These are from the first collector card set, so the quality isn't perfect.
They're all 800x600 or less, which works beautifully in the NetScape
browser window at an overall Windoze resolution of 1024x768.
Full Metal Love (47k) : Chromium-clad woman
with her metal man.
Study of Man (58k) : "Metalized"
adaptation of the classic Leonardo DaVinci sketch.
Sea of Love (31k) : Beautiful blond mermaid - I think I'll
take up sailing!
Flying High (34k) : A girl, a jetpack, and
a whole lotta blue sky!
Pegasus (31k) : The old-fashioned way to
fly... (cherub at right of top).
Laser Lady (29k) : Chrome lady lounges on a
beam of coherent light.
Venus (28k) : A blinding Venus DeMilo!
Red Hot Robot (32k) : Scarlet satin on cool
chrome.
Dazzling Dancer (34k) : Mostly
metal dancer, caught in mid-leap.
Runaway Robot (32k) : Nice blanket!
Speak No Evil (37k) : Is it live, or is it...
Skull Session (60k) : Neural interfaced full
immersion techno-therapy?
Steel Wings (49k) : Heavy metal angel
(cherub at left of top).
A friend of mine, the designer Hara Koichi, wanted to use C3PO from Star
Wars for a Suntory poster presentation. But time was short and there
were problems with the copyright fee, so I was asked to come up with
something.
No. The first one was of a robot and a dog sitting on a rock.
1978. Afterwards I did a series of pictures like it.
None at all. Of course, since I've done quite a few works using car
bumpers and objects with a galvanized texture, I didn't have any problems
with technique.
Well, that came out of discussions with everyone. Even a robot set in a
classical theme would be boring. Since I'd always done pin-ups, I
thought, "Why not a robot?" So, this sexy, female robot was born.
Well, I was in fact, drawing rods and cams, and there are some who think
it is mechanically awkward. But I'm not an engineer; I draw
illustrations which are "convincing lies." For reference, though, I pay
attention to those opinions too.
Originally I was going to draw a socket in place of her crotch and sent
in a sketch, but the director thought it was a bad idea; that's why I
ended up with the lid. As for myself, however, I wanted the socket.
That would make people laugh. I think the illustrator is a kind of
entertainer. Instead of pursuing the value of the work itself, I'd
rather have people look at it and get an immediate kick.
Yes, because the client has a strong say. But nothing beats the feeling
of creating a hit while working within those conditions. The budget,
product image, the director's taste - there are many things to consider.
I believe that the illustrator has to have the skill to draw the sort of
work that can satisfy all those demands.
Not that much. In high school, I'd take thirty minutes to finish off a
picture that would take someone else four hours to do, step back and say,
"Check it out!" But I can't really say that I liked it. I didn't start
out wanting to do illustrations. At first, I worked as a graphic
designer. But photo-setting is my weak point. Also, I didn't like
working for a company. That's how I came to be an illustrator; it's a
job in which you work for yourself.
Not at first. I was in the English department of a Christian
university. I went there because of an interest in Greece that I got
from reading Oda Minoru's I'm Going to See Everything. I
wanted to learn Greek, but when I got there, the instructor had left the
university.
No. In my second year I started a school magazine, Pink Journal.
I was criticized not only by the teachers, but also by the students. I
got to hate the place. Around that time, I saw an advertisement in
Bijutsu Techo for the Chuo Art School. When I found out that
I could get in without taking a test, I decided to go there.
That's my mania. I've been drawing them since high school. Back then,
there was this thing for the Playboy and Penthouse playmates. Now, it's
the girl-next-door, idol type, but in our day, these pin-ups were like
goddesses. I guess I could describe it as my own goddess cult.
There were a lot of erotic works - not only illustrations, but
photographs and pictures, in general. I was wondering what it would be
like to collect them into one volume. Cameramen, painters, and others
got interested, and with everyone's help, it came together.
1,500 in all. I didn't know anyone at the time, so, I collected the
works without paying any fee to the artists. When I found out later just
who contributed, they were all big names. The honorarium was a single
copy of the book. Maybe it's because things were a lot more easy going
then than now. We were all so into it when we made it. But afterwards,
no one said, "Let's do it again!" So may be it didn't sell very well.
The "professional." That's it.
(Excerpted from "Hyper Illustrations")
The term "Gynoid" was created by the female British SF writer, Gwyneth
Jones, and developed by another British SF writer, Richard Calder who
lives in Thailand. The word is derived from "Android" which denotes a
cyborg with male attributes. "Gynoid" expresses the image of the female
cyborg which I had long sought in that it tactfully combines both the
human and the mechanical. (Excerpted from "The Gynoids")elcome, pilgrim, to the Temple of
Sorayama. Here, you'll find not only a wealth of knowledge
about this incredible artist; but also a gallery of sample images
and a number of "portals" to other repositories of Sorayama's work in
digital form. In the near future, I'll be adding a section
about where & how to get your greedy little hands on some actual printed
Sorayama art! One small note: if your browser doesn't support the HTML 3.0
extensions, then you're seriously missing out! You can,
however, remedy the situation by following this link to the
Index
A
A few new
An
Contact
New Scans
Links to
other Sorayama archives
Sorry - my FTP archive is temporarily down for remodeling. It'll be back;
bigger & better than ever, very soon.
Interview with
the Artist
What prompted you to
draw robots?
Was that female robot your first
work of this kind?
What year was that?
Were there any other works prior
to that on the same theme?
I was impressed more by the setting
and the pose of the subject rather than the texture.
Also the mechanical details of
each part are expressed vividly.
In the first female robot, her
crotch is covered by a lid. I thought this was very effective; the act
of concealing made her extremely sexy.
Does this mean that you find
yourself having to suppress your own ideas within the certain conditions
attached to advertisements?
Have you always liked drawing?
Did you go to art school?
Is that when you decided to
organize an art club?
How did you come to draw the
pinups?
By the way, you edited the book,
The Peach-colored Encyclopedia. How did that happen?
The illustrations alone came to
quite a lot, didn't they?
Finally, what's necessary in an
illustrator?
After my first book of illustrations, "Sexy Robot" was published, my
works began to be well-known internationally. I was somewhat
disappointed by the title, as it did not seem to quite catch the image of
the erotic female cyborg that I was trying to express.
KenS Place