MOCCA Festival is here!

Day one at the MOCCA has launched here at the Armory in New York City. For those of you unfamiliar with this unique event which is in it's 5th season, this is one of the few comic book conventions which features comic book creators (what a concept!) More and more, comic book conventions have become flooded with non-comic book related companies and vendors. Shows such as the San Diego Comicon has become a media related mass frenzy where the floor has diminished presence of comic book creators and lending itself more an more towards Hollywood and television stars and shows. Thus it's very hard to find shows where fans show up just to see what other artists are doing and creating.

This show was a debut of the series called "Piggy Back" about an artist pig trying to "make it" in the big city life.

Launch Party Tonight in NYC

Currently working on last minute printing materials to prepare for the event tonight. Would love to see y'all stop by and say hi! 75 East, 7th Street at the Big Bar. If you know of any art directors, please pass this information along. Stephanie and I are very excited about tonight.

KOSS2 Launch Party Tomorrow Night in NYC

Well, I'm very excited about the part tomorrow. I've been working with Stephanie Seliskar in making sure that things run smoothly.

Equally as pressing, I've been preparing for the MOCCA exhibit coming up this weekend for Sat and Sun at the armory in New York City. It's such a relief not having to worry about traveling far for some of these shows (too bad I can't say the same thing for San Diego Comicon!)

My table is number 216 on the exhibit floor at the 26th Street and Park Avenue. The shows start at 11 AM. Hope to see you there!

On a side note, I just am amazed how expensive printer inks are. I just got the set for my wide set printer, Epson 2400. It ran me over 100 bucks?! I smell a government conspiracy here!

KOSS2 Launch Party on 6-5 in NYC.

Me and my colleague, Stephanie Seliskar, are having a launch party on the 5th of June. I've attached a flyer with this blog posting. Please feel free to circulate the image to your friends (especially art directors) by right-clicking your mouse over the image and "save."

Advertising Storyboards

Hope everyone had a great long weekend! Just finished doing a five day on location drawing stint with advertisement giant, Saatchi and Saatchi. It was a lot of fun and challenging cranking out close to fifty illustrations. Unfortunately, due to disclosure issues I can't post any of them (I really wish I could - sorry). It was quite busy working during the weekend, but I fortunately didn't miss two BBQ parties with a former student and another close friend.

KOSS2 Launched!

A Beautiful day in Manhattan area. I'm pleased and very excited to announce that Stephanie Seliskar and I have finally launched KOSS2 Illustration website. It's a joint project where photography meets illustration. You can visit it at www.koss2.com.

Illustration photography jury

Days are getting warmer which is a good thing!
I was part of a jury for a students' art show in Hillsborough, NJ organized by veteran illustrator, Kevin Murphy who has just opened up The Art Academy of Hillsborough. You can visit their site at www.artacademyofhillsborough.com. I had the chance of meeting up with a good friend and classmate, Graig Kreindler, from School of Visual Arts.

Piggy Back Project

It's been quite the raining week this week. Not a single day has gone by without a rain. I've been juggling projects this week from advertising to the personal. I've picked up a side project about a pig (why not?) It's an semi auto biographical series of illustrations about myself as a pig. I'm hoping to get a compilation of this by MOCCA this summer.

A great weekend at the Brookly Botonical Garden

Had a great weekend at the Brooklyn Botanical garden. Sunday was quite the rain day, but Saturday turned out to be quite nice and sunny! Thank you all who came and stopped by at the table. I sat close to an awesome artist, Kate Williamson, who has a great line art and color style which is reminds me of the wood block illustrators in Japan.

Some Japan Photos

I just returned from Philadelphia on a weekend vacation. Stephanie and I are slowly putting together the pieces for the new KOSS2 website. Stay tuned for www.koss2.com!

I've opened up a facebook page to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. I must say, however, I'm not quite used to having personal interactions over the web. I guess I'm old fashioned in that regards.

Upcoming Event: I will be doing a drawing lecture at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in the first weekend of May.

I'm very pleased to announce that I am now a proud father . . . of a mac book pro! I've been waiting for this for quite some time. I'm looking forwards to finally being mobile with my work.


At a Akihabara Unagi Restaurant

Can you believe that Ramen Noodles now are served in a can?

The busy streets of Ginza!

On the top of Roppongi Hills, Tokyo. Funny story behind this one. I was told to meet some acquaintances underneath this statue of a spider. However, "spider" can also mean "cloud" in Japanese. Needless to say when I asked for directions at the police station, they were very confused.

Here above I'm at an art opening at Ginza. One of my relatives, Kato Yutaka, who is a graphic designer is on my left. The artist is on my right.

...and yeah, if you thought driving through New Jersey was crazy try navigating through a small section of Nakano in Tokyo. Now imagine this being the layout for the entire Tokyo region!

Back to NY Mode

It's nice to be back in USA. Japan was a great experience and in some ways, a culture shock. One interesting thing that I noticed is that people are polite and expected to be sensitive and considerate to the surrounding public. For example, usage of mobile phones are not allowed on public transportation. You must set your phone to "Manner Mode (essentially vibration)." Another interesting thing is that a lot of the men have the same haircut. It's the disheveled long hairstyle which you would typically see worn by your favorite anime/manga character. Veerrry interesting!

