Jerry of Shonan

End of an era

2011-09-28T08:29:00.001-07:00

The 27th of September was my last day to draw caricatures for Caricature Japan at the Enoshima Aquarium shop. I'd like to thank all the coworkers and customers who I was able to share this experience with.

９月２７日を最後に、カリカチュア・ジャパン新江ノ島水族館店での勤務を終えました。

江ノ水スタッフの皆さん、この店舗で一緒に絵を描いてきた同僚の皆さん、そしてご来店下さったすべてのお客様、すばらしい時間を共有させて頂き、どうもありがとうございました。

Lady Gaga Meat Dress

2011-09-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

After seeing Lady Gaga's meat dress, I thought it would be a very interesting subject, so I tried to come up with some gags of what it would be like to be walking down the street in a meat dress.

Gift drawing

2011-09-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a gift drawing of a family who lives near the ocean. They wanted to have their drawing done windsurfing together.

Dog Days of Summer at the Aquarium

2011-09-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

There's a special day for dog owners at the Enoshima Aquarium on Sunday, September 4th. Sunday evening until 9:00 pm customers will be allowed to bring their pets with them into the aquarium to share the fun!! And maybe get a drawing too!

Tube Aquarium

2011-08-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Come for Tube, stay for the Aquarium!! On Saturday, Aug. 27th the Enoshima aquarium will be having a promotion in conjunction with the band Tube after their beach live concert. The aquarium will reopen at 6:15pm for special admission until 9:00pm for a special evening experience.

Baby and Penguins

2011-07-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

This is a live sketch I did of a baby and penguins. The baby was still pretty tiny and I came up with this idea on the spot, so the composition was done kind of quick, but I still think it was a fun new pose.

Studio Work

2011-07-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here's another studio work. It's of Japanese handball player Daisuke Miyazaki. He's known for his jump attack and muscles so I wanted to make a drawing of him catching some air. I did the line drawing with a Japanese sign pen which has a small brush like nib which is used mostly for writing Japanese characters, but it's also great for drawing too. I finished the color using Copic color markers and Artstix. Then I finished the background in Photoshop.

Atsushi at Osaka Caricature Convention

2011-07-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Just last week a nationwide caricature convention was held in Osaka, Japan. Caricature Japan's very own Atsushi Saito represented our company and preformed admirably. Here's a peek at some of the works from the convention. Check out Atsushi's blog for more pictures and details. (go to the following link)
http://3110-a2c.jugem.jp/

Tanabata

2011-07-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

The 7th of July is the time to celebrate Tanabata in Japan. I made a little sketch for the fun of it. The big Tanabata festival in Hiratsuka starts on the 8th this year and continues through the weekend.
Dolphins are still Number 1 at the aquarium. This little girl fell asleep before I got here picture.

Lady Gaga drawing

2011-06-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

This month's drawing is of the very popular vocal artist Lady Gaga. Her performances and visual style are very artistic, so I had the idea to draw her in a modern art influenced style similar to cubism, hinting at multiple view points. I didn't have as much time as I wanted for this drawing, so I wasn't able to develop the water coloring in the way I had envisioned. I wanted to express the different color fields with different textures too. I had fun doing something different with the line work as well.

Turtles are back

2011-06-04T08:18:00.001-07:00

During the wintertime at the Enoshima Aquarium it's too cold for the sea turtles to be in their outside pool. Now that things have warmed up, they are back out and better than ever.

Here we have a charming little baby with his very own turtle.

Brad Pitt

2011-05-29T09:07:00.001-07:00

With Father's Day coming up next m0nth we wanted to make some drawings of famous fathers. Brad Pitt certainly qualifies for that. With six kids he must be very busy indeed. Always playful, I wanted to sh0w Brad with his kids in a very playful drawing.

Tamura-san surprise present

2011-05-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last month one of our coworkers, Tamura-san got married. So all of us artists got together and made him a surprise present by drawing him an his wife. This is the drawing I did. Since I'm close to the ocean, I thought it would be fun to draw them with an ocean theme.

Gambarou Nippon! がんばろう日本！

2011-05-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with the expression Gambarou Nippon, it means "Lets do our best together, Japan!" It has been the phrase that everyone has been using to support and work with each other to recover from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Even the aquariums have been working together to support the Aquamarine Fukushima Aquarium. Several animals had to be evacuated from this aquarium and several other aquariums in the region have been taking in animals.

The Enoshima Aquarium has accepted and is taking care of a seal from the Fukushima Aquarium.

They have created a design with the seal in support of the other aquarium and are contributing donations to the recovery of the aquariums and earthquake victims. So everybody, let's Gambarou Nippon!

Check out this link to the Ensoshima Aquarium for more details in Japanese...

http://www.enosui.com/newsentry.php?eid=00307

Momoe Yamaguchi contest drawing

2011-05-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

I made this drawing of legendary Japanese idol singer Momoe Yamaguchi. She gave up a big singing career early in life to start her own family, but she is still known for the her songs. I was playing around mixing markers, artstix and watercolors for this. I'd like to do more work with the watercolors in the future.

Pink Lady

2011-05-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a studio work I did of Japanese pop singers Pink Lady. I picked the them UFO from one of their famous songs in the past. I was going for a strong graphic style with pink oriented coloring (of course).

