Amano Art

1952	- Born in Shizuoka City, Japan
1967	- Entered Tatsunoko Productions, worked on character development for such popular animated television series as Gatchaman (G-Force), The Adventures of Hutch, the Honeybee and The Time Bokan series
1982	-Twilight Worlds series in SF magazine, Hayakawa Publishing Corporation - Began freelance fantasy art and covered art for magazines and books
1983	- Won 14th annual Seiun Award in the category of "art" and continued to win for four consecutive years
1987	- Created visual concept design for the game software Final Fantasy(Square) and continues to be concept designer for the series
1988	- Stage art and costume design for Tamasaburo Bando's production of the play Nayotake (Nissei Theatre)
1989	- Solo Exhibition Hiten at the Tokyo - Yurakucho Mullion
1990	- Began producing lithographs in Japan
1993	- Produced first stained glass for the Kimie Imura Fairy Art Museum in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
1994	- Held first lithograph exhibition in Tokyo and Osaka - In charge of stage art and costume design for Kaijin Besso
1995	- Began lithograph production at MAEGHT in Paris
1995	- Solo Exhibition at Orlean Art Museum in France
1996	- Began lithograph production at Solo Press in New York City - Stage art for Yokihi at Kabuki Theater in Tokyo
1997	- Established studio in the New York City
1997	- Exhibition THINK LIKE AMANO in New York City
1998	- Concept design for the first philharmonic production of 3D/2D animated short film 1001 Nights which debuted at the Los Angeles Philharmonic April Concert - Designed bronze statues to commemorate the opening of the Mokurei Bridge in Kanayama Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
1998	- Solo exhibition at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival - Exhibition THINK LIKE AMANO at Uenonomori Museum of Art in Tokyo
1999	- Solo exhibition HERO at Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York City
2000	- THE SANDMAN: The Dream Hunters was nominated for Hugo Award and won Eisner Award - Artist Guest of Honor at Dragon Con, received Dragon Con Award and Julie Award
2001	- Started developing multi-genre presentations of HERO
2002	- Exhibitions in New York City (LEO KOENIG Inc.), London, Paris, Cologne, Lyon and Cavalaire in Southern France

Yoshitaka Amano was born in 1952 in the small Japanese town of Shizuoka. "I don't remember a time when I wasn't making drawings," he says. It was at the age of five that his sister, while viewing one of his drawings, exclaimed, "We have a genius here!" Ten years later, Amano found himself with an animator-trainee position at Tatsunoko Productions in Tokyo. Heavily influenced by Disney cartoons, he constantly absorbed art from other cultures. When he wasn't working creating characters for cartoons such as Gatchaman and Hutch the Honeybee, he studied life drawing at local art schools or scoured art books for inspiration. At the age of 30, Amano grew restless and decided to leave the stability of Tatsunoko for freelance work that would allow him to explore new styles and subjects. He soon found that the publishers he approached for work were not very open to the possibilities of artistic exploration. "I had seen a lot of artists trapped in one style, and I still fear that trap." Eventually, he was offered a position on a monthly feature in Science Fiction Magazine. This provided him with the opportunity to explore his style and gain exposure. Amano has worked a wide variety of mediums and his work can be seen in the form of animation, graphic novels, video games, theatrical costume design, and much more. He is well known for his work with the "Final Fantasy" series of games and the most recent Sandman graphic novel with Neil Gaiman. Amano's art has traveled across borders and captured the imaginations of millions of people. He continues to explore new ideas with his art as he is doing with his latest project, Hero.