Java #2 Cover Teaser

Five Dysfunctions featured in the Jakarta Post

A raw and wet rainy morning in the Big Apple!

While wrapping up the first issue of Java, I'm meeting with my colleague to discuss plot and story for the second issue this week. I'll be posting the final cover. I'm also getting back into traditional painting again after meeting and getting inspired by hanging out with fellow Magic the Gathering illustrator, Randy Gallegos, at the Mets Game last weekend.

In the meantime, here is a link to a short article review featured in the Jakarta Post this month about my graphic novel I illustrated, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Stay dry!

Issue #1 Cover Image

I'm reworking the Logo to match the specs.

Fun in the Sun (Sakura Festival 2010)

It was another successful event at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden this past Sunday. A few were wondering where I was on Saturday (I was at a friend's wedding which went from 3pm to 12 midnight).

Update on JAVA! - The book lettering is in progress. I'm very excited about how the project is coming along. I'll be meeting up with my colleague to ramble some ideas about the next issue with the evil Swizz Mizz making her appearance again. Just as a follow up to some questions I've been getting about JAVA! Recaffeinated. While the story premise hasn't much from the original series from 2004. Over the years, I've felt that the characters and plot needed more depth in order to sustain a longer series. I'll be posting more updates as the first issue nears printing. All questions and comments are welcome as always.

Page four and five JAVA! Recaffeinated

page three JAVA! Recaffeinated

Page Two JAVA! Recaffeinated

Posting Page 2 from JAVA! Recaffeinated. This is a scene from Seattle before Dr. Grind's controversial coffee experiment goes awry.

digital figure painting

I'm posting "Part 2" version of the figure drawing I posted earlier this month with digital painting techniques. Comments welcome.

Page One JAVA! Recaffeinated

Another MOCCA Festival in the books. I'm posting a series of pages from JAVA! Recaffienated. As always, feed back is welcome.

MOCCA Festival this weekend (Sat and Sun)

I'll be attending the MOCCA annual festival this weekend at the NY Armory at East 26th Street and Lexington Avenue, NYC. I'll be promoting JAVA! Recaffeinated. Hope to see you there!

Another figure drawing at the Project of Living Artist in Brooklyn

If anyone cares to join an affordable and fun figure drawing session, I go to a drawing session on Saturdays from 10:30 to 2:30 at 30 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn.

Another figure drawing from this weekend.

Recent Figure Drawing

I tried out a different marker / brush pen combination technique this past weekend after having a frustrating time with my usual varnish based pencils. This was a fifteen minute pose. I've posted several more in the figure drawing section of my website.

Piggy Back Studios website

My main portfolio website, www.piggybackstudios.com, has been updated. The layout has been overhauled and condensed for quicker navigation and with easy-to-view larger images. I've also updated the artwork on all of the categories.

Wizards of the Coast (Unhinged)

I recently saw a link to a Magic Card illustration I did a while ago on the Wizards of the Coast website. Click here to view the image and download different wallpapers for your computer or iphone.

Supposedly, it's a strong card. I remember going to a tournament opening with fellow Magic artists where a judge was trying to explain to me the rules for playing.

Second piece sold.

Greetings. I have just returned from San Francisco vacation (well, not completely, since my rep called me to work on some frames from Saatchi and Saatchi). Among the places where I went were Mur Woods, Alcatraz, and Napa Valley. Some breath taking trees at Mur Woods. We had a rare opportunity to go below the surface of Alcatraz with a guide. He gave us the lecture of the basement structure of what used to be the fort during the Civil War. Napa Valley was quite the sight to see even though the vines weren't in bloom and the weather was cloudy. We went on the Wine Train (which I highly recommend). They serve really awesome food while you enjoy the sights of the wine estates.

Well returning back to business. Stephanie Seliskar and I sold our second piece at the Big Bar, New York City. I'm planning on having a meeting later this evening with Stephanie to talk about out our next piece. You can see our gallery at www.koss2.com.

JAVA! Recaffeinated has been fully inked and is now being colored.

I've been invited back to hold another two-day seminar in MO. I will be teaching a manga workshop.

I've met with a new design colleague, Tomonori Tsujita, about the redesign of Piggy Back Studios website. I'm jumping on the band wagon of people who think that html is probably the best way of creating websites. Flash is quite cumbersome (at least for me).

More to follow :) - Cheers!