Koi Noboru 鯉のぼる

2011-04-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

Getting in the mood for the Golden Week holiday season, we're having fun drawing little boys with the flying Carp!

Japanese Earthquake

2011-03-16T09:38:00.001-07:00

On March 13th 2011, a devastating earthquake struck north eastern Japan. Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone affected by this disaster, the people of Japan and those in many other places suffering from the tsunami. Our sincerest condolences to all those who have suffered and to the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives.

Fortunately our Enoshima caricature location and the Enoshima Aquarium was spared the damage that other areas of Japan suffered. The aquarium structure itself is very strong, but safety inspections were needed to assure the total security of it's customers and staff. Unfortunately, due to that and other inconveniences occurred by the earthquake, the aquarium has been closed for one week. We are very much looking forward to it's reopening and hope that people will come to enjoy themselves and relieve the stress of these difficult times.

Contest Drawing Kanako Murakami

2011-03-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

This month's contest drawing is of Japanese teen figure skater Kanako Murakami. She is an up and coming contender in the world figure skating scene. Also, I couldn't resist wanting to draw her big smile.

Contest Drawings

2011-02-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

Here are two recent contest drawings of popular television celebrities in Japan. This first one is of Kanako Yanagihara. She does a lot of television commercials and I made a Valentine Day pose of her from one of her well know commercials which she was selling shellfish flavored ramen and I also included the company mascot (a fisherman) in the background pretending to be a cupid.

The next one is Matsuko Deluxe which may be confusing because this is a transvestite performer and what looks like a she is really a he. The comic element of his performance is to impersonate a really large lady and so in my drawing I wanted to give the impression of LARGENESS by drawing him in the shape of a mountain.

Dolphins still Number One!

2011-01-20T07:56:00.001-08:00

The dolphin is still the most requested sea creature by our customers. Here are a few live sketch drawings I've done of customers having fun with their dolphins...

Keisuke Honda drawing

2010-12-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

My latest contest drawing is of Japanese soccer superstar Keisuke Honda. He's one of the key players on the Japanese national soccer team and a very popular figure in sports media.
The team slogan for the national soccer team is "Samurai Blue." For that reason I wanted to do a blue themed drawing of him. I first made the base drawing with gray markers and then added the coloring on top with artstix. He also has brightly colored hair so I wanted to emphasize that aspect as well. I tried to make the background very sporty looking simulating the designing of sport logos.

Brian and Beau come to Japan!

2010-12-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

Last month world renown American caricature artists Brian Oakes and Beau Hafford came to Japan to visit our wonderful country. The spent time seeing the sights around the Tokyo area and held a seminar at Caricature Japan's Caricature Festa.

During their busy visit, they took the time to give a special drawing demonstration to some of the artists from our company. They explained the drawing techniques they learned from their company in America. The focused on the quick sketch without doing a pre sketch.
Not only did we learn some new techniques, we also had a fun time watching them draw and getting to share with them our caricature experiences.

Brian did this drawing of me with a sea turtle. Since he works at Sea World in America, his drawings of customers with sea creatures has always been a great source of inspiration not only for myself, but for all the members of our company. Thank you Brian and Beau for taking the time from you busy vacation to draw for us!

Franz Kline

2010-11-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Recently, I made this drawing for practice of American artist Franz Kline. He was part of the Abstract Expressionist movement during the 40s and 50s. Along with Jackson Pollock he was considered an "action painter." The famous quote from him that I really like was "spontaneity is practiced".
This drawing is basically more of a portrait style sketch, I guess. I did it kind of quickly so the parts aren't accurate enough, but the main focus of this drawing was to practice using my gray markers. Comparing it to the original, the shadow areas in the face could be a bit darker.

This is one of Franz Kline's paintings. Even though he was an Abstract Expressionist, a lot of his works are relatively nonobjective.

Salvador Dali

2010-10-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a studio work I did of world famous Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

I drew from this very famous picture of him. It was nice to work from since it was in black and white, and had strong values. Also, I got to improvise the colors as I liked.I incorporated some elements from his paintings to add to the surreal feeling of his personality.

Gift drawing

2010-10-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

My client for this gift wanted a drawing of her parents. She especially wanted to include the rice field and forest which is in front of their house

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite holidays is rapidly approaching. Halloween! I especially like this time of year because I get to draw bats, jack-o-lanterns, witches, black cats, skeletons, vampires, ghosts, spiders and all other creepy crawly things. It's even more fun when you can do it with your favorite sea creature!

Contest drawing

2010-10-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

This is my most recent contest drawing of Nicolas Cage. I was working with the colored markers again and using artstix and colored pencils. I used a computer to generate the background. The sketching stage could have used a little more work. After the first several sketches I did, I kind of had something I liked but after the finished product was done I could see areas that I would have liked to go back to and change.

Sumo wrestler

2010-07-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

This studio drawing is of Japanese sumo wrestler Hakuhou. I used the mixed materials of marker, color pencil and photoshop.

A Few Quick ones

2010-07-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

The family that plays together, stays together...

Couples...

七夕！ Tanabata!

2010-07-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

On July 7th is the Japanese festival of Tanabata. It's the legendary story of a man and woman who fell in love but were separated by fate. Now the only time they can meet is on July 7th, but only if the milky way can be seen. This sumertime festival is celebrated in Japan with many colorful decorations and fun festivals.

