Balance is Everything バランスがすべて is a Japanese inspired Neon Sign Illustration. It’s my way of paying tribute to one of the most amazing countries in the world. My fascination with Japan goes way back. From Art to their disciplined culture, Japan is a truly unique country that managed to develop authenticity in every form imaginable.

In 2023 I will be visiting Japan and therefor set the goal to design a Illustration for the trip combining different elements of Japanese culture like City Life and Food into one Illustration. The result is a 4 armed Sushi Chef cat in Neon entitled “Balance is Everything”. My goal was to capture as much of Japan in a single Illustration as possible, while maintaining a key focus point that works on both small and bigger sizes.

I imagined this Illustration to be a perfect fit in Tokio’s city life bursting with neon signs. In true Japanese fashion, the Illustration was made with paying meticulous attention to detail. From the small screws to the wires used to hold the small light bulbs together, everything is hand drawn. From initial concept to the final Illustration. I used both Illustrator and Photoshop to make the project happen.

This is not my first Neon Illustration. I have been designing them since 2016 and with every new design I wanted to improve on making it as realistic as possible. When comparing it with the other neon designs I made so far I’m very content with the result and I know for sure that more neon designs will follow in the future.