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Santa Lilio Sangre
This book features illustrations by the artist who created Castlevania and many other video game designs - Ayami Kojima. Self-taught, she has crafted many original designs for Castlevania and other games that are also featured in this art book. This book features many Gothic designs of the imagery of religion that made her famous along with some Western influences from her past as well. This is a must have for all Ayami Kojima or Castlevania fans. 200 pages. Japanese text. Colored and B&W. Hardcover. Bind & Published in Japan.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 27, 2013
I've been collecting artbooks for a few years, and no artbook had ever exceeded my expectations.
Yet Santa Lilio Sangre may have just done the deed. Certainly no artbook has made me cry so many (virtual) tears. Ayami Kojima is a video game artist that still specializes in traditional art; a rarity now, but she's mastered it.
To the book itself. It's admittedly pricy, but huge (slightly bigger than A4), hardcover and most of all, great quality. The paper is thick, smooth and glossy, and even smells enticing. Most of the pages are edged in black, which shows off the art to great effect (and emphasizes their darkness). There are so many pieces here that are impossible to find anywhere else, even in the very bowels of the Internet -
And so it's well worth the money, being the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes upon; no exaggeration.
A warning though - Kojima's greatest loves are horror movies and surgery, which should give you a fair indication of the content. If you can appreciate beauty in the macabre and grotesque - death, decay, deformation - then by all means, this book is for you. More so if you like flowers, intestines, and beautiful people.
(Also, happy early birthday to me~! :) There's a thing to be said for surreptitiously ordering books online, before anyone sane can stop you.)
Yet Santa Lilio Sangre may have just done the deed. Certainly no artbook has made me cry so many (virtual) tears. Ayami Kojima is a video game artist that still specializes in traditional art; a rarity now, but she's mastered it.
To the book itself. It's admittedly pricy, but huge (slightly bigger than A4), hardcover and most of all, great quality. The paper is thick, smooth and glossy, and even smells enticing. Most of the pages are edged in black, which shows off the art to great effect (and emphasizes their darkness). There are so many pieces here that are impossible to find anywhere else, even in the very bowels of the Internet -
And so it's well worth the money, being the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes upon; no exaggeration.
A warning though - Kojima's greatest loves are horror movies and surgery, which should give you a fair indication of the content. If you can appreciate beauty in the macabre and grotesque - death, decay, deformation - then by all means, this book is for you. More so if you like flowers, intestines, and beautiful people.
(Also, happy early birthday to me~! :) There's a thing to be said for surreptitiously ordering books online, before anyone sane can stop you.)
August 15, 2017
Copied from my review on Amazon.ca:
Phenomenally beautiful.
The full-page images are more than 10 inches tall in deep black ink or full color as appropriate. The paper is nice and thick. The text is limited, which is how I prefer my art books; most pages only have the image's title, medium, and dimensions. (Those last two are valuable for painters who want to create a similar look.) There is a list of images with their English and Japanese titles on page 198, and a brief blurb in English and Japanese in the back.
I don't know what to say except to buy it. I have absolutely no regrets.
Phenomenally beautiful.
The full-page images are more than 10 inches tall in deep black ink or full color as appropriate. The paper is nice and thick. The text is limited, which is how I prefer my art books; most pages only have the image's title, medium, and dimensions. (Those last two are valuable for painters who want to create a similar look.) There is a list of images with their English and Japanese titles on page 198, and a brief blurb in English and Japanese in the back.
I don't know what to say except to buy it. I have absolutely no regrets.
June 19, 2012
This art book is a 10 years worth of waiting. It isn't just for Castlevania fans, it also worth to be had by any art book lovers. Traditional paintings mixed with black and white inked illustrations in over a 200 pages is feat in every eyes. And with the price of 3400 yen and hardcover, Santa Lilio Sangre is a total bargain!
January 5, 2026
Kojima's gorgeous work is put on display in this collection. Her use of dark backgrounds and rich vibrant colors makes her pale, gossamer subjects shine and instantly grab your attention. Her use of delicate bodies and rich floral patterns are delicious, but they also distract from what upon closer inspection are far more sinister scenes: the beautiful man is rotting away into a pile of rats, a woman covered in flowers is holding an infant's skeleton. Many of the images that are at first gorgeous also reveal themselves to be composed of gruesome artifacts: a velvet coat is made of rotting flesh, an angel's wing is made from daggers and bones.
Even in her more immediately horrific works there is a floral, aromatic beauty to the images. Her line work is also displayed in the monochromatic sketches peppered throughout, especially in the section dedicated to portraits of classic horror monsters.
