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The kokeshi kozy painted for the Kokeshi Doll show open at theJapanese American National Museum in Los Angeles this weekend.
He is a kappa, a traditional japanese mythological creature (yokai), known for its love of cucumbers and its penchant for sucking out livers through children's anuses.
Or Buckbaird, Bugbear, Buckbeard… it’s kinda hard to tell what to name this weirdo. But this is one of Shigeru Mizuki’s creations, and is actually based on a piece of surrealist art. In the story, Backbeard is “The boss of Western Yokai,” which essentially means that we should all recognize him. Even though we don’t. For reference’ sake, a “bugbear” is one of the root words for “Bogeyman” and plays basically the same role. So, Backbeard is the Boogeyman.
Featured on Life In Plastic: nerditis.com/2016/05/25/life-in-plastic-yokai-part-5-yes-...
With each of its nine tails, the Yako Slizer embodies a different element of the Planet Slizer. Equipped with powerful arms, hidden rocket pods in its legs, and nine throwing arms, the Yako Slizer is a threatening force that combines Yokai legends and folklore with raw mechanical power.
I bought too many Throwbot arms. This is another one of my MOCs that basically boils down to "let's shove two unrelated things together and see what happens." In this case, I combined the concept of a Nine-tailed fox with the old Throwbot line. I've been wanting to do a Kitsune themed character for a while, and I have been wanting (and encouraged) to do another Slizer build after old Dusty in 2016, so I did both. This guy is weird, but his articulation is pretty good. He uses a lot of building techniques I have never used before. He was a bit of a pain to photograph because he's pretty darn big. I'm happy with how he turned out.
(Ink on paper, 2008)
This is one of two pieces I will be showing in the "Yokai In Your Eye" show @ Bear & Bird Gallery on June 14th.
This piece is based on the Sagari character. Here is the explanation:
Another spirit born from a precise turn of events, and a strange one even by Yokai standards. A Sagari is the ghost of a horse that has died beneath a tree, and is now bound to it. Appearing as a disembodied horse's head, it dangles from branches by either its ambulatory mane or a single humanoid arm, depending on the story. Kind-hearted humans have the power to release these spirits, but not all Sagari are interested in passing on, preferring the comfort of their tree to whatever awaits horses in the afterlife. Though eerie, they are not known to attack people.
Poster image for the Degenerate Art Ensemble's upcoming show, Sonic Tales, at the Moore Theatre on Halloween in Seattle. Costume and wallpaper drawings by Mandy Greer.
Marker and airbrush freakout for the annual Monster Beach Party art show in Vancouver. I was on a big-ass Shigeru Mizuki kick at the time, so I went down that particular road. I also used it as an excuse to draw my '78 Iceman for some reason. 2008
The souls of particularly evil people are cursed to be trapped for eternity in flaming wheels, spreading chaos and death wherever they go.
The ghost of a woman who died while pregnant, or giving birth, or shortly after childbirth, or related to her baby in any other way, Ubume is one of the more tragic Yokai. She appears as a woman – sometimes pregnant, sometimes bloody, sometimes with bird talons, but always holding a baby. Her desperate need to help her child is the undoing of any mortal she meets, as she will beg you to hold her baby for her. But once you do, the child becomes a heavy stone, and often crushes the life out of the poor, good-natured victim. There are a few ghosts like this, including one variant of Yuki-Onna whose baby will freeze you to death. Basically, if you’re in Japan, never hold anyone’s baby for them. Just punt that little monster (don’t actually kick a baby).
Featured on Life In Plastic: nerditis.com/2016/05/25/life-in-plastic-yokai-part-5-yes-...
20" x 20" illustration for Kult design agency in Singapore. Its for a book about fears. my assigned fear was Gephydrophobia - (Fear of crossing bridges). Some people with this affliction imagine monsters under the bridges they must cross. I thought this would a great time to illustration some Japanese themed stuff i've been wanting to draw. They are all based on the original Japanese design but with my twist of course. I sourced some real life disturbing looking animals for some of these. The melting face guy in the back is based on a blob fish (truly disturbing). The red oni is based on a Chinese girl in my Japanese class hahaha. the bug eyed furry guy is based on a Tarsier (some kind of monkey with huuuuge eyes). Jizo are little stone statues that are the protectors of travellers and children. they often are decorated with red clothing. Ravens are bad omens. There is a whole encyclopedia of Japanese monsters (Yokai). Here are 6 (and a raven, so i guess this continues my Japanese crow series too). Seen here is a kappa (turtle like thing that will do bad things to you but has a hole in his head with water in it so if you bow to him he must bow to you therefore losing the water in his head and disabling him so you can run away), an oni (demon/ogre, you throw beans at people wearing these masks on setsubun day), an umi bozu (sea monster), a Hitotsume-kozo (one eyed monster that resembles a bald Buddhist priest) a Suushi Nuppeppo (animated lump of decaying human flesh), a Kijimuna (a forest sprite from Okinawa). All Yokai have crazy stories that are super strange and intersting to me as a westerner, for example the Kijimuna bug-eyed monster on the right, here is an excerpt "a kijimuna may offer to carry a human on it's back as it leaps through the mountains and over the seas. The kijimuna dislike people passing gas on their backs, however, and will immediately throw the human off their backs, no matter where they were at the moment." this illo almost didnt happen. That bridge took like 8 hours to complete and i had to do it all over again because the photoshop file got corrupted when i was halfway done with the whole illustration! then my keyboard stopped working and more time was wasted finding the fix for that. This is acrylic paint, pencil, japanese patterned paper, chinese ink, and photoshop. I used a sponge for the tree leaves and moss. What a monster it was completing this. I'm sorry to say I logged 60+ hours on this one.
The "Legend of the Yokai" has risen! I'm very proud to share my new piece as part of the "Legend of the Yokai" experience inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is part of Paramounts Official campaign to promote the new movie coming to theaters August 8th. You can check out the first wave of art here: www.legendoftheyokai.com/
More of a Yurei than a Yokai, Onryo are the ghosts of people who have been wronged in life. Rather than seek specific vengeance (though they won't pass it up if the opportunity arises), Onryo take out their wrath on all living people. They are not necessarily female, but the idea of an Onryo as a romantically-wronged woman or murdered child captured public opinion early and well. As for their appearance, the stringy-haired woman in white came about because of Kabuki shorthand (Similar to why ninjas dress like Kabuki stagehands).
(this figure is actually a Walking Dead zombie, but it loos so much like an Onryo...)