Welcome to Keisuke Iwahata's web site! Here you can explore paintings and characters created by Keisuke Iwahata, an illustrator born in Numazu City, Shizuoka, Japan.

Let me introduce a character “Star Man, warrior of light” to you.
Star Man is a hero character I created to attract little kids such as Anpanman, the most popular cartoon character in Japan.
The story is set in a fictional peaceful island called “Hono Bono Island” on the Earth.  The leading character Star Man fights against a long-standing enemy Akutō Man and bad guys for peacekeeping of the island.  Also, “Star Kid,” which is a sequel to “Star Man,” will also be coming soon.  The story is set in the future world several years after the events of Star Man.  Star Kid, a son of Star Man, fights against Akudō Man, a son of Akutō Man.
I hope you will like Star Man.

Today, I’d like to introduce an original character ”Giant monster Giras” to you.
Godzilla movies, which I liked watching in my primary school days, and a variety of characters that appear in “Pocket Monster,” the most popular game among children, served as an inspiration for “Giant monster Giras.”
I usually enjoy painting pictures of monsters.  I wanted to develop and create an original monster character, and “Giant monster Giras” came into my mind. 
Giras will be more and more powerful as it fights against a lot of monsters.
I’ll write more about Giras again some day.  So stay in touch with me.

As for the title “Run for glory,” which is displayed in the Web Gallery, I drew my inspiration from a song “Eiko no kakehashi” (literally meaning Bridge for glory), which is one of my mother’s and my favorite song written by a Japanese pop duo Yuzu.
Whether you win or lose is not important, but what is important is to do your best and give it a try.  This is what I want to express in “Run for Glory.”

Let me tell you about characters I’ve created.
All of them are original characters I’ve developed and created.
I’ve been enjoying reading comic books written by a lot of comic artists, watching animation shows, and playing videogames since I was a primary schooler.  That helped me a lot to develop and create original characters on my own.
For example, “Giant monster Giras”, which is displayed in the Web Gallery, was derived from the names of the monsters that I often saw in old monster movies.  “Tonya, a half-tiger half-cat creature” is also an original character I named.  ”Banchō Dinosaur” is a character that flashed into my mind when I wanted to create a strong-looking character.  (“Banchō” is a Japanese old-fashioned term to represent the leader of a group of delinquents at school.)  Also, I created a character named ”Beggar Worm,” taking a cue from a bagworm.  In the story, Beggar Worm finally becomes rich after having gained a variety of experiences.  This is represented by the picture titled “Neatly dressed Beggar Worm.”
I will tell you more about the original characters I’ve created.  So stay in touch with me.

I’m Keisuke Iwahata, an illustrator.
I’ve been painting pictures since I was a primary schooler.
When I was in the 4th grade, I was diagnosed with leukemia during the summer vacation.  I was taken to Shizuoka Children’s Hospital for treatment for 1 year.  While in the hospital, I was absorbed in reading comic books by my favorite Japanese comic artist, Fujio Akatsuka.  It was at that time that I first began to paint pictures.
After leaving the hospital, I still had to go to see my physician on a regular basis.  Fortunately, I’ve recovered from leukemia completely and been doing fine.
I paint pictures in my room whenever I feel like doing so.
At present, I take art lessons at a private art class named Astale every Saturday evening.  Astale is located near Mishima Hirokoji Station.  My art teacher and classmates at Astale always express their admiration for my works.
I held my one-person art exhibition for the first time at Seibu Department Store in November 2009. 
Since then, I’ve had art exhibitions in the following places.

I keep creating new characters whenever I hit upon the ideas of them.  I will continue to post new paintings and characters on my website.  So stay in touch with me.