Title: Trust No One!
Artist name: J.Salvador Ramos
Artist Bios: J Salvador once worked in motion graphics and animation in Hollywood, California while pursuing a name in the Los Angeles art scene. Eventually, his SuperEmoFriends series of paintings went viral, inspiring him to take them as far as he could. He's commonly found selling art prints and comic conventions throughout the US and running his online store.
Are you familiar with Randoseru? Have you ever seen one before?: The SuperEmoFriends aesthetic was inspired by Japan's "chibi" characters seen practically everywhere in the country. I am a huge fan of Japanese design and that includes the Randoseru. I've always wanted one but I was surprised to find out they were for children! Regardless, I was able to pick one up a few years ago to hang on the wall because it is too small for me to wear.
What made you excited about this project?: I was really excited to be part of this project because I love the design of the randoseru and I've never painted on leather before. Being able to use my painting to collaborate with Japanese culture in this way was extremely fun and rewarding for me!
Please tell us what kind of image you had in mind when creating this work: For this project I immediately thought the randoseru would be for a child to use. I wanted to make something fun and kawaii but also very graphical with kanji to make it look more Japanese. I am a huge fan of Japanese yokai so this was a good chance to paint one but I didn't want it to be too scary so I thought tanuki would be great. They are shape shifters and pranksters so I thought I should make the design a warning sign about tanuki. I knew that I only had a few hours to paint so I made a simple design and I was very happy with the final painting. Hopefully, people will see the warning and be cautious when they see Tanuki! Safety can be stylish! Thank you!