| Ayami Kojima | |
| Known For: | Character design, illustration |
| Notable Works: | Castlevania series |
is a Japanese artist. She has often worked in video games as a character designer and is most known for her work on the Castlevania series of video games with Konami. She is self-taught and enjoys reading shōnen manga.
Ayami Kojima is a self-taught artist, born in Tokyo, Japan.[1] She is a character designer and illustrator for video games. Kojima's hobbies include reading manga and drawing for other authors. She has also published self-made works. Her first work in the video game industry was which released in 1997. In the few years following Symphony of the Nights release, she worked on several more entries in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania Chronicles in 2001, Harmony of Dissonance in 2002, and Aria of Sorrow and Lament of Innocence in 2003. In the mid-to-late 2000s, Kojima worked on games such as , Samurai Warriors 3, Sangokushi TCG, , Dynasty Warriors 7, Dynasty Warriors 8, and .
Kojima's work schedule slowed during the 2010s, though she returned to the Castlevania series for the 2019 mobile title Grimoire of Souls.[2] Also in 2019, a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night titled was released, with several former key Castlevania staff members involved.[3] Kojima stated she could "only offer a small amount of time" for the project, and illustrated the packaging artwork for physical copies given to certain Kickstarter backers.[4]
Media which Kojima has often employed in paintings include the use of molding paste, Conté Crayon, acrylics, India ink, gloss polymer medium, stumps and finger smudging. Generally speaking, the sketch and composition is laid out using the Conté crayon. Shadows are darkened monochromatically using both Conté and India ink. The color composition is then blocked in using diluted acrylics. The three-dimensional textured aspects in the majority of her paintings are created using molding paste and a palette knife. During the addition of stronger colors additional water and the artists' fingers (smudging) are used to create the glowing gradiation which is apparent in much of Kojima's artwork. Once the base paint is finished, metallic paints are applied with a palette knife. Glows and highlights are enhanced using a gloss polymer medium.