Dia de Muerto custom figure judge

Hello!I will be judging upcoming "Dia de Muerto custom figure contest" in Mexico City. Looking forward to see your art works!

Here is the info: (sorry it's in Spanish)

“Pélame los dientes”

Bases:

  • En la compra de un Munny o amigo de Munny de 7 pulgadas se hará el registro de tu participación en el concurso
  • Tema: Día de Muertos (No Halloween, no zombies, no monstruos)
  • Técnica: libre
  • El diseño debe ser único y original
  • Se aceptarán hasta 2 piezas por participante
  • Fecha de entrega: sábado 20 de octubre 2012. No se aceptarán piezas posterior a esa fecha
  • Si son foráneos el costo del envío corre por cuenta del participante y la devolución de la pieza se hará por cuenta de la tienda
  • Enviar fotografías en formato JPG, resolución de 150 dpi, tamaño mínimo 800 pixeles de ancho, foto frontal, perfil y posterior. Enviar a concurso@sktienda.com.mx
  • Se deberá entregar una ficha técnica con los siguientes datos:
    • No. de Registro (El cual proporcionaremos al comprar tu DIY)
    • Nombre
    • Alias
    • Email
    • Título
    • Técnica
    • Precio (Solo si aplica)

Los 3 primeros lugares serán seleccionados por el jurado que calificará originalidad, técnica y calidad:

Jueces:

  • Aya Kakeda (Ilustradora, artista visual y diseñadora de juguetes de arte / Japón)
  • El Hooligan (Customizador / México)
  • Kidrobot (Productor y distribuidor de juguetes de diseño / E.U.)
  • Rey Chemo (Coleccionista de juguetes de diseñador / México)
  • Sarukaku (Tienda especializada en Art toys / México)

more info : http://www.artoy.com.mx/concurso-de-art-toy-pelame-los-dientes/

MICA lecture and Toy making blog

Hello.I'm going to MICA ( Maryland Institute College of Art) next week to have a lecture and a week long Toy design workshop. Here are the link to the blog I've been making for the class.  I thought maybe some other toymaker will be interested! I will keep updating this blog with students work and interview with other toy makers so stay tuned. http://micamfaillustrationaya.wordpress.com/

Info about the workshop: http://fyi.mica.edu/event/aya_kakeda_lecture

"the Hole in the Middle" Book + Toy release party x Dunny Series 2011 Release Party

Hello Hello!I'm putting up some photos of the night when we had our book "The Hole in The Middle" and it's main character Morgan's limited Toy release party.

For 2 hours Paul and I signed all 200 of the limited Book x Toy figures :-) This is Abby Ranger form Disney Hyperion Book, she is the Editor of this book!!! She is fantastic! And Dunny Series 2011 release party was happening at this SOHO Kidrobot shop in same night! Here is my Laika Dunny. hehe so small in this photo. It was my first time actually meeting my Laika this night! I was super excited. I love the transparent helmet. They did such a great job making this! thank you! My dear dear Friends were there to support! thank you guys for coming. Thank you Paul, Thank you Abby, Thank you KRNY stuff, and thank you everybody for coming to celebrate this book, this means a lot to me!

You can see more photo at http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/wrap-up-ds2011-trading-parties/

Dunny Series 2011 collaboration with KidRobot!

Yeey my new Dunny toy is coming out from KidRobot on 23rd and now the design is revealed on their website!http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/ds2011-daily-dunny-countdown-aya-kakeda/

I was watching a full moon last night and feeling nostalgic. And it's the perfect timing to reveal this Laika dunny since I design this after Laika the Space Dog who first went to the space in 1957. (and never came back.. :-( ) I salute you Laika. you are always in my mind with a beautiful full moon~!

Reviews came in for "The Hole In The Middle" book!

Here are some reviews just came in  for the book "The Hole in the Middle" book written by Paul Budnitz and illustrated by me. I'm very excited I wanted to share with you! The book will be out in June. Kirkus Review THE HOLE IN THE MIDDLE Author: Budnitz, Paul Illustrator: Kakeda, Aya This charming story about friendship, a debut effort for both author and illustrator, succeeds with a chatty tone and appealing cartoon-style illustrations. Morgan is a boy with a hole in his midsection; you can see right through it, and it causes an empty feeling no matter what he’s doing or how much he eats. His best friend, Yumi, tries to help by making strawberry cake, taking his mind off it with play and suggesting he just forget about it, but nothing works until, in a reversal of roles, Yumi gets sick and needs his help. Alert readers will notice even before Morgan does that the hole in his tummy gets smaller and smaller the more he focuses on Yumi rather than himself. Morgan and Yumi’s caring friendship is warmly portrayed, and the fact that they help each other solve problems (there are no adults here) encourages young readers’ budding initiative and self-sufficiency. The colorful, cheerful spreads depict all sorts of amusements and feature whimsical details that add to the brief text; it’s fun to try to spot the robot toy and the doll with a flower-shaped face that accompany Morgan and Yumi, respectively, through their adventures.  Focusing on the needs of others is a time-honored solution for those dissatisfied with their own lot in life; here is a motivating parable for contemporary kids. (Picture book. 3-6) — Kirkus Review. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/childrens-books/paul-budnitz/hole-middle/

