Hello!

Yusuke Watanabe (he/him) is a Japanese illustrator for children’s books and a Visual Development Artist for animation. He is also active as a guest lecturer, sharing his expertise through special lectures at art universities. With an academic background in law and politics, Yusuke left a career in sales to follow his passion for art and storytelling. He relocated to the United States to study storytelling at CalArts, where he earned a BFA in Character Animation.

Yusuke loves creating whimsical illustrations and stories using mixed media including watercolor, colored pencil, watercolor crayon, and poster color. In addition to his love for art, Yusuke is also an avid chai tea drinker and plant lover.

Contact

Yusuke is represented by Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

For all book inquiries seeking me as an illustrator, please contact my agent, Jem at jemiscoe@andreabrownlit.com

For anything else which include, but not limited to: visual development or background design for television and feature animation, please reach me at yusukewatanabe@alum.calarts.edu

Upcoming Picture Book

TURTLE ON THE TARMAC | written by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by me | Abrams, 2027