Takuma Onoda’s “Cyber Idol” Paintings Trick the Eye

“People are always seeking what they believe,” young Japanese artist Takuma Onoda writes at his website. Being in Japan, he lives in a world with a shared reverence for traditional religion and pop-up culture icons like Hatsune Miku, or his city’s mascot, “Sento-kun”. He combines these contradicting ideas of idol worship into handpainted portraits of “Cyber Idols” that look three dimensional. They heavily rely on the use of drop-shadowing to make the figures pop off the canvas. It’s similiar to fellow artist Kazuki Takamatsu’s (Hi-Fructose Vol. 33 cover artist) depth mapping, but with the addition of psychedelic rainbow and solid gold color palettes. Through the use of these contemporary art techniques and centuries-old ideas, Onoda is observing the evolution of modern faith.