(

I feel like if i could see a Nomura drawn manga I would have a better opinion.
If my memory serves me correctly, KHInsider has some story sketches done by Nomura, where the characters show different emotions. I know it`s not a manga, but there you can get an idea how Nomura displays emotions. I think I also saw a storyboard sketch once, where Terra confronted Master Xehanort.

EDIT: KHInsider did have the concept art! Here is some rage showed by Terra, and Master Xehanorts wiggly hands:
Storyboard01.jpg
 
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Shogo-Kun

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I prefer Nomura's artwork if only because I like the detail he puts in his work, but lately he's been getting lazy with his artwork. However, Amano has been consistently good and his art is very soft and expressive as opposed to Nomura whose artwork is rather stiff and lifeless.

Hmm, maybe I'm not a fan of Nomura's art after all...
 

Happyfunshineman

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Ah, yes. Good to hear. :)

So, I think I should answer also. As much I have come to love Amano`s art, Nomura`s way to draw I just magical. I really like the sharpness he gives to all of the character, and the amount of detail is also very astonishing. I`m mesmerized by Roxas`s hair in the KH2FM cover. Also his way to uses oceans and sky appeals to me, and the deep blue color fits really well in Kingdom Hearts.
Seriously Square, where is our massive Kingdom Hearts artbook, which contains every piece of art Nomura has ever made about KH? :(


If my memory serves me correctly, KHInsider has some story sketches done by Nomura, where the characters show different emotions. I know it`s not a manga, but there you can get an idea how Nomura displays emotions. I think I also saw a storyboard sketch once, where Terra confronted Master Xehanort.

EDIT: KHInsider did have the concept art! Here is some rage showed by Terra, and Master Xehanorts wiggly hands:
Storyboard01.jpg

Holy shit. Are there more of these? If not Square really needs to make an art book for this stuff.

Interesting panel composition. If Nomura actually one day did a comic I wounder if it would look like this.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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Seeing that concept art makes me wish Nomura would do a manga.

I'm going with Nomura. I do like Amano's style, but Nomura's stuff always has a curtain impact to it, even his sketches, where I find Amano's to be good but has a generic cuteness to it. Though Amano can be pretty damn good when he wants to.
E7sYCZt.jpg
And give us nightmares.

Thinking about it, I'm now saying I prefer both. They're both great artists just in different ways.
 

Gram

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Story wise? Amano easily. Art wise, it's a tie. 8D
I like both art styles but without preference of one to another.
 

Sign

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Holy shit. Are there more of these? If not Square really needs to make an art book for this stuff.

Interesting panel composition. If Nomura actually one day did a comic I wounder if it would look like this.

There are a few more from BBS. We've gotten some other storyboards from KH1 and coded as well.

Spoiler Spoiler Show
 

Ruran

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There are a few more from BBS. We've gotten some other storyboards from KH1 and coded as well.

Spoiler Spoiler Show

I know it's probably not in their control, but this makes me wish there was a way to translate Nomura's style into the games better. The in-game character models lose that stylized sharpness Nomura is know for and nuance.
 

WanPisu

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Damn, that looks great.

I'd have to say that I prefer Nomura's style. Amano's looks more cartoony, which does match the content of the manga, but Nomura's more detailed art is just way too good. It looks fantastic.
 

Gram

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I know it's probably not in their control, but this makes me wish there was a way to translate Nomura's style into the games better. The in-game character models lose that stylized sharpness Nomura is know for and nuance.

Agreed. I keep looking at those storyboards and it's kinda surprising how different or more sharp and better looking his style is compared to the actual models.
 

FangirlfromHell

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I find that I appreciate both Nomura and Amano's styles equally. I really don't like one better than the other. Nomura's style is meant to be more conceptual than anything, while Amano's is meant to convey an actual story. Concept artwork is generally more clean cut and sharp, so it can convey the overall idea behind the work, while manga artwork has to be more fluid (like animation pages)so the movement can be perceived better.

What I'd love to see is a Kingdom Hearts tribute drawing by Akihiko Yoshida and a Final Fantasy XII tribute by Tetsuya Nomura. That would be so cool to look at just to emphasize how different their styles are. I have already seen chibis for FFXII by Yamano and they were the cutest things I'd ever seen done with the protagonists of XII. If anyone wanted to know what those look like, look for Itadaki Street concept work.
 

Alecs27

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I really love Nomura's art, he's my ispiration for what concern the drawings.
 

QuintusKing

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You're gonna hate me, cuz I love both!

But KH characters aside, despite his normal style of ignoring details, I'm surprised that Amano can actually portrait Disney characters perfectly well. He manages to capture every movement and face expression of them.

Spoiler Spoiler Show


And that's where I like him as a mangaka. Most can only draw characters in their own style, but to draw for KH, he has to adapt to every character style from the Disney films!
 
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