Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

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

new journal available at Fully Booked stores in the Philippines

I have list of future dog names. There are many, but on the top of the female names is Laika.

Not the expensive camera (Leika), mind you, but the name of the first dog who was sent up to space and died alone. And not like that film My Life as a Dog I never had a sad childhood but I still often think about this poor pup, and think every rescue girl dog should be named Laika and given the happy  life the famous Laika was never able to have. The name is not used yet because I haven’t adopted a girl dog yet, and so far my rescue pups came with names given by previous owners.

It’s holiday season. There are pups who wants nothing more than furever home. I’m not going to judge you, but #adoptdontshop if you can. And please, pets are for life. Don’t throw them away like unwanted presents. But, if you are looking to adopt this holiday, sad truth, hit the shelters after the holidays when those ‘presents’ sometimes end up there.

With that long preach paragraph, ladies and gentlemen and everybody else in between, here is my new piece: Space Fetch. Yes, that’s what the original Laika looked like. Really cute.

If you are in the Philippines, please go to Fully Booked stores before the end of the year to get your free copy of 2020 journal with this jacket. (Minimum PHP 3,000.000) while supplies lasts.

We are working on releasing this as a tote bag as well. Stay tuned.

Holiday gift for a good cause: charity print release

Gift for a good cause! Just released this new limited edition print (edition of 75) where we donate $25 for each print sold to Waggytail Rescue where my senior]dog Bear was adopted from on Christmas 2 years ago. (Bear on third photo)
This will make great holiday gift for animal lovers.
I’m traveling till December 10th, but we are currently taking pre-orders. We hope to start shipping on December 11.
Thank you for your interest.

Godzilla wins Society of Illustrators Gold Medal

I was just notified Godzilla Showa Era Film Box Set for Criterion Collection (Just released at the end of October) had won Gold Medal in advertising category from the Society of Illustrators.
Thank you AD Eric Skillman and the team for the wonderful project, and the perfect ‘Goldilocks’ art direction. Thank you jury members and everyone involved in making this happen.
Award ceremony and exhibition opening will be on Friday, January 10, 2020 at the Society of Illustrators, NY. Hope to see you there.

new tote bags available from Fully Booked

Fully Booked is a Philippine based English bookstore chain. We have been collaborating for some years now. These new tote bags, just became available at their stores, as well as online, are based on our past collaborations.
The bags are around $10USD each. They have not shipped them out of the country, but the founder of Fully Booked personally told me that they are willing to ship abroad should orders come in.
Those who are NOT based in the Philippines, please contact [email protected] to see if they can ship to your country and how much the shipping will cost.
You can order WAVE tote here, and Cat Lady’s Perfect Weekend here. 

Vintage Japanese Classics 5 book series announced

Dreams really do come true, sometimes! UK publisher Penguin Vintage just announced the release of five book series of Japanese classics.
As a book nerd, and especially a big Haruki Murakami fan, this was truly a dream project that I didn’t know existed till it came my way. This series consists of: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima, The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, and Out by Natsuo Kirino.
I will post all the images soon, but for now, you can read more about the each book and place pre-orders through the publisher’s website.

new kids book The Cat Man of Aleppo just announced

The final spreads for my upcoming kids book The Cat Man of Aleppo (written by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha, Penguin Putnam) was just approved yesterday. Exactly one year ago, I started the project by picking up a book about Syria so I can start learning about a country and the war I didn’t know much at all about.
Since then, I’ve read 15+ books, watched 2 full length documentary films, talked to multiple journalists, hours and hours spent on internet, and then, finally months and months of drawing non-stop later…, the book is officially completed, and ready to go to the printer.
Then I went home to a package with almost finalized color proof! A fantastic end of the day.
Here is the official sneak peek.
You can place pre-orders via Amazon, BookDepository.com (UK based and ships free or with low fee worldwide), from the publisher, and of course at your local independent bookstores.
Publishing is scheduled for April 14, 2020.

original drawings now available from Felix Comic Art

Though I have been selling my originals on and off for years, but I was never good at it.  I have never been proactive, or had enough time to deal with everyone who were kind enough to show some interests. I finally decided to get a help from a specialist.
Felix Comic Art officially starts selling some of my originals, as an exclusive sales rep as of today. 
The originals are priced for everyone, from small pencil sketches priced similar to some of my signed prints, to massive detailed ink drawings for those who are experienced collectors with bigger budgets.
Shown here are some of the initial available pieces. Please visit Felix Comic Art site to find more details and prices.

We are not offering private commissions at this moment, but we will see how our collaborations are going to go, and may offer in the future, at that point, they will make announcements. Thank you!

Criterion announces the ultimate Godzilla box set

Criterion Collection just announced their 1000th release, 15 movie big box set of Gozilla Showa Era  films, 1954–1975. 15 illustrators created each separate title, and I was lucky enough to make the front and back jackets, as well as big spread, and one other interior images, total of 4 illustrations for this project.
“all the Godzilla films from Japan’s Showa era: 15 kaiju rampages, presented in high-definition digital transfers and accompanied by a slew of supplemental material, including a giant deluxe hardcover book with notes on each film and new illustrations from 16 artists, new and archival interviews with cast and crew members, and much, much more.”

The box set will be released on October 29. They are taking pre-orders. 

LIMITED to 20: T-shirt to help Japan Center of Bogota, available in the USA

UPDATE: SOLD OUT. Wow, that was fast. It went in about an hour. Thank you so much for your kind support.
I’m helping out (in a small way) Japan Center of Bogota, Colombia, who invited me to give a workshop last fall in Universidad de Los Andes, as well a team of young filmmakers of  who are making a beautiful video BUNKA promoting the center.

They have decided to create a T-shirts to help fund the project. Most of the shirts will be available in Colombia, but they have made 20 shirt available in the US. You can make a purchase through my shop while supplies lasts.
Unixes M only, we ship to US address only. Thank you for understanding.

Please read the statement from the film collective below:

Bunka is the Japanese world for culture and the name of the first art-film video by our film collective.   It is a cinematic exploration of 5 japanese arts: Chanoyu, Ikebana, Kendo, Shodo and Taiko. This short-film was conceived with the idea of supporting the recently opened Japan Center in Bogotá, which offers free activities for the public while.

This limited series of shirts were made in order to support the video project, thanks to the Donation of Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu.

By purchasing this t-shirt you will be supporting the video production and part of the planning and production of an art exhibition to be held on the second semester of 2019 (Date TBD). You will be credited both in the video and the exhibition and we will be forever grateful. 

So far the project has been possible, thanks to the voluntary collaboration of several talented artist and some private donations, however we are far from achieving the total amount required to cover whole the productions expenses.


just got nominated for HUGO AWARD!

I just got nominated for Hugo Award. Holy craaap, can this be real? I am very very honored. Hard to put this into words. I grew up as a biggest sci-fi fantasy nerd, started my interest in illustration because of my love for Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, when I was around 12 or 13. I will have all their monographs, first editions, in my parents’ house.
Since that time, I have branched out into different genres in illustration, but HUGO is a name I associate with those of my heroes, whom I think of as… GODS. And it’s just… I don’t even know how to process this news.
Thank you for those who were kind enough to throw my name into the hat. And congratulations to all the nominees.

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