To learn more about Tanabata, click on the following wikipedia link....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

Harrison Ford drawing

2010-06-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a drawing I did recently of American actor Harrison Ford. I made it with color pencil, artstix and a bit of pastels. There are some things about it that could use some touching up but not too bad. I'm trying to focus on more portrait style drawings.

Aquarium live sketch

2010-06-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more live sketches from the aquarium...

We don't get many requests for polar bears, but they're always fun to draw...

This was a drawing for Father's Day...

Splashing about with a pretty dolphin...

６月の早割サービス。 June Early Bird Service

2010-05-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Caricature Japan will be continuing it's Early Bird Service during the month of June. From the hours of 11:00 until 12:00 you can get a "with sea creature" drawing for the "face only" drawing price.

Miki's Exhibit

2010-05-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I went to the exhibit of Japanese caricature artist Miki. Her show was held at the Gallery Motomachi near Chinatown in Yokohama.

As expected, she had an exceptional display of graphic design style caricatures. She certainly has been perfecting her technique and her body of work is very inspiring.

The drawing I liked the most from her exhibit was the one of Tiger Woods. I think with this one she really stretched beyond her usual design style and it has a strong feeling of modern art.

Here's a bit of her profile for the Japanese readers.

Please visit her homepage to get updated on more of her works and happenings.

http://www.boo-bana.com/

School Tour Ship

2010-05-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

On the 6th of June, Kage will be holding a drawing seimar for grade schoolers as part of the Riso education group （リソー教育グループ） School Tour Ship program.

Go to the following link for more information (日本語です)...

http://www.s-tourship.com/blog/program/2010/04/20100415103604.html

Frank Frazetta 1928 - 2010

2010-05-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

Last week on May 10th 2010, legendary fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta passed away. Without a doubt, his work influenced generations of artists all over the world. Rest in peace Frank.
http://www.frankfrazetta.net/

Live Sketch

2010-05-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hello. Golden Week is over and I’d like to thank all the customers I drew and all the artists I worked with for the fun time.

I have some new live sketches here. Sorry it’s been a while. Recently it has been suggested to me to update my style, so I’ve been looking for things to do differently. I’ve bee working with the artstix again and trying to use them more in my drawings. I still have to be careful of overworking my hands so I’ve started doing more drawings where the face is colored with the artstix and then the large filler area like the hair and background I do with the softer crayons. Fortunately, the hot summer weather is just around the corner, so that should make the artstix much easier to work with.

I’m sure all of these drawings will be instantly recognizable as mine, but I’ve also been studying the work of other artists for inspiration. During the busy times it’s easier to do what feels natural too keep the speed up, but I’d like to try to focus on getting in a different frame of mind to come up with some new stuff.

I guess that was a lot of art talk, but I hope all of you non artists out there enjoy the fun time animal drawings. :0)

Quickie Ichiro Trivia

2010-05-07T04:41:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get back into using the artstix after a long time of using pastels and crayons. So recently I've been doing some quick artstix sketches. Here's one I did of Ichiro I did for the fun of it.
Here's some fun trivia about Ichiro that I bet you didn't know. At the Enoshima Aquarium, they have an area dedicated to displaying the names of supporters of the aquarium. Ichiro is a supporter and has his own plaque...

Next time you're at the aquarium, see if you can find him!

Good Luck!!! :0)

江ノ島店のサービス　　Enoshima Aquarium Services

2010-05-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

Now that Golden Week is over, our services will be continuing.

The first being our regular weekday annual passport service.

Starting from Thursday, the 6th of May, the weekday servcie for the Enoshima Aquarium Annual Passport customers will be resuming. We have the choice of one of the following services for these customers. The first service is a 525 yen discount on our plastic frames. The second opttion is a grade up service to get a "with body" drawing for the price of a "face only" drawing.

５月６日（木）より、新江ノ島水族館内の弊社ブースにおきまして、
水族館の年間パスポート所有のお客様を対象とした、平日限定のサービスが再開されます。
サービス期間の終了は７月１６日（金）です。

カラーのカリカチュアをご注文されると、以下の二つのうち、
どちらかのサービスをご利用いただけます。

①プラスチックフレーム（通常税込み1575円）を1050円でご購入
②「顔のみ」料金（税込み1890円）で「体つき」にグレードアップ
（②の場合は、動物と一緒にお描きできます。）

The next service is our special Early Bird service for the month of May. It will be offered every day from May 6th through May 31st from 11:00 until 12:00. For the price of a "face only" drawing, you can get a "with body" grade up drawing. A 420 yen value!!

早割サービスも続きます！

Extended Hours for Golden Week ゴールデンウィーク営業時間

2010-04-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

ゴールデンウィークの間、カリカチュア・ジャパン新江ノ島水族館店では営業時間が延長されます。

Caricature Japan is extending it's business hours for the Enoshima Aquarium booth for Golden Week. The business hours are as follows...

Saturday, May 1st through May 4th, the booth will be open from 10:30 until 19:00.

On Wednesday May 5th the booth will be open from 10:30 until 18:00.

Come early or stay late to enjoy a caricature!

Brothers Hildebrandt

2010-04-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Recently I was doing some research on the Internet and I thought I would check out some illustrators I remember from when I was young and into fantasy art. These illustrators are Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. They are mostly known for their fantasy illustration...

But they also have some very interesting caricature style comic drawings...

