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. She started by drawing doujinshi in her spare time and selling them at Comiket under the pen name Odile Kuronuma. She then began her career by making illustrations for novels, such as the works of Hideyuki Kikuchi. Her first work in the video game industry was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 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 Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Samurai Warriors 3, Sangokushi TCG, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Dynasty Warriors 7, Dynasty Warriors 8, and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Also in 2019, a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night titled Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was released, with several former key Castlevania staff members involved. 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.

Style

Kojima's style is influenced by classical artists such as Francisco de Goya, Caravaggio, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi well as works of science fiction and horror. 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.

  • Söldnerschild (Koei, 1998)
  • Chou-Denki Card Battle: Youfu Makai - Kikuchi Shuugyou (Koubunsha, 1999)
  • Castlevania Chronicles (Konami, 2001)
  • Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Konami, 2002)

References

  • Santa Lilio Sangre Artbook Official website
  • Vampire Killer: Castlevania Gallery and Translation Resource
  • Naïmoka: The Artworks' Sanctuary - Ayami Kojima
  • La Villa di Cauchemar - Ayami Kojima
  • Kelesis Home Page - Ayami Kojima
  • Creative Uncut - Artist Profile: Ayami Kojima