HEAD ART Photo Contest AKASHI 2023

AKIHITO

Dark Fantasy & Character Concept Artist,

Born in the Fukuoka prefecture of Japan, and now living in Los Angeles, CA. Akihito won the TV Champion's Special Effects Make-Up King Competition three years consecutively starting in 1988. In that same year, he also won the Avant-Gard Make-up competition at the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show.In the following years, Akihito shined as the main Kaiju Designer for Ultraman Cosmos. In the following years, Akihito shined as the main Kaiju Designer for Ultraman Cosmos. After making the decision to move to America in 2002 to pursue a Hollywood career, he has found success as one of the key Special Effects Make-up Artist on many movies, including PACIFIC RIM, LOST WORLD, PREDATORS, NARNIA 1, 2, and 3, TERMINATOR SALVATION, TERMINATOR GENESIS, IRONMAN 2, SHUTTER ISLAND, and ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

PUBLISHED
2014 “Heart of Art” Akihito's first art book Released worldwide (15 countries including Japan). “Heart of Art”

AWARD
2018 -Dimensional “Statue of Peace” Selected work in SPECTRUM 25
2017 -Dimensional “Nephila” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 24
2016 -Dimensional “Death Wings” Selected work in SPECTRUM 23 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2011 -Dimensional “Wind Messenger” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 18 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2009 -Dimensional “Elegant Medusa” Gold Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 16 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2008 -Dimensional “Heart of Art” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 15 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2001 -Main designer of Ultraman Cosmos (Japan's famous super hero character loved by all the children in Japan as Superman is in the US) TV series (65 stories) in 2001
-Produced an original special make-up effects fashion show in the 200 Independent Movie Festival in Tokyo.
2000 -Won three consecutive victories for the Special Effects Make-up Artists Championship in Japan.
1999 -Won the first prize for the Avant-Garde category in the annual competition event at the 1999 International Make-up Artist Trade Show, California USA.

Kageki Shimoda

Novelist, an organizer of a storytelling workshop “Yoiko-ni-yomikikasetai” Born in Shizuoka Prefecture. Awarded the Naoki Prize for his novel, “Yellow Fang” in 1980.
After receiving the Prize, he appeared in numerous TV shows including “Waratte iitomo”. He has published over 500 books, and has been releasing e-books lately. Driven by a strong necessity of storytelling, he founded “Yoiko-ni-yomikikasetai” in 1990 where he serves as a captain, and has held over 1900 storytelling workshops across Japan with his storytelling members. He also passionately devotes himself in creating picture books and children’s books. He won the 19th Japan Picture Book Awards Readers’ Prize in 2014 for “The Day a Giraffe Comes”. He has gained popularity with the younger generation as he has more than 410,000 followers on Twitter.

Isao TSUGE

Character Visual Director

Born in 1960. He engaged in numerous film works as a beauty director including “Okuribito” directed by Takida Yojiro. He set up a new genre called “character design” where he totally designs a character of a film with costumes, hair makeup and hand props.

Major works
NHK historical drama series “Ryoma-den”, “Taira-no-Kiyomori”, NHK drama fantasy series “Seirei-no-moribito (all 3 series)”, “Stranger – Akutagawa Ryunosuke in Shanghai”, “Thus spoke Kishibe Rohan”, “Drawing Restraint 9” (directed by Matthew Barney),” 13 Assassins” (directed by Takashi Miike), “Shin Godzilla”(directed by Hideaki Anno and Shingi Higuchi), “Fly Me to the Saitama”(directed by Hideki Takeuchi). His upcoming works include “Shin Kamen Rider” (directed by Hideaki Anno) and NHK historical drama series for 2023 “Dosuru Ieyasu” and more.

Major theatrical works
“Roppongi Kabuki Part II Zatoichi” (directed by Takashi Miike), “Red Demon”, “MIWA”, and “Q:A Night At The Kabuki” (directed by Hideki Noda), “Akaikurayami”, “Ohsho”,”Hitachiboh Kaison” (directed by Keishi Nagatsuka), “PLUTO” (directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), etc.

Awards received
Grand prize for the first Japan Hairdresser of the Year (Japan Hairdressing Awards in 1990), Session Stylist of the Year for the second Japan Hairdresser of the Year (Japan Hairdressing Awards in 1991), Kujiraoka Amiko Award for the 30th Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix in 2012 (awarded for creating the new genre of character design), Best Costume Design for the 9th Asian Film Awards in 2015 (“Over Your Dead Body”).