Please go to their official website to be inspired by more of their work....

http://www.brothershildebrandt.com/

Live Sketch

2010-04-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

At the aquarium drawings with animals are as popular as ever. For those of you who are following my blog, you may have noticed our various services which make it very easy to get a grade up drawing with your favorite sea creature.

４月の早割サービス。April Early Bird Service.

2010-04-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand, we are continuing our Early Bird service through the month of Arpil. It will be offered every day from April 1st through April 28th from 11:00 until 12:00. For the price of a "face only" drawing, you can get a "with body" grade up drawing. A 420 yen value!!

毎日バースデーサービス。 Every Day Birthday Service!

2010-04-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Every day someone has a birthday. Caricature Japan offers a Birthday Service to it's customers every day of the year. With the purchase of a caricature drawing, we can write your name, age, date and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" on your drawing free of charge. This is a special way for you to commemorate your special day.

バースデーサービスは毎日実施中です。
Happy Birthday の文字とお名前、年齢、日付を、ご希望に応じて無料でお入れします。

年間パスポートサービス。 Annual Passport Service reminder.

2010-04-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder, Caricature Japan's Annual Passport service at the New Enoshima Aquarium will be in effect until Friday, April 23rd. This service is being offered to all Annual Passport, Kid's Club, Platinum Club and Individual Supporter members. We have the choice of one of the following services for these customers. The first service is a 525 yen discount on our plastic frames. The second opttion is a grade up service to get a "with body" drawing for the price of a "face only" drawing.

１月４日（月）より、新江ノ島水族館内の弊社ブースにおきまして、水族館の年間パスポート所有のお客様を対象とした、平日限定のサービスが再開されます。サービス期間の終了は４月２３日（金）です。カラーのカリカチュアをご注文されると、以下の二つのうち、どちらかのサービスをご利用いただけます。①プラスチックフレーム（通常税込み1575円）を1050円でご購入②「顔のみ」料金（税込み1890円）で「体つき」にグレードアップ（②の場合は、動物と一緒にお描きできます。）

A drawing for spring time.

2010-03-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Although the weather still has been petty cold lately, spring is just around the corner. Japanese art is famous for including elements of the four seasons as a reflection of the mood of the times of the year. This studio work reflects the youthful fresh style of Japan's young comedians. This studio work is a drawing of the comic duo called "Bad Boys." I wanted to include a bold graphic style with exciting colors to reflect the approach of springtime.

Enoshima Aquarium 5th Anniverary Promotion 新江ノ島水族館の開館５周年キャンペーン

2010-03-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

The New Enoshima Aquarium is celebrating it's 5th anniversary by offering a special discount promotion to anyone who lives or works in Kanagawa prefecture. The dates will be from Saturday, March 20th until Monday, April 5th. The promotion offers a half price discount for aquarium admission and special discounts for people who wish to purchase the annual passport.

現在、弊社の江ノ島ブースが入っている新江ノ島水族館では、この一年、開館５周年を記念して様々な感謝企画が行われてきました。その締めくくりとして、「神奈川県民のみなさまご優待キャンペーン」というものが３月２０日（土）～４月５日（月）の期間、実施されます。

これは神奈川県にお住まい、または勤務されている方とその同伴者４名様までの入場料金を半額にしようというものです。また、キャンペーン期間中に年間パスポートなどをお求めの方にもお得な割引サービスがあります。

For more information about this promotion, please visit the following link from the New Ensohima Aquarium home page.

キャンペーンに関する詳細な情報をご覧になりたい方は、リンクより新江ノ島水族館のＨＰにアクセスしてください。

http://www.enosui.com/newsentry.php?eid=00225

To remind the customers of Caricature Japan, all Enoshima Aquarium annual passport holders can get a grade up service on all non holiday weekdays....

また、新江ノ島水族館の年間パスポートをお持ちのお客様には、館内にあります弊社カリカチュア・ジャパンのブースにおきまして、「カラー」のカリカチュアをご注文の場合、平日限定で以下のサービスを提供させて頂いております。AかBのどちらかをお選び頂く形になります。

対象期間：２０１０年１月４日（月）～４月２３日（金）

サービス内容：

A．プラスチックフレーム（通常1,575円）を1,050円でご提供。

B．「顔のみ」料金でお好きな海の動物と一緒にお描き致します。

（お1人様2,310円→1,890円）

Live Sketch

2010-03-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple who had their drawing made as a mermaid and a merman.

Both kids and families, every on loves sea cratures...

3月の早割サービス March Early Bird Service

2010-03-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

The Early Bird caricature service has been extended to the month of March. It will run ever day from Monday the 8th until Wednesday the 31st. The service hours will be from 11:00 until 12:00 so get there early. The service consists of a grade up in which we will draw the "with sea creature" drawing for the price of the "face only" drawing. A 420 yen savings per person.

Kasai Noriaki 葛西紀明

2010-02-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

This studio drawing is of famous Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai. This year he is competing in his 6th Olympic games in Vancouver. He has competed in more Olympic games than any other ski jumper. He won a silver medal for the Team Large Hill jump at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994. This year in Vancouver he placed 8th in the Large Hill competition at the age of 38. He has also won serveral medals at various world competions.

早割サービス拡大のお知らせ。 Early Bird Service News.

