yukoshimizu:Sometimes I get asked if I draw samurais as a form...

yukoshimizu:

Sometimes I get asked if I draw samurais as a form of “selling out”. I’m a Japanese, people want samurai illustrations, thus you draw what you rather not for money, blah blah… Every time I get caught off guard, stunned and not sure how to reply. Look, I say no to plenty of things if it’s not for me. I draw what I said yes to. I grew up in NY as a kid and went back to Japan as a teenager. Essentially, the first few years back in Tokyo was me feeling like a Gaijin and anything that was Japanese was cool. I go through my drawings from high school and I find plenty of samurais in there. And I took Kendo classes during college. Those childhood obsessions and brief Japanese martial arts practice definitely helps me decades since then. Selling out is the last thing I thing about while I draw this guy.

Follow @yukoshimizu, the cover artist of the beautiful @fsgbooks editions of The Tale of Shikanoko for more inspiring art.