Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

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

signed pre-orders are up!

Double signed book pre-order alert! These two books I have illustrated are coming out this fall, and signed re-orders have started.

Godzilla pop-up book: I teamed up with the pop-up book master Matthew Reinhart (he’s worked with Maurice Sendak!) to bring Godzilla into life. I’ll be signing all preorders through my local  Book Culture (only domestic US shipping at the moment). Published by Insight Editions.

Junko Tabei bio picture book: written by Anita Yasuda will be published in September. Books of Wonder is taking pre-orders and both of us will sign. (USA and international orders accepted.)
We will also have a publishing event there on September 29, so please save the date and bring kids! Published by Clarion Books.

I can’t wait to show you what we made!
And big shout out to my coloring assistant Stephanie Kim without whom the books would not have met deadlines.

CANCELLED: Forward Festival appearance

Really sad to announce I won’t be speaking at upcoming  Forward Festival in Berlin in August.
I have two books due at the end of summer / early fall, and I have come tothe conclusion that if I traveled this summer I would not meet the deadlines.
Maybe I get to come speak at their future event(s), but sadly not this time.

I didn’t mean to announce this publicly, but a few people, friends and otherwise, asked me about my talk in Berlin, and a few of you had already booked the tickets.
you will have an incredible time attending Forward Festival I guarantee it. I love they have so much fun stuff happening both on stage and off. They go out of their way to look for inspiring and cool speakers you may have never seen before at any of the design festivals you have attended.
(I spoke at their previous Vienna event and loved the energy of it.)

I’ll be a hermit this whole summer but I’ll travel again from late fall. Other than Qvarantine Eents in October there is nothing to officially announce yet, but I will be off from teaching at @Ssvanyc for a year, and I plan on taking advantage of my upcoming flexible schedule.

I’m in talks to come to Egypt for a workshop with middle eastern artists, maybe back to Barcelona, to Mexico City and to Singapore… all WIP at the moment. I’ll make sure to announce when any of them become official.
Thank you for your kind understanding.

New Print Release + biggest sale event

On Saturday, noon EST (NY time) I’ll be releasing three new limited edition prints, including this ?Cherry Bombom?, re-releasing a very small number of artist proofs of my most popular prints (Hell-o-Kitty, Perfect Afternoon), AND adding holiday sale on top!
Every print order comes with an Oscar Wild gilded print (while supplies last) courtesy of Beehive Books), and bundle discounts of 15 ~ 30%.

Thank you for supporting my art practice, and thank you for letting me hire and pay for my assistants who will be carefully packing and shipping these prints during the holiday season!

THANK YOU! CLIO Awards!!

I woke up to the news my John Wick 4 poster for Lionsgate has won two Clio Entertainment Awards last night!
The whole JW4 Artist Series has won Gold, and my single poster has won Silver.
Thank you to my agent Aaron Barr of Atrbute for this project.

The First Lecture in the Middle East – Amman, Jordan, October 14 –

I will be giving my very first lecture in the Middle East through the kind invite of Fada 317 from Amman, Jordan.
It is open to the public, please come join!
F.A.D.A. 317 is located at Othman Bin Affan St. Bldg. 50 Area – 1st Circle – Rainbow St.
Mobile + 00 962 7 9919 1795

We are beyond excited as Japanese Illustrator Yuko Shimizu is visiting Jordan and has kindly offered to hold a talk in Amman @fada317. Pass by to learn about her experience as an award-winning illustrator. The talk, followed by a Q&A, starts at 1 PM on October 14.

لن تتخيلوا كم نحن متحمسون بزيارة الرسامة اليابانية يوكو شيميزو إلى الأردن، حيث عرضت علينا إجراء محاضرة في عمان في ف.ض.ا.ء. 317. تفضلوا بالحضور للتعرف على تجربتها كرسامة حائزة على عدة جوائز. تبدأ المحاضرة، التي ستليها أسئلة وأجوبة، في الساعة الواحدة ظهرًا يوم 14 تشرين الأول.

SOLD OUT: Workshop in Seville, Spain, May 2024

update (August 15): Thank you. This workshop is sold out. See you in Seville in May!
Thank you, the workshop in Vienna got sold out in a matter of days, with a long waitlist. We decided to announce our next workshop earlier than originally planned.  I will be teaching in Seville, Spain at La Galeria Roja in May 2024.
This workshop is open to all levels of illustrators, while the Vienna workshop was specifically catered toward professionals and semi-pros.
(Please consider an  entry-level illustrator to be someone who is able to make ideas into sketches and compositions, as well as be able to start and finish illustrations of your own with a medium of your choice.) Though, this does not mean it is unsuitable for professional-level artists. I have taught and gotten to know plenty of professional artists in previous workshops here in the past, and I expect this upcoming session to be the same(I am semi-regular at La Galeria Roja).
This workshop focuses on exercises for coming up with good ideas and compositions. But also, my philosophy about teaching artists never changes. Focus is you, and your own personal voice. I will not be teaching or forcing my technique or style onto others. I want you to thrive as your own self.

Please read more and sign up here. Also, if you have any questions about the workshop, please reach out to [email protected] in English or in Spanish.

PS: I get asked about where I will be teaching next… Right at the moment, I do not have any other workshops scheduled after these. Since all the travels I do are in collaboration with art organizations, conferences, universities, etc, if your organization has a serious interest in having me teach a workshop (or speak), please do reach out to me to discuss.  Thank you.

SOLD OUT: 3 day advanced illustration masterclass in Vienna Austria

update (August 7): Thank you. This workshop is sold out. 
I will be back to Vienna, Austria to teach 3-day illustration masterclass with Atelier Olschinsky this fall.
This workshop is for professional and/or semi-professional advanced-level of illustrators. It costs  EUR720 (about $790 USD). It will be a small group of 10 participants, and we will work very closely together for 3 days.

I won’t teach you how I make my illustrations. You are you, not me. so, let me help you to bring out the best of yourself in your own artwork instead. My joy is seeing you thrive in creating your own unique illustrations based on your personality, your interests, and your individual strengths and weaknesses.

This masterclass includes a preparatory one-time, one-on-one Zoom portfolio review (15–20 minutes) prior to the actual meeting. Each of you will be given individual “homework”: to get the most out of the three-day class, you are encouraged to bring in some ideas on the first day which I will help you to create. During the masterclass, you will also be given mini assignments daily to work and learn together. There will also be a lecture about business and self-promotion. And of course, you are welcome to ask me any questions. 

Please read more and apply through Atelier Olschinsky website.

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