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