[Click here to view the video in this article]
When illustrator and self-declared “Japan-nerd” Jed Henry wanted to combine his passions for Japanese video games and traditional Japanese illustrations, he decided to seek help from an expert.
Englishman David Bull, who has spent the last 30 years in Japan mastering the technique of ukiyo-e, or Japanese woodblock printing, was hesitant on collaborating with Henry on a new design that borrowed elements from video games.
Ukiyo-e has become a dying art form that, for almost 70 years, subsists on the reproduction of classic prints, and Bull was doubtful that Henry’s designs would be well-received.
However, Henry turned things around with a design idea that morphed Kirby, a cutesy Nintendo character, into an ancient, menacing frog demon.
Bull was instantly taken by the design, and from there, they started the ‘Ukiyo-E Heroes’ project, a series of designs that puts a medieval spin on video game characters.
‘Pocketing a Wager’ is Henry’s take on Pokémon, featuring a stylized Pikachu and Charmander facing off in a sumo ring.
Launched as a Kickstarter campaign, Henry and Bull offered to make ukiyo-e woodblock prints only for those who contributed $135 or more for each piece. To their surprise, the project met with an overwhelming response.
“I’ve got young people all around the world who are writing me, asking where woodprints have been their whole life. It’s all because of Jed. He singlehandedly revitalized the craft of traditional Japanese woodblock printing. Even a guy like me pushed him away. But he had a vision, and he just kept pushing his way right back in,” said Bull.
Click below to have a glimpse of the tedious process of woodprint making:
[via Co. Design and Ukiyo-e Heroes]
When illustrator and self-declared “Japan-nerd” Jed Henry wanted to combine his passions for Japanese video games and traditional Japanese illustrations, he decided to seek help from an expert.
Englishman David Bull, who has spent the last 30 years in Japan mastering the technique of ukiyo-e, or Japanese woodblock printing, was hesitant on collaborating with Henry on a new design that borrowed elements from video games.
Ukiyo-e has become a dying art form that, for almost 70 years, subsists on the reproduction of classic prints, and Bull was doubtful that Henry’s designs would be well-received.
However, Henry turned things around with a design idea that morphed Kirby, a cutesy Nintendo character, into an ancient, menacing frog demon.
Bull was instantly taken by the design, and from there, they started the ‘Ukiyo-E Heroes’ project, a series of designs that puts a medieval spin on video game characters.
‘Pocketing a Wager’ is Henry’s take on Pokémon, featuring a stylized Pikachu and Charmander facing off in a sumo ring.
Launched as a Kickstarter campaign, Henry and Bull offered to make ukiyo-e woodblock prints only for those who contributed $135 or more for each piece. To their surprise, the project met with an overwhelming response.
“I’ve got young people all around the world who are writing me, asking where woodprints have been their whole life. It’s all because of Jed. He singlehandedly revitalized the craft of traditional Japanese woodblock printing. Even a guy like me pushed him away. But he had a vision, and he just kept pushing his way right back in,” said Bull.
Click below to have a glimpse of the tedious process of woodprint making:
[via Co. Design and Ukiyo-e Heroes]