On the creative side, I met up with one of my editors, Doug Jackson, with whom I worked with on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He introduced me to folks at Eat Creative. I also got to hang out with one of my relatives, Kato Yutaka, who is a graphic designer and a Japanese match collector. We visited couple of art openings in Ginza where his friends were having an art gallery opening. I also met a Japanese illustrator, Yasumistu, who's illustration style is very distinctly Japanese (especially where he uses the Japanese wood block tecniques.)

I will be posting photos tomorrow. For now, it's trying to cope with my jet lag which is proving to be more difficult that I initially anticipated!

Writing from Japan

Well, this past week has been quite the culture shock. Among many other things, using a internet cafe has been most interesting. They offer 24 hour web browsing while you can have your private room, countless selections of manga titles, and free beverage service. They also offer free shower, shampoo, and soap. Another place I went to has a 24 hour service kitchen and offers a free complimentary hard boiled egg (with a side of mayo.)

Digital Java

Well, as it turns out, I'm still in the US. I had a very painful ankle sprain which was just as mysterious as to how it all happened. I'm heading out to Japan this week now that things are much better. I was on crutches for the first time in my life for the past couple of weeks (nice to build up that weak upper body of mine!)

Here's one of my first attempts at trying to incorporate digital and traditional.

A transitional month

Ny Comicon was another spectacular event. The floor just gets large and larger each coming year. Wiley Singapore sent over a package of promo material which arrived in perfect timing.

I had a great productive meeting with Stephanie Tuesday. We're both very pleased and excited with our joint portfolio project we're putting together. A dedicated website which features our combined works is currently being designed and will launch shortly.

Rarely, do I post a personal note on my blog. However, I feel excited announce that I'm making a two week trip to Japan next month. It's been over ten years since my last visit and I'm very excited and at the same time a bit nervous. I look forward to visiting relatives. I'm also making some visits to colleagues that have worked with me on my recent projects. It will be nice to finally see them face to face as opposed to chatting over Skype.

On a transitional note, I have made the decision to move my Kearny Studio back into Jersey City. While my time at Kearny has been great and productive in many ways, I feel that bringing back the studio to Jersey City, will provide an opportunity to mentally organize and structure my work load as I am planning on working on a wide range of projects in various mixed media.

Well that's it for now. More to follow (sorry about the long delay.)

Snow vacation in Chicago

Yup - I'm in Chicago visiting my college best buddy. AND IT IS FREEZING!!!! There's about a foot of snow right now and powdery flakes continue to sprinkle from above. My friend's laptop says -25 degrees wind chill forecast for tomorrow when we're supposed to visit downtown. I sure know when to pick my days to go out midwest!

I'm on my last three pages for Deep Salvage. New York Comic Con in coming up fast. I'll be in the artists alley again for year three.

First post of the year!

Welcome to the New Year! I'm very excited about this year - it's going to be great! (Not to mention the new Apple MacBook Pro 17 inch machines that was just announced today. I've been waiting for this for almost a year!)

I found a recent review by a communication strategist, Lee Hopkins, in Australia for the Five Dysfunctions of a Team Manga that was released in October.

Here's the full link:
http://leehopkins.net/2008/12/29/the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team-manga/

I’ve just read Patrick Lencioni’s brilliant book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, now out with Manga-style graphics. It is superb!

Kensuke Okabayashi adds value to an already great book with wonderful illustrations, making the book an absolute joy to read.

I strongly recommend you nip out and pick up a copy of this book. It will take you all of a couple of hours to read it, but the insights, coupled with the team exercises at the end, are MORE than worth your time!

Just got my author's copies

No illustrations this week - I need a little time taking care of finishing off some coloring work for Deep Salvage. UPS just delivered off a bunch of boxes of author's copies of Figure Drawing for Dummies (an unexpected surprise).

Have a great New Year everyone! 2009 is going to be awesome. I can't wait to get started.

Merry Christmas!!

Join the Blog!

Hello,

I recently added a feature where you can click to follow the events and postings on my blog site. All you need to do is click the "follow this blog" button on towards the bottom right hand corner. Thanks

Hope you join!

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #8

Hello everyone! Another rainy day today. My father brought back some awesome Kuretake Pen brushes and more manga paper from Japan. I'm really excited to try them out for my next illustrations.

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #7

Stay warm, everyone!

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #6

Working from my home studio today after twisting my ankle during a work out. I'm about to work on a separate freelance project tonight which is due tomorrow, but I wanted to at least post another Okabayashi_Seliskar illustration project.

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #5

I trust everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Coming back into the studio office after a long weekend. I'm getting ready to experiment with some painting textures into my digital artwork. I'll be posting samples by the end of this week. In the meantime, here's another Okabayashi_Seliskar Project illustration. Please click to see the entire view.

On a side note, I saw the 2002 Walt Disney animated movie called Treasure Planet. While the movie story lacks a bit "punch," I really liked the artwork which blends the traditional and digital realms quite nicely. I definitely would recommend watching it . . . for the art.

