Title: Rickshaw Cart

Cartouche: "Beloved Friends; Dear Rivals"

Comments from Jed: "This one got a lot of really good responses from my art friends. Now that I look at it, I see a lot of things that are quite appealing ... that I either planned ... or just lucked into! I do like the variety of textures, from the fabrics, to the shells, and the wood. I think it's a very tactile image.

"I had a lot of fun designing these characters. I did a lot of research with Yoshitoshi and other later ukiyoe designers, in representing the animal anatomies. There are a lot of anthropomorphized animals in their work, and I drew on a lot of that inspiration. The King Koopa (Bowser) character is based on the Turtle Dragon, an old Chinese motif. The Turtle Dragons look exactly like Bowser, and it's pretty clear that that's where the game makers got their inspiration for the character in the first place."

Comments from Dave: "This design has particular resonance for me, because it was when I saw this one (along with the 'Soul Eater' design) that I began to get excited about Jed's project, and decided to climb on board. It's just so much fun!

"Some of the designs in this series capture the 'flavour' of the old ukiyo-e prints more than others, and this is one of the best, I think. It is drawn without perspective (as we understand it in the west), has no shadows, and is somehow kind of ageless; if this were 'aged' properly, and then mixed in with a batch of prints from long ago, it wouldn't particularly jar the eye or seem out of place. Jed has wonderfully captured both the spirit and the practice of ukiyo-e design. If I could have only one from this Ukiyo-e Heroes series, I think it would have to be this one!"

Order this print

Videos taken during the production of this print: