Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

Award winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City and instructor at School of Visual Arts.

Workshop in Seville, Spain in May, just announced.

UPDATES: The workshop will be postponed due to COVID-19. We will rework on the schedule once we are out of the woods. Thank you for undrestanding. Those who reserved your slots should have the first priority to book future workshop schedules.
I will be coming back to teach at La Galeria Roja in Seville, south of Spain in late May. (3rd time, because, by now we are friends !)
They have just announced it, and not taking applicants.
Max of about 18 participants, all levels, 4 day long weekend. I will give you lots of different projects to develop your illustration thinking.
I never teach how I do what I do at workshops, or any other teaching occasions. I am an experienced illustration instructor in college and masters level. What I teach is how to help you become a better version of yourself as an artist. Though there will be lots of group crits, but at the end of the day, it is all about each and individual YOU.
Those who are interested in learning more, please e-mail [email protected] either in Spanish or English to get more info. (no need to commit.)  Hope to see you there!

Thank you for the medal nomination: Spectrum Fantastic Art Award

Thank you so much! The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (by Haruki Murakami) book jacket illustration for Vintage (UK)’s Japanese Classics series is a medal contender for this year’s Spectrum Fantastic Art Award.
This is one of my favorite books of all time, and it was a huge honor just to be able to illustrate it. It is an icing on the cake.
Congratulations to all the nominees and those who’s works got accepted into this year’s annual.
The winners will be announced at the gala, which will be held on March 20. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend. But hope everyone will have a fun and exciting evening.

Emergency! Cat Man of Aleppo needs your help!

EMERGENCY: The Cat Man of Aleppo, Alaa Aljaleel and his sanctuary + orphanage is in danger!

According to the Twitter post from earlier today, bombing in his area got so severe, they had to abandon the current sanctuary and flee. They are currently scrambling to transfer some 120 cats to a safe location in near by city of Idlib. Also trying to move the monkeys across the border to safety. 

If anyone is willing to help out, even a small amount, your kind donations are accepted and appreciated at: myevent.com/alaaandkids If you can’t financially help, which is OK, please spread the words, repost, so someone you know may be able to pitch in. 

I have finished illustrating Alaa’s story in the upcoming picture book The Cat Man of Aleppo. I have never met or directly spoken to Alaa (author Karim has been in contact, as recently as a couple of hours ago), but he, his team and all the animals are a part of ‘family’ now. 

News media  don’t talk about war in Syria anymore, because they have moved onto the next big flashy news. But, friends, it is still happening. And just to be aware of it, that you have that knowledge is very important. Thank you.

new journal available at Fully Booked stores in the Philippines

I have list of future dog names. There are many, but on the top of the female names is Laika.

Not the expensive camera (Leika), mind you, but the name of the first dog who was sent up to space and died alone. And not like that film My Life as a Dog I never had a sad childhood but I still often think about this poor pup, and think every rescue girl dog should be named Laika and given the happy  life the famous Laika was never able to have. The name is not used yet because I haven’t adopted a girl dog yet, and so far my rescue pups came with names given by previous owners.

It’s holiday season. There are pups who wants nothing more than furever home. I’m not going to judge you, but #adoptdontshop if you can. And please, pets are for life. Don’t throw them away like unwanted presents. But, if you are looking to adopt this holiday, sad truth, hit the shelters after the holidays when those ‘presents’ sometimes end up there.

With that long preach paragraph, ladies and gentlemen and everybody else in between, here is my new piece: Space Fetch. Yes, that’s what the original Laika looked like. Really cute.

If you are in the Philippines, please go to Fully Booked stores before the end of the year to get your free copy of 2020 journal with this jacket. (Minimum PHP 3,000.000) while supplies lasts.

We are working on releasing this as a tote bag as well. Stay tuned.

Holiday gift for a good cause: charity print release

Gift for a good cause! Just released this new limited edition print (edition of 75) where we donate $25 for each print sold to Waggytail Rescue where my senior]dog Bear was adopted from on Christmas 2 years ago. (Bear on third photo)
This will make great holiday gift for animal lovers.
I’m traveling till December 10th, but we are currently taking pre-orders. We hope to start shipping on December 11.
Thank you for your interest.

Godzilla wins Society of Illustrators Gold Medal

I was just notified Godzilla Showa Era Film Box Set for Criterion Collection (Just released at the end of October) had won Gold Medal in advertising category from the Society of Illustrators.
Thank you AD Eric Skillman and the team for the wonderful project, and the perfect ‘Goldilocks’ art direction. Thank you jury members and everyone involved in making this happen.
Award ceremony and exhibition opening will be on Friday, January 10, 2020 at the Society of Illustrators, NY. Hope to see you there.

new tote bags available from Fully Booked

Fully Booked is a Philippine based English bookstore chain. We have been collaborating for some years now. These new tote bags, just became available at their stores, as well as online, are based on our past collaborations.
The bags are around $10USD each. They have not shipped them out of the country, but the founder of Fully Booked personally told me that they are willing to ship abroad should orders come in.
Those who are NOT based in the Philippines, please contact [email protected] to see if they can ship to your country and how much the shipping will cost.
You can order WAVE tote here, and Cat Lady’s Perfect Weekend here. 

Vintage Japanese Classics 5 book series announced

Dreams really do come true, sometimes! UK publisher Penguin Vintage just announced the release of five book series of Japanese classics.
As a book nerd, and especially a big Haruki Murakami fan, this was truly a dream project that I didn’t know existed till it came my way. This series consists of: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima, The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, and Out by Natsuo Kirino.
I will post all the images soon, but for now, you can read more about the each book and place pre-orders through the publisher’s website.

new kids book The Cat Man of Aleppo just announced

The final spreads for my upcoming kids book The Cat Man of Aleppo (written by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha, Penguin Putnam) was just approved yesterday. Exactly one year ago, I started the project by picking up a book about Syria so I can start learning about a country and the war I didn’t know much at all about.
Since then, I’ve read 15+ books, watched 2 full length documentary films, talked to multiple journalists, hours and hours spent on internet, and then, finally months and months of drawing non-stop later…, the book is officially completed, and ready to go to the printer.
Then I went home to a package with almost finalized color proof! A fantastic end of the day.
Here is the official sneak peek.
You can place pre-orders via Amazon, BookDepository.com (UK based and ships free or with low fee worldwide), from the publisher, and of course at your local independent bookstores.
Publishing is scheduled for April 14, 2020.

original drawings now available from Felix Comic Art

Though I have been selling my originals on and off for years, but I was never good at it.  I have never been proactive, or had enough time to deal with everyone who were kind enough to show some interests. I finally decided to get a help from a specialist.
Felix Comic Art officially starts selling some of my originals, as an exclusive sales rep as of today. 
The originals are priced for everyone, from small pencil sketches priced similar to some of my signed prints, to massive detailed ink drawings for those who are experienced collectors with bigger budgets.
Shown here are some of the initial available pieces. Please visit Felix Comic Art site to find more details and prices.

We are not offering private commissions at this moment, but we will see how our collaborations are going to go, and may offer in the future, at that point, they will make announcements. Thank you!

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