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #4

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Here's a fourth Okabayashi_Seliskar illustration. Again, you'll need to click on the illustration to see the entire view. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Waaaaa (Trying to surf the Hokusai style)

Well it really is starting to get cold. I've posted another illustration. One of my reps has moved their office to a different location within the Big Apple region. I can't wait to visit their new location. I'm in the process of building up a business grant proposition this weekend. I'll fill in the details shortly.

Okabayashi_Seliskar Project #3

Happy "Monday Blues" everyone. I'm posting a third illustration I did with Stephanie Seliskar.

It's starting to chill down since yesterday. I think our "mild" days are officially over. I made a dash to the art store after realizing I've used up my last drawing pencil in the entire studio (actually I think I may have simply lost them all :))

Okabayashi_Seliskar Illustration #2

Here's a second illustration I just completed with Stephanie Seliskar. You can view her photo website works at www.stephanieseliskarphotography.com.

Amazon Japan

I was happy to learn that The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Manga Edition is recently spotted at the top of the Japan Amazon selling list in the business section.

Under the Tree

Here is another sample I did today. I imported a screen tone pattern using a manga software and set the layer above the image to "screen." Again, you'll need to click on the image see its entirety (I apologize - I'm trying to figure out how to get the entire image to appear without having to make the overall appearance too small.)

Teaming up with Stephanie Seliskar

I'm posting an illustration based on a collaborative project with one of my former client and colleague,Stephanie Seliskar, who is an amazing photographer. I love her sense of strong narrative and usage of light.

Sample

Here's a digital sample I just did today. You'll need to click on it to see the entire view.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Out in Stores!

Well, just like that my birthday came and went (I was born on Halloween). This year is just flying by!

Speaking of Halloween, The Five Dysfunction of a Team is now officially out in stores nationwide as of last Friday. It can be found in the business/management section.

Heading down to DC

It's amazing how fast this weekend just flew by like a pig (or something like that!)
Thanks to all who came by this weekend. Despite the bad weather, the place was full! My friend Sal Cipriano and Marylin Patrizzo came by. Afterwards, I did two interviews with Megumi Sato from TOKYO FM AT NEW YORK (one in English and the other one in Japanese.) I'll have to find out when and where it's being broadcasted/podcasted.

I'm taking a short trip down to DC to check out the galleries. It's been a while, so I'm looking forward to just getting out my studio.

Have a great day, folks!

Signing today @ Kinokuniya

I'll be doing a signing today on the second floor of Kinokuniya Books from 3pm. I'll be doing some demonstrations as well.

Stay dry everyone - it's supposed to be a wet Saturday.

KO out!

Kinokuniya

Back from St. Louis! It was fun hanging out in the mid west. I visited The Arch (unfortunately, the line was very long on a Saturday!) But the view and experience was worth the wait. I got to walk through one of the casino floors along the river.

25th, Saturday, from 3PM, I'll be doing a presentation at the Book Kinokuniya, 1073 Avenue of the Americas (between 40th and 41st streets, across from Bryant Park), NY, NY.

- Signing event is on the 25th, not the end of this week. Sorry for the confusion.

St. Louis Big Read Book Festival

I'll be flying off to St. Louis, MO for the Big Read Book Festival. My publisher is sending me over there to the mid-west. I'll be doing a class seminar at 10:30 am to noon at the Clayton High School. I'm very excited as this is the first time visiting St. Louis. Here this the link to the festival web site:

http://www.bigread.net/
I look forward to seeing you folks in MO there!

I'm flying a day earlier to hopefully get to do some sight seeing. I recently got my very first camcorder (which I'm very excited about as well). I'll be taking this "baby" along with me. Now only if I can get this thing to work. . .

On a more personal level, I've been feeling rather off-beat this week (haven't taken a vacation since March). While the book deadlines are for the most part wrapping up, I'm still trying to adjust my daily schedule to a normal work day routine. For example, I'm feeling wired up even at 3 am in the morning and can't get to sleep.

I've been back at the studio reorganizing the set up. There's a lot of backed up work that needs to get done. I'll be spending sometime while at the airport tomorrow trying to put together a temporary work flow schedule.

Stepping outside of my Time Capsule

Well, as I thought would happen in my last entry, I've been under the gun working around the clock to meet deadlines for Figure Drawing for Dummies and haven't had a chance to update the blog (all my entries would've been the same "I'm tired and stressed out" phrases anyways!) However, I had my first free Sunday this past weekend in months (didn't quite get Saturday off). It's a bizarre experience stepping outside and not having to worry about a deadline on the following day - like stepping outside the storm shelter and surveying the world for the first time. It almost doesn't feel right not working all the time. If anyone of you have ever had this experience, I suggest taking a picture of your studio before and after the storm. It's going to be a long week trying to pick up the debris of drawings, references, pencils, empty coffee cups, and movie DVDs. I can't believe it's October already - I totally missed the summer experience!

Today I had some corrections based on my editor's feedback of one of the chapters for Figure Drawing for Dummies. I'm not exactly finished with the project yet, but the light at the end of the tunnel is right in front of me. I'm setting my sights towards the next projects with colleagues. Some of the them are way over due (including updating a storyboard portfolio for my rep.) In addition to working with other writers, I'm going to be working with one of my former client and art director who recently entered the freelance photography industry. Her works are beautiful and amazing! We've both taken fancy towards each others works and look forwards to doing projects together - more details to follow.

