About Ninjatown and its Creator

While Ninjatown has been many things over the years, I wanted to share a little about where I've been, since that so greatly influences where I'm going – with Ninjatown and all my art, illustration, and design.

In the beginning, my doodles and drawings merely adorned the margins of my notepads in school. Over time, they evolved, becoming the perfect mix of being iconic and recognizable yet open enough to allow someone's imagination to take the designs even further.

Some in the form of specific characters like the Wee Ninja from Ninjatown, my shapes characters, Pocket Pork Dumplings, Moustachios, and many, many more. Being inspired by pop culture at-large, and then turning it into something entirely new is one of my favorite parts of what I do.

I'm proud to say that thousands of illustrations, artworks, and other artful goods have been produced since my humble beginnings, with even more products released in the form of designer toys and other such licensed collectibles with companies like Kidrobot and Rotofugi, lifestyle accessories and apparel with Mimoco, David and Goliath, and Smash Transit, amazing promotional products with companies like MailChimp, Basecamp, LiveNation, Revolution Brewing, and others, not to mention comics, video games for Nintendo, iOS, and Android, and many more.

As much as I love making awesome products, art is where I started and where the most exciting and meaningful kind of creation takes place. Drawing is simple and direct. Narrative- and sequential-based art, public and large-scale works like murals are an amazing vehicle for such work, too, as is illustration. This is why I'm now focused on such work, with products and other handmade goods (beloved, but) secondary by way of licensing partners. Interested? Let's talk.

I'm incredibly flattered to have inspired a generation of artists, designers, and makers with my character designs, products, and crazy world full of creatures. Fostering this kind of creativity in my fans and peers, and collaborating with incredible people from around the world is my biggest, and more flattering joy.

Simply put, if I can make things that inspire and delight people, I'm doing it right.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy your stay,

Shawn Smith, Creator Shawnimals + Ninjatown