2010-02-12T05:50:00.000-08:00

現在期間限定で土曜日のみ実施中の早割サービスが、２月１３日から２８日までの全曜日に拡大されることになりました。
Caricature Japan is pleased to announce that it is extending it's Early Bird service to include every day of the last two weeks of February. From Saturday, February 13th until Sunday, February 28th this service will be offered every day to our customers who arrive between 11:00 and 13:00. The service consists of a grade up in which we will draw the "with sea creature" drawing for the price of the "face only" drawing. A 420 yen savings per person.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Couples can enjoy a unique memory of Valentine's Day with their favorite sea creature.
Check out some of the other Valentine's Day events being held at the Enoshima Aquarium...

http://www.enosui.com/evententry.php?eid=00376&month=2

Valentine Island Ensohima

2010-02-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

From Saturday, February 6th through Sunday, February 14th there will be all kinds of fun going on at Enoshima in celebration of Valentines Day including music and illumination events.

Polar Bear ホッキョクグマ

2010-02-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

I've made a new entry for my picture book at the aquarium. It's the polar bear. In Japanese it's pronounced hokkyoku-guma (ホッキョクグマ).

Everyone loves a big cuddly bear.

Live Sketch

2010-01-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

Dolphins are still the most popular animal at the aquarium.

This couple were enjoying a date to the aquarium.

Japanese Figure Skater Akiko Suzuki. 鈴木明子

2010-01-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

For those people who are not familiar with figure skating, Japan has some excellent figure skaters. Some of the most famous are Miki Ando, Mao Asada and Torino Olympic gold medal winner Shizuka Arakawa. This year Japan has some very strong competitors going to the Olympics in Vancouver. One of the skaters, Akiko Suzuki, made the Olympic team by surprise and I think many people are excited to see how well she will do in the Olympic competitions. I thought she was a interesting subject so I drew her for this pen and ink/photoshop drawing. Let's hope she does well at the Olympic games.

Jellyfish anyone? クラゲいかがですか？

2010-01-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

I think a lot of people from America would be surprised to find out that the people in Japan actually eat jellyfish. They probably wouldn't want to eat these playful critters...

土曜日限定の早割サービス始まります！Saturday Early Bird Service.

2010-01-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Starting from Saturday the 16th of January, Caricature Japan will be offering an Early Bird grade up service on Saturdays for the months of January and February. The offer is only from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm so get there early. With this service you can get a "with animal" drawing for the price of the "face only" drawing. A 420 yen savings per person.

More Pete Emslie Technique

2010-01-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been studying the live sketch works of Pete Emslie. Here are some of my copy drawings of his work.
All of these drawings were originally black and white sketches so I had to study his studio works to get ideas for the coloring. Also after some experimentation I tried to come up with my own methods. Unfortunately, I didn't find any of his live sketches where he drew children. Since I draw mostly kids at the aquarium, I'm having a hard time relating his techniques to my work.

Here are a few of my own drawings I did after practicing his 3/4 view approach. They're not the best examples, but I'd like to come up with more original shapes. Also, I found this technique handy because it can be difficult to make small children face a certain direction, and it's easier to draw them whichever way they're looking.

Japanese comedian 芸人

2010-01-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

I did this drawing of Japanese comedian Imoaraizaka Kakarichou　(芋洗坂係長). He is know for his parodies and comical dances. I made the line work for this drawing using markers and used Photoshop for the coloring.

年パスポートサービスの再会 Annual Passport Service

2009-12-30T05:46:00.000-08:00

Starting from Monday, the 4th of January, the weekday servcie for the Enoshima Aquarium Annual Passport customers will be resuming. We have the choice of one of the following services for these customers. The first service is a 525 yen discount on our plastic frames. The second opttion is a grade up service to get a "with body" drawing for the price of a "face only" drawing.

１月４日（月）より、新江ノ島水族館内の弊社ブースにおきまして、水族館の年間パスポート所有のお客様を対象とした、平日限定のサービスが再開されます。サービス期間の終了は４月２３日（金）です。カラーのカリカチュアをご注文されると、以下の二つのうち、どちらかのサービスをご利用いただけます。①プラスチックフレーム（通常税込み1575円）を1050円でご購入②「顔のみ」料金（税込み1890円）で「体つき」にグレードアップ（②の場合は、動物と一緒にお描きできます。）

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます！！

2009-12-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

According to the Asian calendar, 2010 is the year of the Tiger. The Japanese celebrate new years by sending their family and friends post cards decorated with tigers and other symbols of the new year.

Live Sketch

2009-12-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

Dolphins are the most requested sea creatures at the aquarium.

There are a lot of requests for mermaids too, but I don't often get the chance to draw a merman.

As I mentioned before, babies and penguins are always a good combination.

Annual Passport service infromation 年間パスポートサービスについて

2009-12-18T04:52:00.000-08:00

Friday the 18th of December will be the last day Caricature Japan will be offering it's weekday Annual Passport service for the rest of the year. The service will continue on Monday, January 4th, 2010.

２００９年中のカリカチュア・ジャパンの年間パスポートサービスは、
１２月１８日（金）が最終日になります。
次回サービス期間の開始は２０１０年１月４日（月）となります。

Live Sketch

2009-12-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

This adventurous little girl wanted to be drawn with a shark.

Babies and penguins are always a good combination.

The whole family has fun together here.