Last week, I got my first copies of Manga for Dummies translated into German. It's interesting to see the first few pages of JAVA! being translated into German! I'm still waiting to receive copies the French translation.

Hope all is well with the anime friends - I wish I could have made it to the Anime Festival this past weekend in New York City. Last year was definitely fun.

Pigs still fly when the sky is blue . . .

Entering home stretch!

This is the last month working on the Dummies Book. While it's been quite busy with deadlines (I'm writing and illustrating the book at the same time,) I'm very happy with how things are going. I hope to be finishing up within the month.

On another note, I just got the advance copies of the Five Dysfunctions book from Singapore that I've been working on for the past year.

Since it appears I haven't had much time to update my blog these days due to a crazy schedule, I just want to say thanks to my family and friends for their support during a challenging year. I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone as soon as I'm through with this book.

Sometimes Pigs Fly when the sky is blue!

Gesture Drawings

I haven't posted much art lately, so here are some quick gesture drawings I did in a Soho figure drawing session last weekend.

It's raining haard here in Jersey City!

Book Tour in MO

How's everyone's weekend?
I went to a figure drawing session in Soho. I desperately need to get some more drawings for Dummies book.

I've been invited to attend a book tour in Missouri on October, 11 (A week before signing at Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York City).
Details are here.

"Five Dysfunctions" Hitting Stores in Asia next Month

It's finally done and printed. Five Dysfunctions of a Leadership is being printed and set to be distributed next month. It will be first released in Asia before coming to bookstores in the USA around October, this fall.

Phew - over a year long project finally coming to an end. It's been a great learning experience as well. I'll keep everyone posted as to the exact date of release.

Cover for Figure Drawing for Dummies Released!

Hello folks! I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I just found the cover for Figure Drawing for Dummies. Out of the many choices of figure drawing sketches I gave the publisher, they went along with this one. It's currently being listed on amazon website along with The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. You can find these and other of my book listings here!

Back from the Palm Trees

Well, like the wind that blows so fast, the San Diego Comicon 2008 is over and I'm back in Jersey City. It was nice to hang out with friends from art school and taking a tour of San Diego for the first time. The people were so nice over there - every time I walk in a busy Starbucks, they actually have time to start up a friendly conversation! I was a bit disappointed not seeing the publishers and artists I saw last year. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice to see Hollywood and the gaming industry present at the convention. But the comics section has been getting smaller and smaller every year a return. Most people coming seem to be coming not for the comics, but to see the latest games and hot acting stars. The banners that are posted throughout the downtown area say "celebrating the popular arts". It seems to imply they're no longer about the comics anymore. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

It was actually a bit busy with deadlines so I didn't get a chance to walk the convention hall until Friday. After three all nighters in a row, I decided I needed to go for a break and go to the beach rather than staying another day inside the convention center. Now I have a nice tan (actually it's kinda painful right now).

I'm working on the rough artwork drafts for Figure Drawing for Dummies. I got a call from the Main Japanese Kinokuniya Bookstore in Midtown Manhattan about doing a book signing event on October 25th. I'll post more details later.

For now, it's back to taking cold showers to sooth the stinging sunburns. Wish I could be back in San Diego right now (the weather over there is so awesome)!

San Diego Comicon

Hard to believe it, but it's already here - San Diego Comicon!

I just landed here this evening. This year, I wanted to come down a little earlier to hopefully catch up with friends from the SVA years. The flight was pleasant (asides from those few unexpected bumps). We stopped over in Austin, TX on the way in. I haven't been to that airport in over 10 years - brings back memories.

Sorry for the delay in updates - our DSL service from Verizon was giving us headaches, so we had to switch over to cable connection which is a heck lot faster. Makes me wish I had switched over sooner!

Final revisions for the Five Dysfunction of a Team have been submitted. I'll keep everyone posted with regards to when it's all finally completely done. Thanks everyone for their support throughout this past year.

Till later!

Updates before the weekend

I hope everyone is doing well and planning for a fourth of July weekend BBQ. While working on the 3rd quarterly deadlines, I'm trying to get organized with junk and clutter everywhere (seriously, it's like a tornado just ripped through my home studio.) I haven't been able to get back to my main studio in a while, so I hope to do so soon.

I had a great meeting with my Managing Editor from Wiley who was visiting from Singapore earlier this week. We're all excited about the Dysfunctions Book as the sales and orders are expected to do very well. It's slated to first enter the Asia market before hitting the US market. You can pre-order the book on Amazon.

That's it for now - I'll do my best to sneak in another update soon.

To those traveling, drive safe! To those flying, tell your pilot to not fall asleep!

Quarterly Deadline

Hope everyone is doing well! It's hard to believe it's already summer!

As I'm brushing up some corrections for the Five Dysfunctions, I'm rushing to meet a quarterly deadline for the Figure Drawing for Dummies (which is tomorrow).

I've gotten a some emails lately asking me to review portfolios online. Please excuse my tardiness in getting back to you. I'm neck deep in getting deadlines, but I promise to try and get back to as many emails as I can.