The main weak point of the collection is that it only occasionally organizes its pieces well, mixing in portraits of people with portraits of monsters, or floral stilllifes. A bit more organization would make it a more pleasurable reference and journey through her work
Even in her more immediately horrific works there is a floral, aromatic beauty to the images. Her line work is also displayed in the monochromatic sketches peppered throughout, especially in the section dedicated to portraits of classic horror monsters.
The main weak point of the collection is that it only occasionally organizes its pieces well, mixing in portraits of people with portraits of monsters, or floral stilllifes. A bit more organization would make it a more pleasurable reference and journey through her work
March 16, 2024
Ayami Kojima is a master of her craft. I am in awe. It's like being imprisoned in a haunted cathedral but never wanting to escape.
Link
https://archive.org/details/santa-lil...
Link
https://archive.org/details/santa-lil...
December 5, 2014
I bought this art book from a secondhand book store during a sale, with 60% off the price. Later on the price I paid for this almost felt like a crime - in the sense that the book would have definitely been worth much, much more.
The art book contains Kojima's stunning traditional art pieces, both simple (as simple as Kojima's intricate style gets, that is) character concepts with a blank background for the Castlevania franchise, as well as full paintings of exquisite details, plus quite a few pages of colourless, black and white ink works. Many of which show her love for Gothic horror, though you can also find historical illustrations within. Kojima's art is made all the more wondrous by the simple fact that she is, indeed, fully self-taught as an artist. Her dedication and past experimentation with her chosen equipments certainly shine through.
Not to mention, the art book is of incredible quality. The covers are sturdy and thick, and though I bought the book as used goods, it was like new. The paper is high quality, the lay-out complimentary. What's more, there's always a mention of the title, tools used, and measures of each piece - which I greatly appreciated, as this is something that many Japanese art books I've read tend to lack, even though this may be of vast interest to aspiring artists.
The art book contains Kojima's stunning traditional art pieces, both simple (as simple as Kojima's intricate style gets, that is) character concepts with a blank background for the Castlevania franchise, as well as full paintings of exquisite details, plus quite a few pages of colourless, black and white ink works. Many of which show her love for Gothic horror, though you can also find historical illustrations within. Kojima's art is made all the more wondrous by the simple fact that she is, indeed, fully self-taught as an artist. Her dedication and past experimentation with her chosen equipments certainly shine through.
Not to mention, the art book is of incredible quality. The covers are sturdy and thick, and though I bought the book as used goods, it was like new. The paper is high quality, the lay-out complimentary. What's more, there's always a mention of the title, tools used, and measures of each piece - which I greatly appreciated, as this is something that many Japanese art books I've read tend to lack, even though this may be of vast interest to aspiring artists.
September 19, 2011
As a longtime Ayami Kojima fan, I was really excited when I found this 2010 Japanese release by chance at my local Kinokuniya. I'm very happy I picked this up. It's a roughly 9" x 12" hefty hardcover with 200 pages of Ayami Kojima's beautifully detailed paintings, ink drawings, and sketches printed in vibrant color on fairly heavy-duty paper. If you loved Kojima's work from the Castlevania games, you'll probably enjoy this book. Be forewarned, though: this book is definitely for more mature audiences. Kojima's artwork tends to be somewhat dark, and contents includes gore, nudity, sexual themes, and other images that may be a little disturbing to some. It's a fantastic collection of her work, though, and a worthy addition to my library of art books.
March 6, 2012
First of all, if you're in europe, good luck getting your hands in one. To get mine, I had to order it from PlayAsia and with transport charges, you are going to be paying well over the 60 euro mark. You might get it from amazon (dot com, not UK) but get ready to dish out closer to 100 USD.
Still, it's gorgeous. 200 pages filled with, funnily enough, some of her lesser known art pieces. A lot of her castlevania pieces are missing, but really, it's quite alright, because you can find those anywhere -- and the stuff here I had only seen in grainy, crappy quality thumbnails.
I adore her art, and even if graphic and slightly disturbing at times, it's still the art book I had been looking for for ages.
A must.
Still, it's gorgeous. 200 pages filled with, funnily enough, some of her lesser known art pieces. A lot of her castlevania pieces are missing, but really, it's quite alright, because you can find those anywhere -- and the stuff here I had only seen in grainy, crappy quality thumbnails.
I adore her art, and even if graphic and slightly disturbing at times, it's still the art book I had been looking for for ages.
A must.
January 13, 2011
A collection of artwork by Ayami Kojima, who did the character design for the old 2D Castlevania game I played for ages. This contains all of the character design done for the franchise, as well as some much more morbid personal work and some pieces based on classic horror characters like Frankenstein's monster. Great printing and paper quality. Not for viewers put off by excessive blood, bones or bugs!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews