2010 Golden Nosey Interview
2010 Golden Nosey Winner Yuta Honma answers a few questions about his latest win and his plans for the future.
EF: First of all, congratulations on being the latest Golden Nosey winner. Tell us a little about your background.
YH: I was born and grew up in Saitama, Japan, but now I live in Yokohama. I have been drawing ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon.
EF: What is your artistic background/education?
YH: I took art classes in college and majored in graphic design.
EF: How long have you been drawing caricatures?
YH: I met Kage Nakanishi when I was 21 years old. It was at that time that I started my career in caricatures.
EF: So, you did not draw caricatures until you met Kage?
YH: That is correct. I was always interested in humorous illustration. But it was not until I met Kage that I actually started drawing caricatures.
EF: Who are some of your caricature influences?
YH: I was influenced by Court Jones and Jason Seiler. I have always been impressed by realistic coloring and value techniques. In the future, I want to study characterizing technique such as that of Tom Richmond. Also, I want to learn dynamic exaggeration such as that of Glenn Ferguson.
EF: Where do you work as a caricature artist?
YH: I have been working in Asakusa, Tokyo for Caricature Japan, teaching caricature classes and working on commission work at our studio. I train our rookie artists and students in our caricature class. I enjoy teaching as much as I enjoy drawing. One day, I want to help my students become Golden Nosey winners.
EF: What were your expectations for this year’s convention in Las Vegas? What were your goals? Did you do anything to prepare yourself physically, mentally?
YH: Though winning the Golden Nosey was a big goal for me, I did not prepare anything definite. But, I can probably say, my everyday job was preparing for this convention.
EF: What media and technique did you use for your wall at the convention?
YH: At the convention, I used Copic marker, ArtStix and colored pencil on to toned/colored paper. I had started using toned paper last year. First, I use a grey marker to give a tone, and then I use a color pencil. I like the powerful effect of this technique. I also did digital painting, using Photoshop.
EF: Do you always work with this same technique/media, or are there other techniques/media you use?
YH: I usually like to use Copic markers and ArtStix for my commission work. It is very fast and effective. But right now, my favorite medium is digital painting.
EF: What other artwork do you do besides caricature?
YH: Right now, I don’t do anything besides caricature. But in the future, I want to try something different as well.
EF: What do you think made people vote for your work over that of other artists?
YH: I was very, very lucky to be voted for, especially when there are amazingly talented artists such as Brian Oakes and Marcus Sakoda. I think my strength was coloring. I believe that color is also a very important element in capturing a likeness.
EF: As an artist, what are your plans for the future? What are your goals as an artist?
YH: One of my most important goals is to become a better teacher and make improvements to my curriculum, so I can produce many good caricature artists.
EF: Yuta, thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions. Anything else you would like to share?
YH: Yes. I would love to keep coming back to the convention, because I love its energy, passion and friendship. It is like nothing else in the world; it is a very special place for me. When I think about my career, I realize nothing has started yet, and nothing is finished yet. I want to keep learning, studying, observing, drawing, painting and doing much more with ISCA!
EF: Do you have a website or blog?
YH: The website of the company I work for is http://caricature-japan.com/
On my blog, I recently updated my school information, and my artwork. http://hon-maburo.blogspot.com/
Please
come visit!
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