Summer is Here!

Hope this post finds everyone well! I did a couple of panels talking about drawing from life at AnimeNext. I wish I could have done more, but I had a quarterly deadline for Wiley yesterday. Thanks to my new brand new awesome assistant, Rachael Mellaci! She's an SVA student (my alma mater) who's helped me meet my deadlines. Rachael just did an awesome job on applying tones to the pages of Five Dysfunctions book.

I'm having a lunch meeting with my publisher from Jossey-Boss/Wiley Publishing, tomorrow.

Heat is ON!

Well it's been another great weekend at MOCCA. In the scorching sudden heat index in the Big Apple, a huge convention room surrounded with multiple AC units is always welcome!

I enjoyed meeting Nash from Blue Sky Studios. I also was lucky enough to catch up with Joe Staton (one of the coolest and nicest guy in the industry)! I made sure I got some original pages of Scooby Doo from him.

As I'm catching up with deadlines for Figure Drawing for Dummies, I'm trying to get on track with projects for Archaia Studio Press. I hope to have some images to post later on this month. Stay Tuned!

MOCCA this weekend!

Wow, things have been so chaotic, I almost forgot to mention this. I have a table at this weekend's MOCCA at the Puck Building in SOHO, New York City. I hope to see you guys there!

http://www.moccany.org/artfest-exhibitors-08.html

Trying to make up a quaterly deadline for Wiley Publishing. Things are tight, but it's nice to have a change of subject matter. I'm planning on getting a lap top computer soon so that I'll be able to take my work wherever I go.

Peeking out of the Time Capsule

Hope everyone is doing well this week!!

Submitted the Dysfunctions book to my editor yesterday (very excited about getting the project near completion).

It's been a beatiful couple of days and so I had a chance to walk around a bit in the city river walk yesterday afternoon after handing over the page files to my new assistant for photoshop touch up work. Today's the first day back at my Kearny studio in weeks.

Now it's back to tackling the Figure Drawing for Dummies (aka FDD) which is already behind in deadline due to the Dysfunctions book. Back into the Time Capsule!

Soiree in Manhattan

Went out last night at a last minute business party hosted by my rep in Manhattan. It was definitely a much needed break away from my home studio (even if it was for just one evening). I chatted with colleagues Marc Phares and David Reuss (awesome illustrators at Napoleon group). I had a chance to also catch up with friends at Agent 16.

I got back and went straight to a conference call with Doug Jackson (my copy editor for the Five Dysfunctions Manga project)around midnight. Since he lives in Japan, this is pretty much the ideal time to communicate.

Inside my warm and cozy Time Capsule

I've been staking out at Staten Island at my assistant's studio frantically getting the inks done for the Five Dysfunctions graphic novel. Just to show how my clock is out of synch, it's already past midnight (I thought it was 8 pm!)

I've got all the things I need (high speed internet,art tables, large scanner, Digital Cable, and a great helping hand). Now only if the Mets can beat the Rockies. . .

Loew-Cornell Art Set Availiable

I just got in a batch of artist copies from a client, Loew-Cornell. It's basically a Manga for Dummies Art Set which I did a bunch of additional illustrations to compliment the text. It should be currently sold in art stores.

Cute packaging. I will try posting a photo of it either later today or tomorrow.

Brr... it's gotten coooollld all of a sudden here in Jersey City! I hope everyone is stayiing warm here on the east coast.

A great weekend!

It was a fun weekend at the Sakura Festival. The trees were in full bloom and looked awesome (I was given a quick tour guide around the area by one of the staff members). Both presentations on Saturday and Sunday went well. Thank you everyone who came by - I really had a blast! Many thanks to Anita Jacobson of BBG for all her hard work in organizing a successful event!

I had a chance to see the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. It was packed with the weekend crowd. Tempted to get one of those cute dolls, but seeing they were charging 40 bucks for a t-shirt, I didn't bother to inquire the prices.

Demonstration and Book Signing at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The weather is getting warmer here in Jersey City! I haven't had time to get back into the off site studio this week since Monday. It's been so busy, I've been working at my home studio (which can be nice since I don't have to commute).

I wanted to mention I'll be doing some manga demonstrations on May 3 and 4 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Sakura Festival. I hope y'all can come by and say hello!

http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/sakura.html

Spring 2008 Visual Arts Journal Cover

An illustration I did for Skyzone Mobile Entertainment was featured on the School of Visual Arts Magazine - Spring 2008. SVA is my alma mater. They also featured JAVA! on the splash page of the main article.

FIGURE DRAWING FOR DUMMIES!

I just got the contract back and signed and so it's now official! Just when you think there isn't a subject left that Wiley doesn't have in its "Dummies" series. I can now finally make the announcement that I've been approved to write and illustrate Figure Drawing for Dummies which is scheduled to be released in December. I'm very excited about this project. I look forward to keeping everyone updated about this event.

I just got done doing New York Comic Con! Had a blast my friends, Steve Uy, Becky Cloonan, David Peterson, Dorian Vallejo, Jeremy Jarvis, and many more. I also made new ones. Cyril is a fellow Magic the Gathering illustrator. I had fun sharing experiences in working for Wizards of the Coast. We had back to back spots in the artist alley. I'll be sharing my experiences later as I deeeesperately need to get back to work!

