About
Ukiyo-e Heroes
$313,341
2,422
Ukiyo-e Heroes online store is now open:
If you missed our Kickstarter campaign, don't worry! You can find all the same woodblock prints and giclées at our online store: ukiyoeheroes.com
Update Log
- Our updates have been consolidated on the Update Page.
The Goal
We're determined to create a complete series of hand-made Japanese woodblock prints, just like they were made hundreds of years ago.
Jed Henry has already finished 12 stunning designs, lovingly researched and executed in the Japanese ukiyo-e style. Our woodblock printmaker, David Bull, has carved and printed proofs of our first piece: Rickshaw Cart. If we meet our financial goal, we can produce a run of Rickshaw Cart prints. If we exceed our goal, we'll turn more of Jed's designs into woodblock prints.
This is truly a unique art project. There are only a handful of people on earth who know the ancient techniques of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and David is premier among them. He's dedicated 30 years to honing his craft. We're lucky to have his immense talent on board.
Before we go any further, we'd like to explain our vision a little more.
日本の皆様：ページの一番下に、漫画で分かりやすく、Kickstarterの「参加方法」が、のっています！
What is Ukiyo-e Heroes?
A ton of fun, that's what! Ukiyo-e Heroes is a parody art project that follows the long tradition of popular art in Japan.
For hundreds of years, Japanese woodblock printmakers worked in a thriving popular art scene. Their prints depicted heroes, villains and monsters, spanning every genre from satire, to romance, to horror. It was all part of Ukiyo, or Floating World culture. Inventive and fast-paced, Ukiyo culture was the big movement of its day. That tradition has continued through the centuries, down to our modern day, where Japan is still known for its vibrant creativity. This heritage is especially evident in Japan's video game industry. Boss fights. Invulnerable heroes. Holy swords. Even the classic double-jump can be traced back to medieval Japanese legends.
Long story short: the Japanese games we love are just the new chapter in an ancient, enduring culture.
To celebrate Japan's contribution to video games, illustrator Jed Henry has taken his favorite game characters, and returned them to the ukiyo-e style. Modern costuming has been traded for the medieval, but the essence of each character remains, proving that you can't take the Ukiyo out of these modern pop icons.
Meet the Artists
Jed Henry is an illustrator, lifelong gamer, Japanophile, and all-around nerd. He grew up copying art from game manuals, and years later, eventually got a degree in animation. He now illustrates children's books, and dreams up crazy projects like Ukiyo-e Heroes. Jed lived in Tokyo for 2 years, and proudly speaks Japanese at about a 4-year-old level. Jed divides his time between drawing, his family, and wishing he were back in Japan.
Dave Bull has been in Tokyo since before Jed was born (!) having gone there to learn what he could about the craft of traditional woodblock printmaking, and has been making his living at it for nearly 25 years now. For most of that time, he worked as a solo craftsman (carving, printing, self-publishing), but for the past couple of years has been working with younger people to train them in the techniques, under the umbrella of his Mokuhankan publishing venture.
Jed's Designs
Here are Jed's 12 designs. All of them are available as high-quality digital prints. Currently, Rickshaw Cart, Fox Moon, The Hero Rests, Infestation, Soul Eater, Yokai Dracul, and I Choose You! are available as hand-made woodblock prints.
You can see larger versions over on this page.
Our Prints
Giclée Prints
All of Jed's designs are available as high-end giclée prints. These are professionally produced on large printers, with archival inks and a very high quality, acid-free Japanese washi, with four full deckle edges. Every giclée print will be signed and sealed by Jed. They are 12" x 17" in size, a format called Ōban(大判), which has been used for centuries.
Woodblock Prints
Let's let Jed tell this part of the story: "I knew my visual ideas could be produced as digitally printed posters, but I didn't want to stop there – I also wanted to create actual woodblock prints. So I contacted my friend Dave Bull in Tokyo, to see what advice he could offer. I was in luck. Dave was so excited about my designs, he immediately offered to make a print of one. He jumped right in and began work, even though I could not guarantee that we would be able to sell them. The blocks for this design are now carved and ready, and Dave has produced some proofs for me."
And here we have one of those proof copies of the first woodblock print in the series, the 'Rickshaw Cart' design:
The handmade woodblock prints measure 7" x 9", or koban (小判) size. Each print will be signed, dated, and sealed by Jed. David will emboss every print with the names of each craftsman involved in its creation.
Here are links to a series of closeup shots of the print: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
NEW WOODBLOCK DESIGNS!
Because of your support, we've been able to add these designs as woodblock prints:
Rickshaw Cart
Fox Moon
The Hero Rests
Infestation
Soul Eater
Yokai Dracul
I Choose You!
You can see our schedule for releasing other designs here.
We've also prepared a video showing the step-by-step printing process.
Dave and the printers in his workshop are now waiting to see how much interest there will be from Jed's fans in having some of these prints made. The preparation is all done; where we go from here will be up to the fans!
Special Kickstarter extra - Chibi Heroes!
We've worked hard to give you the coolest designs possible, and we're sure you'll love our main line of giclée prints. But we're not stopping there – we're on a crusade to help everyone understand just how amazing Dave's handmade prints are. So we came up with the idea of producing some 'Chibi Heroes'. These are affordable, small-scale woodblock prints (about 2 1/2" x 6 1/2"), printed on the same beautiful hand-made paper as Dave's regular work. They feature Jed's playful sketches of the same video game heroes.
A whole series of these will be available later, but we'll start the ball rolling with these first two: let's call them 'Hammer' ... and ... 'Bow'!
Rewards
Note: Your specific choice of designs will be handled in the order survey, which we'll send after the campaign ends.
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For more rewards, please see the list on the right.
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Closing Thoughts
A Closing Comment from Dave Bull
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