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Riot68He puts down his spraycan and pens to give VA the lowdown. |
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Tristan EatonWe picked the brains of the man behind THUNDERDOG. |
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NanosporeNanospore's Paul and Ben tells us why they do what they do. |
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Mr ClementVA interviews Mr Clement. Creator of Mr. Yeah Kou |
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TesselateProduced his own toys named "Heart Head" and tells VA how he did it! |
Hi Ayako, Tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, how you got to be where you are today!
I was born in Tokyo Japan, and after I graduated high school I came to London to study art at university. I am now studying for my final year at Camberwell College of Arts, at the same time I'm working as a freelance.
Your comic book "Uamou, From Another Planet" is beautiful in its simplicity, just pictures and no words. You obviously have a real care for telling a story through pictures alone. Why did you develop this approach to storytelling?
I was influenced by Jim Woodring's comic, his comic is visually beautiful and I think it makes people use their own imagination more, whilst also concentrating on the drawing itself. i like this idea. It is difficult to make it work but worth trying. I want people to use their own imagination and create their own world.
When did you start creating the Uamou character?
In my primary school days Uamou was born from doodling during lessons on my textbook.
At the end of Uamou #1 he makes friends with a ghost - can we expect to see more of this little ghost in book 2?
Yes she is the leading character in 2nd Uamou comic. It will come out next month!
The ghost character appears a lot throughout your website. Do you think the ghost will get her own comic book one day?
maybe... i plan to make her plush.
"Uamou" and "Katz and Beer" are great figures, can you explain how you got these manufactured?
I asked my best friend's father, he has got a toy factory in Hong Kong. So, i think I am quite lucky. I myself made the clay model first, and through several processes, they became figures!
Your product range is just as intricate as some of your illustration work - little pin badges and now jewelry. How did you end up doing these as well as the figures?
I have liked collecting toys and making things since I was a child. I was influenced by my parents who work as jewellery artisans. I grew up in a creative environment and enjoyed watching things being produced.
Which artists influence your style?
Jim Woodring, Michael Sowa, Yury Norstein, Sigeru Mizuki
Which artist would you most like to collaborate with?
Mr Woodring.
You have done live painting at the Matsuri-UK events, tell us how you got involved in Matsuri-UK, and can we expect to see you painting there again in the future?
They are my good friends. Yes when I finished my essay and I don't have any assessment, then I will join.
What do you enjoy most about living in London?
Meeting with friends. London is very multinational city, people come from different cultures so it's really exciting and it's great to learn from each other.
My interest in toys originated with manga, anime and Japanese films, so Japan is one of the places I on visiting. What are the best things to do or go to see whilst I'm there?
Best things to do is eating 'real' Japanese food and shopping, you can buy anything in Japan. Also i recommend to go to my hometown Ueno, Asakusa.
If you could have one Inspector Gadget type inner gadget what would it be?
Gadget Copter.
Most of your products are available in Playlounge, do you collect toys and if so what does your collection consist of?
FRANK and POPSHAW (Jim Woodring), SOF'BOY (Archer Prewitt), Quimby the Mouse (Chris Ware), AMOS, James Jarvis, Smoking Cat (Kaz), Smoking bunny (Frank Kozik), Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Kaws, HotDogMan, Common Lapin. These are the stuff I got recently.
My room in Tokyo is almost like Playlounge...
If your comic books were scratch and sniff, what would they smell of?
don't know... maybe... poo...