Translated versions of The Five Dysfunctions are here!

I just got a copy of the translated version of the graphic novel I illustrated titled The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Manga Edition. The first one is in Portuguese. The second one with the variant cover is the Bahasa translation.

La-Te Sketch

For those not familiar with the "JAVA!" series, La-Te is one of the main characters. She's Java's closest friend and side kick who makes sure that Java doesn't get too out of control. This is a quick sketch image of her checking her time as Java is once again behind schedule in delivering the coffee beans to the depot station.

"Java! Recaffeinated" Promo Art

I'm posting the promo art for JAVA! Recaffeinated.

Get 10 Dollars off at the Piggy Back Shop!

Basically, as the title suggests - Add the promo coupon code, GIVEMETEN at your next purchase at the Piggy Back Shop for an instant 10 dollars off. Hurry, as this only will last until the 29th. Sorry about the last minute posting.

Artwork sold at New York's Big Bar

Gooooood morning all! I'm almost fully recovered from two weeks of long hours of illustrating frames and boards at Saatchi and Saatchi. I keep forgetting how it takes a couple of days for the body to "wind down" and "reboot". Today is my official first day back in the studio from a three day weekend vacation.

Some news updates:

1. Stephanie Seliskar and I sold our first collaboration piece at the BIg Bar. You can visit our collaboration website at www.koss2.com. Both of us are very excited about this. The client was staff from the United Nations who wanted something that would remind him about the New York lifestyle.

2. I will be a exhibiting at Brooklyn's King Con Comic Book Convention in November 7 and 8 from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. I've listed the information bellow.

Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.brooklynlyceum.com

Photo from last weekend's Manga Class

I've posted a photo from last weekend's class in Columbia, MO. It was a lot of fun - including my first experience riding on a propeller turbo plane on my connecting flight from Memphis. Saturday I taught a Manga class. Sunday I taught digital coloring on Photoshop using the local university computer lab.

These past couple of weeks have flown by faster than ever before. I've been sketching frames for Saatchi and Saatchi on an almost everyday basis. While it's been terrific fun and a great experience, I feel completely exhausted (especially having to catch a 6AM flight right after a past midnight deadline crunch). Today's my first day off in a couple of weeks and then I'm back at Saatchi on Monday.

NEWS: Next year's MOCCA has been announced to be in April. Unfortunately, they are sticking us back in that Armory again. Hopefully, it won't be as hot as it was last year when it was in the summer.

Happy Sunday

After making my first couple of trips to the new Brooklyn Ikea, I couldn't resist. Working at Saatchi and Saatchi tomorrow :)

A Saatchi and Ikea Summer

It's been a busy summer working with Saatchi and getting used to a new location in Brooklyn. Much apologies with the lack of updates on the blog site. Actually, it's been very exciting making several trips to the new Ikea store in Brooklyn. My friends and colleagues, Mark Smylie, and Naser Subashi, have been generous with their time in helping me carry the heavy load (no pun intended).

Pretty good day at Saatchi with hurdling another tight deadline. Unfortunately, I had to miss a meeting arranged by my rep to meet client Draft FCB. Hopefully will be able to attend their next meeting.

San Diego Comicon 2009!

Well it's that time again. I just arrived in San Diego after having to delay my trip for a freelance project with Saatchi & Saatchi. There's still more frames that need to be illustrated, but for now I'll have some fun in the sun (well more like being in front of my lap top and wacom tablet). I'm looking forward to meeting with colleagues and meeting new inspirational artists.

My new studio in Brooklyn has yet to settle in. I feel as if this whole entire month has been quite exhausting. Quite a lot going on right now. I went for a figure drawing session this past weekend for the first time in weeks just to get back into the groove of things.

No Sleep TIll Brooklyn!

Sorry for the delay in postings and updates. I'm starting a new phase in my lifestyle by recently moving into Brooklyn! I'm very excited about being a New Yorker once again after living in Jersey City for close to ten years. This has meant a complete overhaul in my studio and layout.

This past weekend, I did a signing and panel discussion at the first Asian American Comicon. It was interesting getting to meet various artists who had a range of creative styles.

An illustration image from the Piggy Back Project..

Cafe Press store is open.

Hello all. I've revamped my cafe press a bit. For now, it mostly has the characters from the Piggy Back series. Later on, I'll be adding in the characters from JAVA!.

Click here to Enter.

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