It seems the CG artists directing the art of eroge often fail to receive the credit they might be due in more visible artistic roles; one such case is that of Ino (also known as 猪野誠 / Ino Makoto), an artist of colossal skill, who still seems not to have accrued the celebrity aura attaching to the likes of Tony, despite equalling or even surpassing him.
Here I present a comprehensive introduction to his works, and also a fascinating making of video showing him in the act of creating one.
Player 1
Here he shows us the process by which one of his fine works, in this case a headphone musume, is created. Via Nico.
Player 2
And another, where he illustrates Vocaloid Meiko.
His artbook, INO アートワークス Velvet Skin / Ino Artworks Velvet Skin, where this illustration features, is said to be of a very high standard, and so may well be of interest; however, the bulk of his works are CG, featuring in what is now an impressive portfolio of eroge. Perhaps this is a factor in his comparative obscurity.
If Juuzoh Minazuki can be said to be the undisputed master of drawing feet, and Satoshi Urushihara the master of nipples (I hesitate to say what Tony is master of), then Ino is undoubtedly the foremost illustrator of breasts. More authentically and erotically illustrated mammaries you will not find, I’d wager.
His upcoming game, 乙女ファンクション / Otome Function, to be published by Mu-soft, looks to be magnificent. Unfortunately, the publisher has announced a delay due to quality issues, so it is unlikely we will see it this year; mortifying, but better than it turning into a Summer Days…
十六夜の花嫁 / Izayoi no Hanayome, a 2003 eroge by Mink. Easily one of his best works, with a high standard of quality despite being an earlier title.
Alea / アレア, a 2007 eroge by Caligula.
きみはぐ / Kimihagu, another 2007 title, this time by FrontWing.
ニセ教祖 / Nisekyouso, a 2004 eroge by Nomad, the art of which he was partially responsible for.
永劫回帰 / Eigoukaiki (Eternal Recurrence), published in 2004 by D.O.
KISS×400 懐かしき日々の連続 / Kiss x 400 Natsukashiki Hibi no Renzoku, a 2005 title by Winters.
This is a small selection of the works he has been involved in. You can find more on the Channel, especially collected into pools.
I should point out that though we are here focussed on his art, many of the eroge he has illustrated are superb all round, so you may be well rewarded should you check them out.
The comparison which springs to mind is between Ino and Tony (Taichi Kiriyama probably isn’t really prolific enough to qualify, despite his amazing style); whilst they operate in slightly different fields, with Tony having a broader portfolio extending to doujinshi and straightforward character design, I think one of the criticisms I am prepared to level at Tony, that his subject matter and art is at times overly unadventurous (although he seems to be improving in this regard), does not hold true of Ino despite his CG focus. Ino instead seems to manage to keep his works quite varied.
Subjectively, about the only real point of difference in mastery between the two is that Ino is most probably the better illustrator of breasts, but I would be hesitant to call him superior because of this, especially considering his narrower CG focus.
Whatever interesting comparisons we might care to draw, it seems undeniable that Ino is one of the foremost artists operating in his field, and nobody could reasonably fail to recommend his superb works.
Actually, I find the reason why the likes of Range Murata, TT and Abe are more famous is because they have a very unique style that is instantly recognisable and beloved. This Ino, while appearing to make pretty girls and beautiful titties, doesn’t seem very striking and memorable.
Tony’s eroge output is even less memorable, and I am sure he would be much more obscure if he stuck to just that.
And for their styles to be recognisable, they first have to be known, which is a question of operating in a conspicuous medium, which eroge are not for individual artists.
Look at Taichi Kiriyama for an example of an artist with an amazing, unique and instantly recognisable style who is still unknown - all he has produced is eroge.
actually, Ino has a pretty distinct style right now, but if you’re talking about his earlier styles, then yeah, it doesn’t look that different from the average ones out there.
and to the comment hiero_yo wrote below, it’s hardly unfair in my opinion because, really, I myself consider Ino at the level of those you mentioned.
I’m pretty sure he’s popular in his own right and it is a bit unfair to compare him to Tony (who insanely popular) maybe Sano Toshide or Happoubi Jin who work in the same medium.
And I thought Minazuki was the master of massive insertions^^
I was making the comparison based on skill and accomplishment, so I think he is surely on par with Tony in that respect. He seems popular amongst eroge fans and image hunters, but that’s about it… I’m sure he’ll do better if Otome Function takes off.
Minazuki is also the master of loli-shota action, but let us not go overboard. His feet are the best there is.
I love Ino, I think he does great work!
That video was incredible! Thanks for posting it (along with the gallery). I love watching screen captures of great artists on Photoshop (or whatever they use). I’d love to see more.
:D
Tony: The master of copypaste faces. I mean, TT is obviously very talented but I’m getting sick of seeing the same faces.
Ino, however, I’m digging. Can’t wait for Mu-soft’s new game to come out, whenever that’ll be.