Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

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

January 20, 2008

January is already more than half way through! How is everyone? I am fighting a tough ulcer yet again (didn’t I have this same time last year??), but otherwise doing OK. Just working a lot before taking off later this week.

As it is in my resolution, I have been working on updating my site more often, a bit at a time. Two new illos are added to ILLUSTRATION section today, and also this NEWS section got reorganized and a link button to Lost At E Minor (where I post random stuff occasionally) was added.

INTERVIEW IN A SINGAPOREAN MAGAZINE iSh

Singaporean design and architecture magazine iSh issue 8.5 has four page interview article on my work. Big thank you to all the nice people at iSh: Kelly Cheng, Vivian Toh and Frederic.

SHOWS OPENED IN NEW YORK AND VENICE

Artists Against War has opened at Society of Illustrators, New York last night. My piece is this…. I don’t want people to think I was making fun.. Because most of the participants are male illustrators, I wanted to make my piece as feminine as possible. It is a fake perfume ad…Fabulous Colored Pencils In The Worldalso just opened in Venice, Italy. Show is up till January 27th. I am going to the show closing. Excited!

For details about both shows and more, please go to SHOW SECTION.

STUDIO IS CURRENTLY CLOSED

Yuko Shimizu Studio is currently closed. To prevent your message from getting lost in the pile of junk, please wait to call/e-mail until Monday January 7th. Thank you.

SITE UPDATES & QUICK NEWS, ETC.

+ 8 images added to ILLUSTRATION SECTION. I’m sorry again for a long delay. My new year’s resolution should be to update my site more often.. + 5 new shows are scheduled in the early part of 2008, one in Venice, Italy and 4 at the Society of Illustrators, New York City. Please check further details in SHOW SECTION.
+ Society of Illustrators Silver Medal in editorial category. Thank you judges, and thank you SooJin Buzelli and Maynard Kay of PLANADVISER Magazine!

+ New interview article in M.Style Magazine of Shanghai, China. Thank you Parii.

Hope you had a wonderful year. I just finished the last assignment of the year, worked worked and worked since I got back from Berlin.

I am taking a break with the usual suspects, off to an old perfume center of the world, sipping “real” cafe au lait… Have a wonderful new year and see you again in 2008.

END OF THE WORK YEAR, YEAH!

A lot of my clients are off from work next week. That means this work year 2007 will end pretty much on this Friday! I feel like I haven’t left my studio in about two weeks or so. Well, I do go back home to sleep, but it sure does feel like I am in the studio 24-7.

Here is a pic of my studio right now. I have two machines fully running to finish up all the work.

Some exciting news are:
I am just about to finish up a secret project with a big computer technology corporation. It will go live very soon. I will post the details here as soon as the project is up and running.
And a Pepsi Max can I had designed will be on sale early 2008 as well (world wide, but unfortunately only outside of the US and Canada).

In the editorial world:
New monthly illustration with BEST LIFE Magazine is starting from February issue. At least six more months of Now Hear This! supplement CD cover for THE WORD Magazine in the UK.

Did you have a good year? I guess I cannot complain. Lots of interesting projects, lots of nice clients, lots of business trips and lectures abroad. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who were so nice to me all this year.

Looking forward to working with you again in 2008. And, looking forward to meeting those whom I hadn’t in 2008 as well. I LOVE nice people!

LITTLE BROTHER – A NEW BOOK COVER

Irene Gallo of Tor Booksis one of my favorite art directors to work with. It is not that I asked her directly, but from my work experiencs, I believe she thinks one of the most important part of art directing an illustrator is actually to pick the right illustrator for the right job. I know a few art directors like her. So, once I get picked, she is never fussy or picky about what I do. This is when we (illustrators) do our best job, I think. It is always nice to be trusted and given freedom because of the trust.Anyways, I just recently finished a project with her for this book cover Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Irene just posted an interesting behind-the-scene story of designing the cover. Also Cory himself posted a really kind comment on the cover as well. Thanks to you both, and everyone who was involved in designing the book.

Little Brother will be out in Spring.

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