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A Brief Bio or Personal Summary
Enfu started in 2005 as a creative outlet outside of Ken's time spent making video games.Enfu is the Onyomi (Chinese reading) of the Japanese Kanji 猿風 (sarukaze), which literallytranslates to Monkey Wind. Since sarukaze is hard to pronounce for Americans, he goes byEnfu. He's been developing games for over a decade, and though he loves it, he likes havingthis personal project because it allows him to express creativity on his own terms. Content-wise, Enfu's early works explored the cultural paradigm shifts he encountered as a person whostraddles Japanese, Japanese-American, and American identities. But ever since he became afather, his daughter became his muse, and his approach changed as he attempted to catch thebutterflies that are her imagination (In fact, the comic, I Fart Rainbow--which ran in print forthree years--was loosely based off of his daughter's caricature). Today, the whimsical & colorfulcontent of Enfu's work tries to capture the child-like innocence adults loose without losing sightof the edge of reality.Enfu has many upcoming projects, the latest of which is his first art book, Enfu: Cute Grit(October 2014 from Chin Music Press). This debut collection of digitally rendered pop art isnamed for Enfu's whimsical, yet edgy style, and includes more than 250 explosive illustrationsand photos that merge adult perception with childlike fantasy. Vivid re-imaginings of cityscapes,cartoon characters, superstars, and cosplayers chronicle the evolution of Enfu's prolific career,uniting the cute, the warped, and the fantastic to build a digital universe both foreign andfamiliar.A majority of Enfu's work can be found at Kobo in Seattle's International District or onwww.enfu.com. Since he lives in the Pacific Northwest, Enfu can usually be found at Seattleconventions, such as Emerald City Comic Con, Sakuracon, and Akimatsuri. He also sells worksat Giant Robot in L.A. and exhibit at San Diego Comic Con.Ken "Enfu" Taya was born in 1977 in Chicago, Illinois. Since then, he's lived in Delaware, Seattle,and Sendai, Japan. Most of his life has been spent in the Seattle area, and it's still the place hecalls home.Enfu enjoys his day job in the video game industry as a developer for titles such as Halo 3(XBOX360) and Scribblenauts Unmasked (WiiU, PC, 3DS). His commissioned illustrations can beseen in stores and restaurants across the Pacific Northwest, and his popular bilingual comic, IFart Rainbow, enjoys success at www.ifartrainbow.com. Other projects include Enfu Snaps hatsand surface designs for textiles available at enfu.com. He lives in Bellevue, Washington, with hiswife and daughter.
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Publishing History
I Fart Rainbow appeared in IBUKI MAGAZINE for 3 years. ENFU CUTE GRIT book being released by Chin Music Press
Influences & Inspirations
May daughter is my muse. Other influences: Video Games, Manga, Comics, Giant Robot Magazine, Comicon culture
What are you currently working on?
Enfu Cute Grit art book published by Chin Music Press. 250 pages spanning a decade of my works.An original iOS game.Leggings.Other licensing opportunities.
Why should people vote for you?
Well if you've seen my work around, and you said to yourself..'that's cool' or 'that's cute'..then maybe I deserve your consideration.But to be honest, I feel the grant money could go to an Artist who is really needing financial support.Rather than a vote, I'd appreciate at 'Like' on my facebook page: Search for Enfu in Facebook and find me. I will continue to show you what I'm working on and you can follow my progress there.I try to engage my fans through taking requests on Fridays and drawing up stuff and sending posters pretty liberally to those winning suggestions.If you do choose to vote for me nonetheless I'll print more of the 12th man poster people love and keep distributing it for free.
Ken Taya