The beginning of two months in my "time capsule"

I just got the comments and go ahead to go ahead with the final pages of the Five Dysfunctions project (which needs to be completed very soon). I'm scheduled to have a brief meeting with editors to green light another project which has a deadline later this fall for a December publication.

Friends ask me what a "time capsule" is. I tell them it's my essentially my studio where I enter and don't ever leave. And by the time your finally done with the project and leave, time has passed and you're in a different century. In Japan, the comic book artists (manga-ka) refer this as kanzume - which literally means "stuffed into a can".

Five Dysfunctions Cover!!

Good morning to a new week! Finished off the overseas advertising storyboards this morning and sent it off to the client. I regret I cannot post any images for these projects due to confidentiality agreements but I hope to do so once they become "declassified".

HERE IS THE IMAGE FOR THE OFFICIAL FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS COVER!!

Storyboards overseas

Windy day in Jersey City. I'm currently taking a moment to work on a series of storyboards for an overseas food campaign.

Figure Drawing book compiled together.

Finally got around to putting together a figure study book of my own drawings. It will be up for sale shortly. I'm also brain storming and putting material together for the April NYC Comic Con. Can't go to the Kearny Studio today since my Powerbook is in repair. Working all day from my home built desktop PC that I assembled several years ago. It's nice since it does the job well and made from quality parts. The scary part is that it acts up on me from time to time and when it does, there's noooo tech support. Now, I'm looking at hopefully getting my first Mac Pro tower. Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive....

Thank Goodness for Apple Care!

Well, it looks like the warranty for my Powerbook is paying off. Brought it to the tech desk and it's off to the repair shop! I bought my "baby" 2 1/2 years ago.

Dummies Promo Month

Warm day in Jersey City/Big Apple. With my colleague's help, I finally set up the large ikea drawing table at the Kearny Studio. It's funny it takes so long to get organized.

Worked on some corrections for the Five Dysfuntions book yesterday. My day was cut short due to problems with my powerbook (yes, it's the old one). Bringing it into the Apple Soho store this afternoon. The wait there is usually terribly long even if you register a time slot ahead of time. Grrrrrrrr!

Brighter note, there's a amazon promo deal for the Dummies series! Take advantage of this deal at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=pe_24840_8575580_hi_img_1/?node=3199421

Manga for Dummies is in stores!

RIP - Digital Camera

A great weather for Jersey City/NYC and I hope it stays this way. I'm getting myself reorganized at the Kearny Studio and I must say, I'm really excited about the new set up. Sometimes all it takes for things to get rolling is to reorganize things.

My digital camera is dead - on my way to the studio last week, I foolishly packed my digital camera with my water bottle (which was leaking at the lid). STTTTUUUPIDDD!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, time to get another one.

The cover for Five Dysfuntions is off to the catalogue and should be appearing online soon. One of the challenges is that since I did the cover first before doing the entire book, the characters' appearances starts to change a bit over the course of time. Hopefully i can adjust the final formats. The book is coming out in June - I'm excited. Spread the world, folks!

Last friday, I was up till 5 AM working on a sample chapter to turn in to my acquisitions editor. it's got a great potential to be really awesome and I'm hoping the final contract will see the day of light.

Kensuke

i Sight Rocks!

Just got my i Sight attached and working with Skype! My reaction - Totally wickedly awesome! Incidentally, I was checking how much they go for on Ebay. The average is going for almost 50.00 more than I paid for almost a year ago? Can anyone explain this?

6 inches of snow today in NYC! Wahooo!

The Night Before the Storm

A "snow" storm that is.

Spending the later half of the day at the Kearny Studio. It's been over a month since my last stay here and I'm finding it very hard to concentrate with many things going through my mind. On top of things, it's supposed to snow all day tomorrow starting from midnight tonight.

Worked to finish up some promotional project items this morning. Started to work on a sample chapter for review for a separate book project scheduled for December publication of this year. I got my production schedule for the remaining portion of Five Dysfunctions of a Leadership. As indicated on Amazon.com, the book is hitting stores nationwide in July.

As this month winds down, I'm gearing up for promotional stuff for the upcoming comic book conventions

Stay warm, all you East Coasters!

Happy Post Valentines Day

Sorry everyone for the delay in posting these days. I just got done with some animatic storyboards for LG Global Communications. I'm excited about it. Also turned in a Table of Contents draft for another book scheduled to hit bookstores in December Yesterday I was called in to be on stand by at Agent 16.

I'm still trying to get my headphone set to work with Skype. I need to get in touch with my editor that Wiley/Asia assigned to me. He's all the way in Japan! It's a good thing that Skype is free!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Finished penciling of Five Dysfunctions

Finished the pencils for the Five Dysfunctions book for Wiley/Asia. They're currently in New Years Celebration so it gives me time to work on other projects. For those interested in purchasing JAVA! #3, it's on Amazon.com as well. It's times like these I wish I had a year's worth of Starbucks Coffee!

