Texture/pattern portrait of Clint Eastwood as the Man With no Name.

“Octoblob” — Experimenting with paints and ink… Threw on some color then tried to make them into organic-looking shapes. Looks like an octopus made of mammalian organs.

“Skull Island” — same method but tried making it into a mythical creature of some sort.

The speech bubble note they added reads “An American fan drew this! For more details, please see the special episode on BS [BS SkyPerfecTV]“. The chances of my art appearing on the US trip special is looking better and better! The “GCCX Goes to USA” episode will air on October 6.

Source: http://www.moeyo.com/2011/09/tgs2011_food.html

I’ve been a fan of Game Center CX for years. So when Arino-Kacho and the crew held an event in Los Angeles this week for a special episode (details yet to be announced) that’s going to air in October, to make up for not being able to go, I decided to finally do a Game Center CX fanart like I’ve been meaning to do for ages. I drew Arino riding on the back of a Hang-On bike with cool guy Cameraman Abe at the handles (a reference to two separate occasions on the show), hapless former AD Inoue chasing them on foot. The pic also has some reference to the show. I then got an LA fan called Jetpack Postman to print out a nice poster-sized print of it to give to Arino and the rest of the GCCX staff.

Here’s a video of the moment he receives it (4:05 mark). Above are some screencaps. My favourite reaction was Abe’s.

Producer/Narrator Kan reportedly was “very protective” of it. Now I wish I had put him and the other show regulars in the pic too but I had no idea who would come on the trip. Arino, Abe and Inoue are my favourites.

This definitely made up for not being able to make it to the event. I can’t wait to see this episode, and I hope my art shows up on there!

A bigger version of the art here:

I will be speaking at the Powell Street Festival, an annual celebration of Japanese-Canadian culture in Vancouver. 12:30 PM at the Firehall Studio on July 29, Saturday. Unlike the ads say, I will not be doing a reading. I’m sure a live reading of a comic book would be kinda interesting, but I’m not prepared for that kind of performance art yet. Instead I’m going to talk about how I started my career and some of the quirks that come with being a Japanese-Canadian who draws manga that isn’t manga because it’s in English!

Some sharp-eyed anime viewer — I’m going to guess someone from /a/ in 4chan — was watching episode 3 of a new anime called “Mayo Chiki!” and somehow recognized a poster in the background as my Matt Groening-style “Death Note” fanart!

Pretty bizarre but cool discovery. I never would’ve noticed. I am honoured! Thanks to everyone who alerted me to this.

It looks sweet!

I was chosen to do the art a week before the store opening. I came up with the concept, they picked the characters, and I drew it on the weekend.

I’ve never seen such a huge print of my work before. I went with a sketchy style because I knew that if I tried to make everything look neat, the slightest imperfection would drive me nuts since it’s so easy to see.

If you’re a Vancouverite or just visiting, come see! It’s only about a block or two away from Waterfront Skytrain station and easy to spot. They sell tons of retro games and new games, too.

I’m also going to do a “villains” version for their New Westminster location, so stay tuned.

Gamedeals Gastown grand opening party – May 20 (Friday), noon to 7pm

Their storefront is going to feature a big mural by me (not traditionally painted as there was no time for that, but printed)! Here’s a sneak peek:

I’ll be there in hiding. For those of you who can’t make it, I’ll post photos after the fact.

Bart Simpson #59 featuring a 12-pager penciled by me, “Eat the Pie Slowly”, is in stores today!