time to feature for another movie that is a visual inspiration for me: Tekkon Kinkreet(鉄コン筋クリート,Tekkon Kinkurīto, a pun on "Tekkin Concrete", the Japanese term for reinforced concrete).  It is based on the Japanese manga called "Black and White" by Taiyō Matsumoto.  I originally read the Manga in school and thought this would be awesome as a Movie, and the next week i learned that it was being made into a movie.  It is Japanese but unique because it is the first time an American has directed a Japanese animated movie.  I met the director, Michael Arias at the north American premiere at the Moma in 2006 i think it was.  It is animated by my favorite animation studio: Studio 4°C.  These are the guys responsible for my fav animated movie "Mind Game".  Arias and studio 4C created many of the sections for that Animatrix movie so the guy does have prior experience.  Anyway the background paintings are insane.  Blending of old and new technologies is very good.  I love how studio 4C animates.  The story is good.  they were pretty faithful to the manga, even the compositions and shots.  Anyway this is on DVD and Blueray everywhere so check it out.  Here are some screenshots i took to inspire you! 

the two kids can basically jump super high and are like super monkeys that will bash your head in. 

look how cool they make ordinary scenes look. 

great compositions and establishing shots.  The background painters are amazing. 

This was for Tiger Beer.  They invited me to be a part of their "Tiger Translate" artist series that they have every so often.  It is the biggest physical size i've ever done.  it's 3 feet by 2 feet.  Printed out this is a beaut.  This year's tiger translate theme Change/Society.  This piece is about losing culture.  Here is my little statement: "Since I’ve been living in China I have been attracted to tiger hats and tiger toys for children because these representations of tigers are very different than western interpretations.  In Chinese culture the tiger hat is meant to protect children from evil spirits and other bad things.  I thought the tiger hat would be perfect for this concept because it is supposed to protect the boy yet it needs the boy to protect it from becoming another forgotten tradition.  This made me think about how culture is always changing resulting in old traditions being lost.  As an artist I am saddened by the loss of visual culture, such as these tiger hats.  The orange tigers represent some of the ways culture is lost.  A lot of my friends' immigrant parents withheld their culture from their children to westernize the children thinking it would give them a better life.  Some people reject their culture or it could be forcibly taken and outlawed.  It could be bastardized, commercialized or watered down.  These are represented by different tigers in this illustration.  Behind it all this piece has a positive message.  The hat is a cultural icon that you can physically see but it also represents the boy's culture as a whole, a symbol of what he needs to protect.  It's tied firmly to his head, giving us hope that he will be one of the few that preserves his cultural heritage." 

I'm working on 3 more of these to make a nice series.  they take a long time so we'll see how far i get into this.  I brainstormed on this piece for weeks so i had some other really good concepts that I wanted to do as well. 

I found these and thought they were funny.  they are from when i worked at FIT.  They were supposed to be concepts for a sign about an elevator that doesn't stop on the 4th floor.  its that japanese tanooki character all sad and dejected.  I wish i had more time to do something with this guy.