The warning in the Google Search Engine Fixed

Just wanted to let everyone know that there has been some hacking problems with my website where silly redirect links were inserted into my online web portfolio. Google responded by placing a warning label under my website listing.

I have consulted with my host provider and have identified and destroyed the links. Please disregard the warning as it will take Google several weeks to reverify the website status. I apologize for this inconvenience.

LAST BLOG ENTRY OF THE YEAR!!

Well, this is it folks. A great year it's been with full of surprises. Finished off a tighter draft of 8 or so pages for the Dysfunction of Leadership for Wiley. Gearing up for another upcoming book project as well (hopefully I'll be able to make the announcement within the next month or so). I hope everyone drives safely and doesn't forget to keep drawing into the brand new year. Till then, Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm working on the cover edits for the Five Dysfunctions Book.

Week in Crazy Piggy Back Studios

Literally swamped since last Friday. Just when I thought that the Dragon Ball Z illustrations were finally done, got slammed with an overnight illustration project for Rebook. 8 color comp illustrations in literally 24 hours! Each one was pretty complex. For example, it was like "7 female joggers being chased by 50 puppies in a park with one falling down in the background. Behind the fence there's two male cheerleaders." That times 8?! Got that done and today I was at Cement Works Advertising working with art directors on their new medical product campaign.

Rainy rainy day today in NYC. On a bright note, I did find my scarf that I thought I lost at restaurant. I went back there and they had it in the office. Simple pleasures make the day go easier.

Anime Festival and Dragon Ball Zzzzzzz

Busy weekend at the New York Anime Festival. I had the pleasure of having a table next to my former classmate from SVA, Steve Uy. The table locations could have been better, but sometimes you have to just deal with what they give you. Although, I do recommend anyone stuck in the similar situation to at least complain to the convention office. They may be able to relocate you to an empty table.

The kicker was I was working on illustrations for the Dragon Ball Z video game for the Nintendo Wii throughout the weekend. Finally got it done after pulling an all-nighter on Sunday. It's done! Yayyy!!!! Get to sleep!!!! Yaaaaayyyy!!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Reorganized my Kearny Studio

I think I'm getting used to getting up at 7 am (thanks to my girlfriend's wake up call.) It's amazing what a girl can get you to do for a week.

Anyways, here's another experiment I did using painter. I also finished an outline for a project proposal for one of my publishers which took a bit longer than I anticipated. I'm really trying to get into the habit of attacking the projects quickly. One of my reps called this afternoon - possible onsite location assignment with our good friends at Agent 16. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get my colleague to print out a batch of figure drawing booklets. It looks like I'll have to do it the old fashion way like I've been doing in the past for all the conventions - printing the darn thing on my printer. Obviously won't be able to print it out in mass quantities.

Key Chains!

Just got some promo material from Wiley to hand out at the New York Anime Festival. Key Chains galore! I've never seen so many in my life (bear in mind there's a bunch more stacked underneath the top stack which you see above!)

Weekend relief

So happy it's the weekend! Man, it went by too fast. Gearing up for next week's New York Anime Convention. Wiley sent a bunch of promo stuff to put on the table. Key chains of the Manga for Dummies included!

Lecture at Mercer County College, NJ - Tomorrow

Back from Thanksgiving break... And it's raining Cats and Dogs here in Jersey City! I've been finishing up on the final version of the cover for Wiley. The title of the book has been modified slightly to A Manga Guide to The Five Dysfunctions of a Leadership: A Leadership Fable. Yes, it's a mouthful and I certainly had a heck of a time trying to design the composition. I'd love to post the cover draft, but need to keep it under the covers.

NEWS: I'LL BE GIVING A LECTURE AT MERCER COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY TOMORROW FROM 12 - 1 PM. I WILL ALSO BE SIGNING BOOKS AS WELL. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

Dessiner les mangas pour les nuls!

The French translation of Manga for Dummies is now on sale in France!

All nighter at the studio

First time in a new location is always going to be tough as they say. I'm working at my Kearney Studio and plan to do an all nighter. Not because I want to by the way! I'm working on the final cover for the Dysfunction book which has to get done tres vite. I'm the process of working up a proposal for another book for a major publisher which I cannot describe or discuss except to say I am very excited.

There are some major changes which are about to take place in my freelance career. While nothing is set in stone yet, I've been busy since this morning with emails and phone messages. I will let everyone know once the dust is settled (which maybe as soon as next month). I'm both excited and anxious which is all I can for now.

I'll be cooking up some ramen noodles at the studio! Here's to you other freelancers doing the same thing this evening!

Manga for Dummies in German!

Manga for Dummies (the German translation) has been released. Here's the cover translated in German.

Photoshop and Painter

Here's a recent character design I did in Painter and then finished up in Photoshop.

Figure Drawing at Spring Street Studios

It's been a while, but I got around to drawing at the figure drawing session @ Spring Street Studios in Soho, New York City. I gotta admit, I get a bit shaky after not drawing from life for such a long time.

Happy Birthday to Meeeee

Oh, boy. These birthdays are coming waaay to fast. I've been told I'm a creepy kid. I now know why.

Freelancers Union

Finally got around to becoming a part of the Freelancers Union of New York City. Part in fact they offer affordable benefits.