Enoshima Fantasy 江ノ島ファンタジー

2009-12-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

From December 12th through December 27th there will be a variety of events to celebrate the tenth year of Enoshima's illumination event. There will be live music, illuminations and even fireworks.

For more details, go to the following website...

http://www.fujisawa-kanko.jp/event/lightup.html

More Fish!

2009-12-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

This week the aquarium was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for servicing. During that time these new fish arrived. In English they are called Lionfish. In Japanese it's Minokasago (ミノカサゴ).

These little boys had their drawings done with their favorite fish.

Only 19 days until Christmas

2009-12-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some kids getting into the Christmas spirit.

It's Break Time. 新江ノ島水族館の休館日

2009-12-06T04:43:00.000-08:00

The Enoshima Aquarium will be closed on the 7th, 8th and 9th of December.

新江ノ島水族館は、１２月７日（月）、８日（火）、９日（水）がお休みです。

Fish Drawing

2009-12-04T03:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just like to practice drawing fish. Working at an aquarium is the perfect place. This is a drawing of a Clown Fish. In Japanese it's pronounced Kakurekumanomi (カクレクマノミ）. As you can imagine, it took a long time before I could remember how to say it. You also might recognize him as a famous movie star. ;o)

Christmas time is here!

2009-12-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

メリークリスマス！！！
It's Christmas time and you can get a Christmas drawing with your favorite sea creature.

And enjoy the pretty Christmas decorations.

Live Sketch

2009-11-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

A pretty girl with a baby fur seal.
This couple came from the Kyoto area because they liked the Hawaiian atmosphere of the Shonan.

This other fine couple came from Ebina to enjoy a day at the aquarium.

A W??

2009-11-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

A banana...
A can of soup...

Marilyn Monroe...

What do all these things have in common? They were all famous drawings by Andy Warhol.

This is an Andy Warhol style collage that I made for fun...

海の妖精たち Faries of the Sea

2009-11-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

There's an event happening at the Enoshima Aquarium called "Umi no Yousei-tachi" (海の妖精たち) which means Faries of the Sea. Children can paritcipate by getting their own pair of fairy wings and magic wand. This event will be held on weekends and national holidays through December. Go to the following link for details...

http://www.enosui.com/experience.php?month=11

I drew this little gril who was enjoying her day as a Sea Fairy...

Of course, turtles, walrus and sharks are still popular....

artist Pete Emslie

2009-11-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

One artist that I admire is American illustrator and caricaturist Pete Emslie. He has done a lot of work for Disney and has an impressive portfolio of cartoon design as well. Here is his self portrait...
I've been doing some quick sketches of his works for practice...

The following link is for his blog if you want to see more of his work...

http://cartooncave.blogspot.com/

湘南国際マラソン　Shonan International Marathon

2009-11-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

Today was the day of the Shonan International Marathon. The course came directly in front of the aquarium. These are some pictures I took of the runners this morning.

Recycling art

2009-11-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of artist who like to recycle by using the backside of paper with sketches on it to make note paper. I found a handy item to organize this paper into a file book. This item is called a "lever file."
By using a spring loaded lever, a clamp will press down on the paper and hold it firmly in the file book...

Nice and neat, you're ready to make notes and sketch with the paper in a handy book form.

Drawing sea creatures. 動物を描きます。

2009-11-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

The great thing about working at an aquarium is that I get to draw all the sea creatures I want to. Dolphins are one of my favorites.
イルカを描くのが好きです。

I also draw lots of penguins.
ペンギンも。

And all kinds of fish.

それに、いろいろな魚も。

I'd have to say that the dolphins are the all time favorite of the customers.
イルカがいちばん人気です。

Even pink dolphins.

ピンクのイルカもです。

Sometimes we get requests for animals that don't live in the water.

水の中にいない動物のリクエストもあります。

Sometimes people are happy just to have their faces drawn.

「顔のみ」をリクエストされるお客様も。

さくらまやの大漁まつり！ Maya Sakura's Tairyou Matsuri

2009-10-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

This studio work is a drawing of the very young Enka singer Maya Sakura. Enka music is a popular form of Japanese style singing. Right now her most famous song is "Tairyou Matsuri" which is about the celebration after the fishermen have a really big catch. I did the drawings in pen and ink then added the colors digitally using Photoshop Essentials. I made the back ground with vector graphics using the program PaintShopPro and then imported it into Photoshop for the finished product.

Here are some pictures of the little girl....
If you want to see her in action, check out the following link to see her singing her famous song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NykVICyDx8c

One week untlil Halloween!

2009-10-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

There's only one more week before Halloween. Still time to get a Halloween caricature. This little boy wanted a Halloween theme drawing with a shark.

Here are some other customers who came to Enoshima for some fun in the sun.

Pablo Picasso

2009-10-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is a drawing I made of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. I first I made an ink drawing which I then scanned and colored using Photoshop.

I was studying his works for inspiration. I liked his cubist style and textures he created with his paintings...

Due to the medium I was using I didn't really capture the painterly quality that I admire in his works. I was also looking at the works of Andy Warhol at the time and I feel like I was more influenced by his coloring...

Enoshima event this weekend　江ノ島の秋まつり

2009-10-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend at Enoshima there will be the Fall Festival which will include musicians, street preformers and dragonboat races...

Recntly, I drew a little boy who really liked starfish....

