Simone Legno

Simone Legno is a Italian artist and illustrator who i found out about in computer arts magazines special on character and toy design when asked to describe his work he uses one word 'japanisme' due to him originally being from Rome but having an fascination with all things Japanese, he works under the name 'tokidoki' which means 'sometimes' in Japanese and this represents his belief in hope and the hidden strength in everybody.

His work is extremely popular and since his illustrations became so well known he has started the hugely popular vinyl toys 'cactus Friends' done, worked on countless collaborations and has also branched into a clothing line and skateboard decks amongst other products turning tokidoki from a personal blog and portfolio into a world wide business.
What i like about his work is that is is a take on Japanese art through the eyes of an Italian, i really like the Japanese style of art but the subject matter has always seemed aimed at the Japanese and is something i have never been able to relate to and not found interesting, the fact that his art is looking in from the outside makes it more rateable he gives the strange characteristics of Japanese art characteristics that make allot of sense and relate to real feelings we all have for example his cactus friends series are based on the cute Japanese characters but he has dressed them in cactus suits to protect them from the world, which i think is a really nice view on how to voice opinions on the world around us that can be quite taboo subjects to talk about of do a piece of art work around.


Other than his ideas about his subjects i love his style of illustration, like most work that catches my eye it is very clean using strong lines and strong block colours to create simple characters that all have a personality of there own using a limited colour palette that can be quite contrasting but they also work together to create something that stands out, and not because it is a huge mess of colour and shapes but because his compositions are all balanced perfectly, there is always so much going on but everything sits on the canvas perfectly where as some illustrators throw a huge amount of elements and different colours on a page and it just looks like a busy mess where someone has tried to throw everything on a page to grab your attention which it probably will be then when you really look there is just to much going on, where as in Simone's work he balances a piece by using different sizes of elements on the page for example there will be one large character surrounded by 10 smaller characters and the way they are positioned makes it all balanced so when the full own attack of imagery and colour catches your eye you look deeper to find a perfect composition and i think this is what makes his work appeal to me, the fact that he creates these mad compositions that still give of the feeling of simplicity and balance.