Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

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

Editorial, Editorial

Last year, I wasn’t able to do a lot of editorial illustrations, but I am feeling good finally getting back into it, creating many new pieces for many new (and some familiar) clients now.2008 ended with a fun portrait for TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year issue illustrating the one and only: Zhang Yimou, so honored to be able to draw him. To kick off 2009, two illustrations appeared on the cover of Boston Globe Ideas Section yesterday. (Yes, that means, I worked on January 1st!)

Shows / Lectures and School Visits In Works

I will keep squeezing in travels in my schedule to come meet you! So join me when I am there.

In January 23, I will be in Germany for Embedded Art exhibit opening at Akademie der Künste in Berlin. (Hope it is won’t be as cold as it is now!)

In February, I will be coming to Washington University in St. Louis, thanks to the invite of my former studio-mate and super talented John Hendrix.

In March, I am scheduled to be in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico thanks to the kind invitation from Amarillo Centro de Diseno. A show and lecture are scheduled. aspiring illustrators and students in Mexico, come come! Looking forward to meeting you there.

Also in March, I will be judging a children’s book illustration competition organized by Teatrio in Chioggia, Italy. They are still accepting applications. So, please apply your awesome works!

New Products!

My first line of T-shirts are in works! If everything goes smooth, three designs are going to hit your favorite American casual three-letter- brand-you-know-who stores nation-wide in late spring for their Summer ’09 collection.

In Europe, Libero diapers are coming out with Yuko limited edition designs soon. Please stay tuned.

Also, as I wrote a few weeks ago, The CIA Super Hero Calendar is selling like hot cakes! Thank you thank you thank you to those who purchased the calendar.

THE CIA SUPER HERO CALENDAR IS HERE

My awesome agent in the UK, CIA (stands for: Central Illustration Agency), always comes up with fun ideas to promote represented artists. Just in time for new year, they came out with a calendar in theme of super hero. All the images were created specifically for this calendar, one illustration per week. You will see my super heroine image in week 47 in November.  To see more images, notcot.com featured it on their blog.
Hurry! number is limited. I just ordered my copies yesterday as my last-minutes Christmas shopping.

SHOWS, SHOWS.

I am going through the end-of-the-year-crunch-time, so more details will be posted when everything slows down during the big holiday season.Anyway, there are a few different exhibitions going on now as well as scheduled in early 2009. More details are in SHOWS & EVENTS SECTION.I donated a print to a charity show at Ogilvy Art, and the end of auction is this week. If you are interested in purchasing my print, which I normally don’t sell, it is a good time, and for a great cause. Read more here.Also, a group show at Akademie der Künste (Academy of Art) in Berlin, Germany in January. I will be there for the opening.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello. I am away up to Thanksgiving weekend. I will be back to my studio on December 1. If you need to reach me while I am gone, the best way is to e-mail. I should be checking e-mail at least once a day.

Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving.

INQ MOBILE LAUNCH

INQ mobile has just launched in the UK. INQis the world’s first Social Mobile, always stay connected to Skype, Facebook and Windows Live Message.INQ features various artists’ work on their packaging and promotion. from our SHY Studio, Marcos Chin, Sara Varon and I got chosen to be included in launching artist group. You can see our contributing images as well as other artists works on INQ ART ALLIANCE page.

SPECTRUM 15

I was teaching my regular Tuesday morning class today when my sci-fi-fantasy-fan-student Jason told me he saw my work in SPECTRUM 15 which just came out. I had no idea what he was talking about. So he went back to his dorm room to get a copy. This is how I found out They Came From Below cover for TOR BOOKS (written by Blake Nelson, AD: Irene Gallo) got accepted into the annual. Thank you Irene for applying, you made my day.

SANDMAN FIRST ISSUE IS NOW IN STORES

The Sandman The Dream Huntersjust hit the comic book stores near you. I got my own copy messengered from DC Vertigo this morning. My very first DC cover! I have illustrated a lot of things, but “first” is always, always exciting. This gig came through a rather unexpected route.Nicholas Blechman, art director at The New York Times Book Review, contacted me a few years ago to draw a portrait of Neil Gaiman. Nicholas thought I would be a perfect fit to illustrate the writer who deals a lot with dreams. A few weeks later when the Book Review came out, my studio phone rang. On the other end of the line was, to my big surprise, Neil Gaiman himself. He gave me the nicest compliment by saying this was the first time he saw a portrait that actually looked like him. Later on I got contacted by editors of DC Vertigo asking if I am interested in possibly drawing one of Neil’s stories into graphic novel, which I had to turn down. I have been illustrating for a while, also a lot of my closest friends are comic artists. I knew very well what it takes to be a comic artist, and I knew I didn’t qualify.I had been in touch with wonderful editors from DC Comics (Karen Barger and Pornsak Pichetshote) since. There were multiple ideas and project that came and went. Finally, the first project came that actually worked out, that was this four volume series of SANDMAN. And it was such a fun project to work on. Thank you Neil, thank you Karen and Pornsak.

Cover illustrations are uploaded to ILLUSTRATIONS SECTION.

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