ヒトデだいすきです！

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

October is the month for Halloween. Join in on the fun with a Halloween theme drawing with your favorite sea creature!!!

Customer Drawings

2009-09-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my recent drawings from the aquarium. There are a lot of fun customers with fun requests.

Another new look for the Enoshima Aquarium caricature booth

2009-09-08T00:16:00.001-07:00

Starting from September, the caricature booth at the Enoshima Aquarium will be located next to the secnond floor entrance to the patio.
９月より、新江ノ島水族館内にある弊社ブースの位置が少し変わって、パティオにつながる出入り口のすぐ脇になりました。フロアはこれまでと同じ２階です。

There also were new pen stands constructed espcially for the booth...
備品のペン台が新しくなりました。

There were a lot of happy cutomers at our booth during the summer vacation holiday. Please 　enjoy some of their pictures.
夏休み中はたくさんのお客様が来店されて、カリカチュアを楽しんでくださいました。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　こんな感じです。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　↓

Lately, the walrus has been a very popular sea crature...

最近、セイウチはとても人気がありました。

Digital Drawings

2009-09-08T00:06:00.000-07:00

These are some drawings I made recently on the computer.

This is Japanese singer Yuujirou Ishihara. I did the sketch in ink first and finished the drawing using Photoshop. I've been studying the Inking and Photoshop tutorials from Tom Rcihmond's blog which have been very helpful for learning new techniques.
This drawing of Michael Jackson was made from an ink sketched and then finished using Paint Shop Pro.

年間パスポートサービスの再開　Annual Passport Servcie

2009-08-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

Starting from Tuesday, the 1st of September, the weekday servcie for the Enoshima Aquarium Annual Passport customers will be resuming. We have the choice of one of the following services for these customers. The first service is a 500 yen discount on our plastic frames. The second opttion is a grade up service to get a "with body" drawing for the price of a "face only" drawing.

９月１日（火）より、新江ノ島水族館内の弊社ブースにおきまして、
水族館の年間パスポート所有のお客様を対象とした、
平日限定のサービスが再開されます。

サービス期間の終了は１２月１８日（金）です。
カラーのカリカチュアをご注文されると、以下の二つのうち、
どちらかのサービスをご利用いただけます。

①プラスチックフレーム（通常税込み1575円）を1050円でご購入

②「顔のみ」料金（税込み1890円）で「体つき」にグレードアップ

（②の場合は、動物と一緒にお描きできます。）

夏休みプレゼントキャンペーン　　Mini poster present

2009-07-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

夏休みプレゼントキャンペーン

年間パスポート／キッズクラブ
個人サポーター／プラチナクラブ
各会員のお客様が対象です。

８月中に似顔絵をお買い上げ頂いたお客様には、ミニポスターをプレゼント！！
（デザインについては、下図をご参照ください）

ちなみに、通常上記会員のお客様向けにおこなっております平日サービスは、
８月いっぱいはお休みになります。再開は９月１日（火）です。

During the month of August, Caricature Japan is offering a free mini poster present to our caricature customers who have an annual passport to the Enoshima Aquarium.

We would also like to remind our customers that Caricature Japan's usual annual passport service will be suspended for the month of August. The frame discount and "with body" drawing discount will resume again starting from September 1st on the weekdays.

カリカチュアのブースが移動しました。　The caricature booth has a new location.

2009-07-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

新江ノ島水族館内にあるカリカチュア・ジャパンのブースが、ほんの少し移動しました。
以前は２Ｆギフトショップ〈タイニー・パイレーツ〉の向かいにありましたが、
７月１９日（日）より、同じく２Ｆの飲食売店〈サニー・サンズ〉の斜め向かいで営業しています。
水族館にお越しの際は、ぜひお立ち寄りくださいね！

The location of the caricature booth at the Enoshima Aquarium has changed. The old location was on the second floor next to the Tiny Pirates gift shop. As of July 19th, the new location is on the second floor in front of the Sunny Sands sandwich and juice counter. Please come see our new look.

夏休み営業時間です。Summer vacation business hours.

2009-07-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

夏休み中、弊社の新江ノ島水族館内ブースの営業時間は以下のとおりになります。
通常より少し長くなりますので、皆様ぜひお越しください。

・7/18-20,　7/25-26,　8/3-7,　8/10-11,　8/17-8/31　は　１１：００～１８：００　です。
・8/1-2,　8/8-9　は　１１：００～１９：００　です。
・8/12-16　は　１１：００～２０：００　です。

Something new to see!

2009-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

The picture book of sea creatures at our Enoshima Aquarium booth has been updated. There are new pictures of sea creatures such as the moray eel below...

Have your picture drawn with your favorite animal!

平塚のタナバタまつり！ The Hiratsuka city Tanabata festival 2009!

2009-07-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

This year I was able to see Hiratsuka city's Tanabata festival at night. The brightly illuminated decorations were very exciting. I even found some of my favorite cartoon characters!

To learn more about Tanabata, check out the following link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

Yoko Ogura drawing

2009-07-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is a contest drawing I did of Japanese popular entertainer Yoko Ogura. Many people say her personality is "out of this world."

Happy Father's Day June 21st! 父の日

2009-06-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's day to all Fathers. いつもありがとう。

Here are more pictures of customers at the aquarium...

