Yuko Shimizu for 'Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films'

Yuko Shimizu is Japanese illustrator based in New York whose work personally continues to inspire me every time it pops up on my Instagram feed. You may have seen her work on Pepsi cans, GAP tees, Nike ads, as well as on book covers and magazine pages. In this video, Yuko takes us inside the process behind creating her artwork for Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975, which also features new illustrations by Becky Cloonan, Robert Goodin, Benjamin Marra, Takashi Okazaki, Angela Rizza, and a lot more.

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From Puli Peaks to Picture Books

Ever see art that makes you want to step right inside and look around? Meet Shih-Yu Lin, a Taiwan-born illustrator whose work does exactly that. I came home one evening, scrolling my phone, expecting just the usual noise. Then I found his drawings. His pictures burst with color and loose charm. They're lively, dreamy, and you can feel his happiness in every stroke. It’s rare to find art that doesn’t just show joy, but shares it—and I realized that’s what makes his work such a treasure. Shih-Yu was born in Taipei and grew up in Puli, a small mountain town that feels like a painting itself. After discovering his love for picture books, he earned an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art in 2017. He’s been drawing nonstop ever since. Want to escape into a brighter, warmer world for a bit? Check out his Facebook . Don’t be surprised if you end up smiling the whole time.

Midday Muse

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I recently stumbled upon the work of Margritt Martinet , whose drawings are giving my brain a delightful yet exhausting workout. This French artist, you see, deals in the glorious, mind-bending borderland between the organic and the futuristic. She doesn't just create art; she crafts entire visual universes that are so immersive and dynamic you feel like you should be wearing a spacesuit just to look at them. My mind simply cannot wrap itself around the sheer volume of focused physical labor that goes into these things. The pieces are intricate, layered, and incredibly consistent. But what truly inspires—and simultaneously mocks—me is her patience. This, my friends, is the real superpower. I once attempted a similar large-scale, intricate project. It started so well: my early lines were sharp, and my geometric shapes were perfect. Then, slowly but surely, as the hours stretched and the cramping started in my wrist, the inevitable descent began. The sharp lines became... a little mo...

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