Koji Ishikawa (illustrator) facts for kids
Kōji Ishikawa (石川 浩二, Ishikawa Kōji, pen name: いしかわ こうじ, born October 4, 1963) is a famous Japanese author and artist. He creates wonderful children's books. Kōji Ishikawa also designs characters and illustrates for magazines and websites. He lives in Tokyo, Japan, with his family.
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About Kōji Ishikawa
Kōji Ishikawa was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1963. When he was a child, he loved art. He enjoyed painting, making things with his hands, and origami (the art of paper folding).
He went to Musashino Art University. There, he studied visual communication design. This means he learned how to create messages using pictures and designs. While still at university, he won a big award called the Kodansha Picture for Children Grand Prix. After that, he started his career as an illustrator.
Digital Art Pioneer
Kōji Ishikawa is known for being one of the first artists to use computers for his art. He is a pioneer in digital illustration. He has even appeared on TV shows and in magazines to talk about digital art. He also gives lectures to share his knowledge.
His main tools for painting are computer programs like Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop. He even wrote a book called "Happy Painter Life." This book teaches others how to use Corel Painter for digital art.
Paper Animals and Popular Books
In 1999, Kōji Ishikawa created something special. He developed "Paper Dog" (ペーパーわんこ; Pēpāwanko) and "Paper Cat" (ペーパーにゃんこ; Pēpānyanko). These are cute little dogs and cats made from paper.
His picture-book about Paper Dogs, called "Living with 100 dogs," came out in 2002. In 2004, his paper dog photo story, "Kotaro's Trip," was chosen for the Bologna International Picture-Book Original Picture Exhibition in Italy. A French judge named Xavier Pingaud praised his work.
In 2006, he released two popular picture-books: "Colorful Animals Hide and Seek" and "Colorful Vehicles Hide and Seek." These books became very popular. They were translated into French, Korean, and Chinese. More than 1,550,000 copies of this series have been sold worldwide!
Kōji Ishikawa continued to create many more books. In 2008, he released "Colorful Fruits Hide and Seek," "Patterned Animals Hide and Seek," and "The Trip of the Little Ship." In 2009, he added five more books: "Baby Smile," "Baby Hello," "Tsumiki-kun," "Panda's ONIGIRI," and "Book of Eggs."
Awards and Recognition
Kōji Ishikawa has received several important awards for his work:
- Kodansha Competition of Pictures for Kids Grand Prix (1986)
- Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children's Books Selected (2004)
- Bookmaking Binding Contest Prize of Chief Director of Japan Book Publishers Association (2010)
List of Books
Here are some of the books Kōji Ishikawa has created:
- Patterned Birds Hide and Seek (2013)
- This is Mask (2013)
- Sea Creatures Hide and Seek (2012)
- Toy-block Boy and Toy-block Girl (2011)
- Colorful Vegetables Hide and Seek (2011)
- Everyone Can Fly! (2010)
- Flowers Bloom (2010)
- BABY HUGGY (2010)
- Book of Eggs (2009)
- Panda's ONIGIRI (2009)
- Toy-block Boy (2009)
- BABY SMILE (2009)
- BABY HELLO (2009)
- Patterned Animals Hide and Seek (2008)
- Colorful Fruits Hide and Seek (2008)
- The Trip of the Little Ship (2008)
- Où sont les animaux ? (Hiding Animals) (2008)
- Où sont les véhicules ? (Hiding Vehicles) (2008)
- Où sont les jouets ? (Hiding Toys) (2008)
- Où sont les habits ? (Hiding Clothes) (2008)
- Whose Tail? (2007)
- What is this sound? (2007)
- Colorful Animals Hide and Seek (2006)
- Colorful Vehicles Hide and Seek (2006)
- Happy Toys Hide and Seek (2006)
- Colorful Clothes Hide and Seek (2006)
- Paper Dogs Travel Around the World (2005)
- Life with Paper Dogs (2003)
- Living with 100 Dogs (2002)
- Happy Painter Life (2000)