Got more Magic Cards to be signed in the mail - the fan from Canada was really sweet. She sent me two thank you cards along with the cards. Never had that happen before.

A Fall Soiree

I'm attending a Client Banquet at my reps office tonight. Looking forward to meeting the art directors and art buyers (the two most powerful people in the advertising illustration business). Overall, it's been a very quiet two quarters this summer and fall. Hope I can finish off as much of the book projects before the industry gets back into full gear.

Getting colder all of a sudden, here in Jersey City. Gotta bundle up and dust off the portable heaters soon!

SVA Journal Interview

I've been asked to give an interview about the influence of Manga on art students. More details to follow.

My new business cards came in this week. I can't believe how long it's been the last time I had new cards made. Too long!

In the meanwhile...
GO BOSTON RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Q and A

I recently got a good question from an attendee from Manga NEXT. With his permission, I thought it would be a good idea to share his question and my response.

Hello Mr.Okabayashi,
My question is how would one go about drawing blurred images in manga? I
apologize for taking up your time with this since I know you
must be busy, but I'd be grateful if you can give me a reply.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and hope to hear from
you soon.

-Carlos

P.S. I read your current entry on your blog and Death Note is a great manga work. Just as you keep progressing in the story be sure to know when to draw the line between supporting cleverness and true justice o_o

Hi Carlos,

Great meeting you at the convention.

To answer your question, I would say do the coolest thing and use the Gaussian blur tool or motion blur tool in photoshop. Just keep the setting fairly low.

Kensuke

Redesigning the Cover

Currently redesigning the cover for the Wiley Project. They're eight characters that need to be squeeezed on to a 6 by 9 inch space. Just think how many different character types the author had to come up with.

Rainy day in Jersey City with an overdose of humidity. These gloomy days make me remind myself how freelancing is never easy. Not for the faint of heart you guys out there who are thinking about doing it!

Finished the pencils for DS #1

Finally finishing off the pencils for the first issue of Deep Salvage. Not completely satisfied with the results - I'm still trying to get a better idea of all of the characters.

Blast from the Past.

Here's a photo from a Magic Signing event with fellow friends and colleague Thomas Gianni and Anthony Waters! The event was to commemorate the release of Cold Snap.

Late night at the Studio

Just came back from the studio. I'm in the process of trying to sort out all the contacts and addresses on my computer. What a mess - three years of unsorted junk! Can't seem to find that right "syncing" method between my mac computer and my hand held device (not that many software made for the mac I hear.)

Finished a draft for my new business card (another thing that's way over due!)

Death Note

It's been a while since I've read a manga title that I like. I picked up a copy of Death Note and fell in love with the story. My mother was the one who fist mentioned it to me. According to her students, there's a movie adaptation that posted on YouTube. I can't wait to watch it. By the way, the artwork is pretty awesome.

The pursuit of a new Mac!

I've been looking at upgrading my laptop very soon. There are a couple of options of either getting a intel chip macintosh laptop or getting that bulky tower. Either way, it looks like another huge investment. I just wish we could just get one computer which would self-evolve according to our needs. . . .

Yes, that would be just so nice!

Manga NEXT

Another panel event coming up this weekend! I've been invited to do several panel discussions at Manga NEXT Convention from Friday to Sunday. I'll be demonstrating on drawing from life as well as lectures on publishing your works. To learn more about this event, follow this link:
http://www.manganext.org/
I look forward to seeing you there!

No Figure Drawing Classes this Fall

Unfortunately, my figure drawing class is canceled for this fall semester. My apologies to those who were interested.

While the Five Dysfunctions project is being edited in Singapore, I'm been working on a project called Deep Salvage and Tiki Road for Archaia Press and Arcana Books. I'm loving my new studio set up. I just wished I didn't have to take that extra bus ride from the PATH train station!

Deadline Extension - I Luv it!

The deadlines for the Five Dysfunctions book have been extended. Quite frankly, what a relief! There are two other major projects that I've been placing on hold or haven't been able to get to because of freelance commitments. Manga for Dummies has seen top rankings on Amazon.com. Thank you for all your support! You guys rock!

Storyboards finally completed!

Man, all that typing was a pain in the neck! Glad it's finally done. There's just a lot of editing that needs to get done and I'm praying that the editors will be able to take care of it on their end since I simply won't have time to do any of it (literally, it's getting that crazy)! I finally got around to picking up my paint brush and painting. It's been really too long (haven't seriously done a piece since working for Wizards of the Coast). Anyways, I'm working on some long overdue comic book artwork. I'm thinking that the writers are seriously ticked off at me by now since I've been MIA. Gotta get busy . . . . again!!!

Loew-Cornell project completed!

The project for the Manga for Dummies art set is finally done. I'm excited to have that monkey off my back! I'm working on the cover for the FD (Five Dysfunctions) book for Wiley Publishing.

Storyboard Blues

I'm currently writing in the dialog for the storyboards for the Five Dysfunctions Book. What a drag and boring task - but it's gotta get done! Someone's gotta do it!

RIP Ringo

I was really shocked to hear about Mike. No words. Really ... just no words can describe.