Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

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

Pink Slip

More Magazine (March 2010): Small Version
Great Recession continues. And, every one of us know at least a few close people in our lives who have lost their jobs because of this current economic situation.This illustration was done for March issue of MORE, a magazine for grown up women with career and family, about this exact topic.

The story is titled: ‘Fired at 50′. It focuses on the emotional struggle of women who have lost their long term jobs. It felt so ‘real’ to me.

March happens to be a transitional month when winter slowly turns into spring. So I decided to use season as metapher of women’s emotional struggle.

Claudia Almeida was the Art director.

This has been a long cold winter with a lot of snow for North-Easterners, but we all know spring is right around the corner!

More Magazine (March 2010): Ideas
Four ideas were submitted.
More Magazine (March 2010): Watercolor Version
Black and white drawing, ink on watercolor paper.
More Magazine (March 2010): Adobe Photoshop
Coloring on Photoshop. Reversing the dark and light was not my initial plan but along the way, I found this solution worked the best. When a new trial works, it is always a nice feeling.
More Magazine (March 2010): Final Illustration
Final illustration. Snowflakes and cherry petals were separate drawings added as layers on Photoshop. Published in MORE Magazine March issue.