Neon Genesis Evangelion 25th Anniversary Digital Art Petit Collection by Wolfgang LeBlanc

By The Eva Monkey on Tuesday, December 8th, 2020

As time goes on, it amazes me how Evangelion continues to endure, now 25 years later. All works can age, and can hit arbitrary milestones that end in nice round numbers like 0 or 5, but not all maintain their cultural importance, let alone thrive. By all accounts, Studio Gainax was in real danger of shutting down in the early-mid 90s, and Neon Genesis Evangelion was quite possibly their last chance to produce a hit that would keep the studio going. I wonder if Hideaki Anno and company had any idea what sort of juggernaut they were about to unleash upon the world.

It’s 25 years later, and Evangelion is still generating new works and new expression, both officially through Anno’s Studio khara, and unofficially via the works of talented, and dedicated fans. I’ve been privileged to share the work of one such artist during the month of October, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s original airing on TV Tokyo in 1995.

Wolfgang LeBlanc is a professional illustrator & visual artist for film and advertising, and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Evangelion, he assembled 25 illustrations, emulating the style of series character designer and mangaka Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and paying homage to his third collection of work, Carmine.

LeBlanc’s work looks like it could have been pulled out of any official art book, and in particular, it’s worth highlighting how often he plays with both focus and reflection. Quite often, the focus of the piece is not on the characters themselves, but rather their reflections, whether that be in a mirror, on a polished surface, or on the surface of water.

Here are LeBlanc’s comments on his series:

“As an artist and a long time Eva fan, I’d always wanted to put together a collection of illustrations to show my love for the series created by Hideaki Anno. I remember being 12 or 13 years-old when the Rebuild films caught my eye and re-introduced me to the franchise. It was at that same time that I started paying attention to the distinct and unique art style of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and instantly fell in love with it. Until this day, it has become a cornerstone of my journey as an artist and it’s what inspired me to become an illustrator in the first place, so it’s no wonder that on the 25th Anniversary of NGE, I wanted to pay my respects not only to the series, but to Sadamoto himself. This collection is a compilation of many doodles I’ve done over the years in my free time. One day I hope to illustrate a proper art book with many more pieces than the ones seen in this petit collection. Many thanks to Aaron (Eva Monkey) for sharing this series, I’m eternally grateful.”
– Wolfgang LeBlanc

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