Yoji Shinkawa

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Yoji Shinkawa bigraphy, stories - Japanese Illustrator

Yoji Shinkawa : biography

December 25, 1971 –

Born in Hiroshima, Shinkawa began working for game developer Konami in 1994 after graduating from Kyoto Seika University; he was the first artist in the company to receive an "S"-grade evaluation for his portfolio.The Art of Metal Gear Solid, Yoji Shinkawa, ISBN 4-7973-0950-4 He first worked as a debugger for the PC-98 version of Policenauts. He moved on to serve as art director for the later console ports of the game, then as character designer for the Metal Gear Solid series. He is now the lead artist on many of Konami’s titles.

Shinkawa’s illustration style is generally praised as original and artistic, yet technically accurate. According to himself he is inspired by anime-related artists like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Yoshitaka Amano, but also more western-related and less contemporary artists such as Frank Miller, Aubrey Beardsley and Willy Pogany and is also a big fan of French artists such as Mœbius. Shinkawa uses ink pens with a brush-like felt-tip preferring the Pentel Brush Pen and both Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter for his creations.The Art of Metal Gear Solid, Yoji Shinkawa, ISBN 4-7973-0950-4 He is also an avid fan of heavy metal and artists such as Megadeth, Rage, Killswitch Engage and Yngwie Malmsteen.The Art of Metal Gear Solid, Yoji Shinkawa, ISBN 4-7973-0950-4Art of Metal Gear Solid 1.5, Yoji Shinkawa, ISBN 4-7973-2680-8

Works

Video games

  • Policenauts
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Zone of the Enders
  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
  • Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
  • Fu-un Shinsengumi
  • Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
  • Fu-un Bakumatsu-den
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
  • Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
  • Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
  • Busō Shinki Battle Masters Mk. II (character/mechanical designs for Justice and Mimic)

Other works

Novels:

  • Urban Hercules (illustrations)

Films:

  • Godzilla: Final Wars (monster and mecha designs)