Publishers Weekly The Hole in the Middle Paul Budnitz, illus. by Aya Kakeda. Disney-Hyperion Kidrobot founder Budnitz and graphic artist Kakeda debut with a surreal tale about "a boy named Morgan, who was born with a hole in his middle. The hole was so big, you could see straight through him, from front to back." Morgan suffers from "a strange, empty feeling," and the circular, cookie cutter–shaped gap is large enough that his friend Yumi bats a badminton birdie through it. Budnitz quietly implies the hole is related to an innate self-centeredness (early on, Morgan eats an entire cake Yumi bakes for him, and he sings "all the solos" when they rock out together). In flattened cartoons dancing with whimsical dots, stripes, toadstools, and enormous flowers, Kakeda pictures a glum Morgan whose frown droops even more when he learns Yumi is ill. His mood lifts, though, when he bakes Yumi a get-well cake and visits her. As he devotes himself to cheering a friend, the hole shrinks until "it looked exactly like a belly button." The combination of Kakeda's optimistic pictures and Morgan's odd attribute make this resemble a Charles Burns comic for a junior crowd. Ages 3–6. (June) http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4231-3761-0

KidRobot x Urban Outfitters Sketch Event photos!

I was at Urban Outfitters in Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn last night to do a Sketch Event for KidRobot.Here are some photos! The Sketch Event started with this super cute little girl :-) She posed for me so I can draw her.My dearest girl friends, thank you so much for hanging out with me! This family made it to both Manhattan and Brooklyn Sketch Event! Thank you so much for driving out to Brooklyn! They own a vinyl Toy store in NJ, check out their website! http://www.suburbanvinyl.com/  they have a Jeremiah Ketner's exhibition up now!This event was truly FUN! Thank you so much for having me, The stuff at the Urban Outfitters in Atlantic Ave were so nice. I will go back to shop there, see you~

Children book "The Hole in the Middle"

Oh Weeeee~! I just got an advanced copy of my children book "The Hole in the Middle" which I collaborated with the talented Paul Budnutz who is not only a great writer he is also a kidrobot founder/designer/filmmaker!!! (paul's website)

We worked really hard and Disney Hyperion Book did such an amazing job designing and printing the book. I loved the satin smooth cover!

The book will come out on June 7.  Advanced orders are available on Amazon.

I'm really excited. If you have small children, or friends who does, please get a copy and support us! (this is actually great for adult,too)   ;-)

New York Comic-Con Signing at Kidrobot booth

Hello, Yesterday I experienced my very first Comic-Con.  It was overwhelming!Such a huge space and so many interesting people. ( I heard the San Diego one is 3 times bigger... wow!)

I met many nice people at the booth, meeting Chuckboy and Pon for the first time was very exciting, and the kidrobot stuff are always so nice!

And BIG Thanks to the people who came by at the booth yesterday, so nice to meet you!

Here are some pictures from the signing :-)

NYCC tomorrow :-)

Hello!  I'm signing the new 2-tone Dunny at New York Comic Con tomorrow. Will happen at Kid Robot Booth from 3pm to 5pm. Hope to see you!!!

2 Tone Dunny with Kid Robot!

wow 2010 series just came out, and now a new series. This time it's call "2 Tone Dunny" series. As you can see, all the artists designed the figures with just Black and White and a hit of one color.

Mine is on the right hand side, the one with Flower :-)

I designed this Dunny based on this image that I drew. See the bear characters in this drawing???

It's here!

I finally got the figure by mail!yeeey~  so cute! It didn't come with a string so I tied a thread.  looks good.

KidRobot Dunny 2010 Party --- New York

Last Thursday I went to the Dunny 2010 trading party at KidRobot SOHO Store in NY.  It was a whole new experience for me!

My Dunny was 1/400, really hard to get, so I was a bit worry if anyone will get them... then BoooM! first boy through the door got it!!! I was so happy,  it was a first time for me too to see my new Toy!

There were 2 artists Travis Cain and Damarak the Destroyer were also there for signing, Travis did a balloon head Dunny and Damarak did a transparent Dunny, both are super cool, it's really good to see other designers :-D

We were sitting behind a table and signing.  And also drawing on some blank figures people brought. Everybody were so nice, and it was nice to talk to them and hear what people thought about the designs and etc.

In one night there were 3 people (only...) pulled out my super rare Dunny from blind boxes.  2 boys and one woman.  They seemed excited and really like the design which made me happy :-D

Party was great!  And the people working at the store were super nice,too.  Thank you KidRobot!  Thank you my friends for coming out to support me, and all the Dunny lovers that I met...so nice to meet you!

(extra extra) My friend sent me this photo from another party in West Coast. photo of a girl who've got my Toy.  she looks so happy and this photo really made my day!

Collaboration with KidRobot---Fatale series

KidRobot Launching their new Dunny Series, this series are special, all by Female Artists!!!My good friends Wendi Koonts, Sara Varon, and Tara McPherson are all in this series :-)  this is so exciting!

I love working with KidRobot, they make such a great final product!

This is how I work with them. in the begging I make a sketches and the color information.

And they start sculpting with clay

and then after few adjustments they start making the color sample.

I love seeing the process and excite me every time when they send me a photos of their clay models :-)

YEY Fatale series!  And Sara, Wendi and Tara's Dunnys looks super great!!!

More info you can check here : http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/preview-dunny-fatale-series/