Digital vs. Traditional Art, Re: Berserk
Today I went to the 30th Anniversary Berserk Exhibition in Hirakata Park. Im planning on making a longer post with some photos and some other things to talk about the exhibit as a whole (spoiler: it was awesome).
The exhibit was about 20% elaborate plastic models and replicas (which we were allowed to photograph) and 80% original manga panel drawings (which we were not allowed to photograph). Seeing the original panels in person was amazing, and also quite surprising.
The main thing that surprised me was the number of materials used. Miura is known for his beautiful, dynamic art, but it was only upon seeing it in person that the creation of these pieces went far beyond just drawing something well or creatively. Black and white ink was utilized, as well as white out and deleter sheets. He also used large, thick black pens, graphite pencil (especially when drawing Griffith, who appeared to be uninked in several final versions to give him that ethereal, angelic quality), and a number of different sizes of pen, even when drawing a single figure. His drawings werent just linework-- it was highly textured. One of the most brilliant things he did was use ink splatter-- which, in person, you can clearly see is literally just ink splattered from a pen-- in order to project an image of something being dirty or chaotic, such as in fight or battle scenes.
Its a whole ecosystem in there, is what I’m trying to say.
This all begins to change though some time after the eclipse, right around the end of the Conviction Arc.
Now, this is just my personal opinion but, after the Conviction Arc it always felt like the story sort of... fell off. It wasnt that it god bad, but there was just something that wasnt the same. It began to feel less like an earth shattering fantasy epic and more like... just a regular anime.
Many people attributed this to Miura growing older, his interests shifting, or studio pressure. I, however, have a different theory-- I believe it was due to the shift in digital art.
You can see in the artwork once Miura begins to do more digital rather than analog pieces that there is a certain degree of restraint which you dont find it earlier works. Character linework becomes crisp and defined. Miura’s dynamic cross hatching is replaced with more standard shading techniques. You can see this in the manga too, but when faced with it in person the difference is incredibly striking.
I had believed for a long time that maybe his style was just changing. He just had different interests. Then, however, I got to the end where they had an interview with him, filmed a few months before his death.
In the interview they ask him if he prefers digital or analog art, and he has a very surprising answer. I was not allowed to record, so I cant say it in entirety, but he is very eager to descibe analog drawing as “like calligraphy”.
As he describes his process in analog drawing, he mentions several times that it is a process that relies almost entirely on creative flow. You begin a piece with an idea, and then let the pen and page carry you to the final work. He describes how it was “extremely fun, but difficult for others” because when drawing analog, he may decide to change a scene entirely or a perspective. It was an organic process.
Digital, however, he describes as “synthesizing”-- he seems to enjoy doing digital work, but he mentions how it gives you the ability to go into very deep detail. It allows you to plan out your work, change it and mold it. It also allows you to work more closely with others, delivering a cleaner yet more studied product.
He did not state a preference. Perhaps he never had a preference.
But after watching that interview and looking at the work in the hall, I began to wonder about the story of Berserk. How it began to feel formulaic and somewhat dry. It was less dark and dreary of course, but it also just didnt seem to flow the same way that it had before.
It is only a theory. It can only be a theory I guess, I doubt even Miura himself would know if he could say. But after seeing what I saw, I now attribute this to the shift to digital. Once the work became digital, it stopped being just an exercise in free flowing creativity, and instead became something synthesized, planned, and heavily managed.
Earlier panels in Berserk may not look as polished. They have a chaos to them that can sometimes make it hard to follow with your eyes, and the amount of black, dark ink used fills the page to sometimes make things near unrecognizable.
But... I dont know. I think that’s sort of a part of the whole thing. Miura was a visual story teller first and foremost. Moving to digital-- in my opinion-- removed much of that artistic agency and creative flow, and for that-- again, in my opinion-- the story (and the art) suffered.
He did, at least, still seem quite happy. I dont mind if I dont like some of the last chapters. I just hope he enjoyed making them.
dededos
kianamaiart
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