Born in Russia in 1989, Ilya Kuznetsov worked at an Italian fabric store after earning a degree in costume design from Smolensk State University. A tattoo artist friend urged him to use his drawing skills in the tattoo industry as he barely made ends meet. Self-taught in this new discipline, Kuznetsov began taking tattooing more […]
Category: Comics and Cartoons
Q&As with Yeono about Photorealistic Tattoos
When Yeono was 17 years old, her mother decided she wanted a tattoo and sought her assistance in locating an artist. She was awestruck by the precision and artistry of Japanese tattoos (especially the extraordinary backpieces). Yeono quickly connected with tattooing and realized it would be her lifelong passion and profession. She investigated the possibility of following the […]
From Ceramics to Castles: The Work of Ovenlee
Ovenlee was born in 1995 in Chuncheon, the capital city of Gangwon Province in South Korea. She attended university in 2014 and studied ceramics and textiles before opting to pursue a career as a tattooer in 2018. Fascinated by the countryside’s natural beauty, she depicts it in vivid color in her tattoos. She creates fantastical […]
Mimi-Sama Discusses Manga and Anime Fine-Line Tattoos
Mimi-Sama is a native Frenchwoman who has tattooed in various locations, including Melbourne and Tokyo. She has subsequently relocated to San Francisco, where she has been employed since 2021 at the prominent Black Serum studio. With her husband’s support for travel and work, they share a similar style of life—enjoying new experiences, which led to 15 […]
Pizza Pirate’s Classic Cartoons with Modern Sensibilities
Nelson Calderara better known Pizza Pirate is inspired by Western cartoons of the 1930s—his artwork feels like a direct descendant of that of animators like Walt Disney and Max Fleischer, from the trademark white gloves, to the use of skulls and skeletons, to the almost punk rock style of transgression. That transgression typically manifests in […]
From Graffiti to Tattooing: The Body Art of Ninne Oat
He has been a graffiti artist since 1999 under the name of “Ninne.” Nineteen years later he is still using a similar name but now as a tattooist, having started working in the tattoo industry in 2015. “I decided to become a tattooist because I believe it is a form of art that is more […]
Colorful, Grotesque Creature Mash-Ups by Tom Strom
Tom Strom is an artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland, who paints and tattoos colorful “creature mash-ups.” Among his inspirations are anime and Disney movies—the former for monster design, the latter for colorful backgrounds. He began tattooing over twenty years ago, during which time he experimented with different techniques and developed his style, which is an […]
10 Amazing Anime Movies of 2018
The early months of 2018 have already seen several landmark anime films achieve worldwide success, and that shows no signs of changing anytime soon. While it is not apparent from looking at the 2018 Oscar nominations for Best Animated Film, last year saw some truly fantastic anime films released. If anime, films from outside of […]
Elegant, Colorful Chaos in Zeen Chin’s Digital Paintings
Zeen Chin is a self-taught artist living in Kuala Lumpur. Drawing upon a mysterious well of horror films, memories, and mysticism, his digital paintings are wildly elegant and unpredictable; scrolling from one image to the next, you can never predict (nor comprehend) what you will see next. Anime-like characters parade with cartoonish, folklore-inspired beasts, and […]
10 Gateway Anime Films to Enter the Medium With
With the proliferation of anime streaming services like Crunchyroll it has never been easier to get into this style. Despite the success of some anime franchises in the West, it has been difficult in the past to get access to a variety of shows and movies, no matter how popular they are in their home […]