Bruce Lee drawing

2009-05-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

Recently I made a fun cartoon drawing of kung-fu action star Bruce Lee. I wanted to capture his action pose in an amusing way.
The following are customers I drew at the Enoshima Aquarium...

Annual Passport Servcie　年パスサービス再開

2009-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Starting from Thursday, the 7th of May, the weekday servcie for the Enoshima Aquarium Annual Passport customers will be resuming. We have the choice of one of the following services for these customers. The first service is a 500 yen discount on our plastic frames. The second opttion is a grade up service to get a "with body" drawing for the price of a "face only" drawing.

５月７日（木）より、新江ノ島水族館内の弊社ブースにおきまして、
水族館の年間パスポート所有のお客様を対象とした、
平日限定のサービスが再開されます。
サービス期間の終了は７月３１日（金）です。

カラーのカリカチュアをご注文されると、
以下の二つのうち、どちらかのサービスをご利用いただけます。

①プラスチックフレーム（通常税込み1575円）を1050円でご購入
②「顔のみ」料金（税込み1890円）で「体つき」にグレードアップ

②の場合は、動物と一緒にお描きできます。

ゴールデンウィークの営業時間

2009-04-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

ゴールデンウィーク中、新江ノ島水族館内にあります弊社ブースの営業時間は、以下のとおりになります。

５／２（土）～５（火）　１１：００～１９：００
５／６（水）　１１：００～１８：００

ちなみに、この期間は、普段平日に実施しております年パスサービスは、おこなっておりません。
年パスサービスの再開は５／７（木）です。

Let's go surfing!　　サーフィン！

2009-04-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

Surfing is one of the most popular activities in the Shonan area.

湘南では、サーフィンをする人がたくさんいます。

For even more fun, you can go surfing with your favoriet sea creature!

お気に入りの生き物とサーフィンをすれば、もっと楽しいかもしれません。

"Carciature Japaning" Group Exhibit カリカチュア・ジャパンのグループ展

2009-04-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday April 7th, I went to Yokokama's Red Brick Warehouse to see the group exhibit "Caricatrue Japaning." It featured studio artworks from the staff of Caricature Japan.
４月７日（火）に、横浜の赤レンガ倉庫で開催中の、「カリカチュア・ジャパニング」を観に行きました。弊社のグループ展で、私も含めたアーティストたちの、スタジオ作品が展示されています。

Jerry of Shonan

End of an era

Lady Gaga Meat Dress

Gift drawing

Dog Days of Summer at the Aquarium

Tube Aquarium

Baby and Penguins

Studio Work

Atsushi at Osaka Caricature Convention

Tanabata

Lady Gaga drawing

Turtles are back

Brad Pitt

Tamura-san surprise present

Gambarou Nippon! がんばろう日本！

Momoe Yamaguchi contest drawing

Pink Lady

Koi Noboru 鯉のぼる

Japanese Earthquake

Contest Drawing Kanako Murakami

Contest Drawings

Dolphins still Number One!

Keisuke Honda drawing

Brian and Beau come to Japan!

Franz Kline

Salvador Dali

Gift drawing

Happy Halloween!!

Contest drawing

Sumo wrestler

A Few Quick ones

七夕！ Tanabata!

Harrison Ford drawing

Aquarium live sketch

６月の早割サービス。 June Early Bird Service

Miki's Exhibit

School Tour Ship

Frank Frazetta 1928 - 2010

Live Sketch

Quickie Ichiro Trivia

江ノ島店のサービス Enoshima Aquarium Services

Extended Hours for Golden Week ゴールデンウィーク営業時間

Brothers Hildebrandt

Live Sketch

４月の早割サービス。April Early Bird Service.

毎日バースデーサービス。 Every Day Birthday Service!

年間パスポートサービス。 Annual Passport Service reminder.

A drawing for spring time.

Enoshima Aquarium 5th Anniverary Promotion 新江ノ島水族館の開館５周年キャンペーン

Live Sketch

3月の早割サービス March Early Bird Service

Kasai Noriaki 葛西紀明

早割サービス拡大のお知らせ。 Early Bird Service News.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Island Ensohima

Polar Bear ホッキョクグマ

Live Sketch

Japanese Figure Skater Akiko Suzuki. 鈴木明子

Jellyfish anyone? クラゲいかがですか？

土曜日限定の早割サービス始まります！Saturday Early Bird Service.

More Pete Emslie Technique

Japanese comedian 芸人

年パスポートサービスの再会 Annual Passport Service

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます！！

Live Sketch

Annual Passport service infromation 年間パスポートサービスについて

Live Sketch

Enoshima Fantasy 江ノ島ファンタジー

More Fish!

Only 19 days until Christmas

It's Break Time. 新江ノ島水族館の休館日

Fish Drawing

Christmas time is here!

Live Sketch

A W??

海の妖精たち Faries of the Sea

artist Pete Emslie

湘南国際マラソン Shonan International Marathon

Recycling art

Drawing sea creatures. 動物を描きます。

江ノ島店のサービス　　Enoshima Aquarium Services

湘南国際マラソン　Shonan International Marathon

Enoshima event this weekend　江ノ島の秋まつり

年間パスポートサービスの再開　Annual Passport Servcie

夏休みプレゼントキャンペーン　　Mini poster present

カリカチュアのブースが移動しました。　The caricature booth has a new location.

Annual Passport Servcie　年パスサービス再開

Let's go surfing!　　サーフィン！