Born in Fukuoka southern Japan the artist known as Akihito Ikeda or simply AKIHITO grew up creatures and horror movies. His parents wanted him to focus on doing well in school and not just play with toys, which only pushed he young Akihito to turn to clay, bamboo and anything else he could get his hands on to design his own toys.
As an adult, he honed his craft in Japan before moving to the United States, winning many competitions throughout his journey, including “THE AVANT-GARDE MAKEUP COMPETITION” at the international make-up trade show held in the United States. Little surprise that he would end up working in special-effects makeup; you can see some of Akihito’s pieces in THE HULK, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 1 and 2, THE ISLAND and many more.
Akihito also has a major talent in sculpting and has released many original pieces based on his own designs. One such piece, “BRAIN DEAD” – an undead skeleton hero based on a special-effect make-up character created for MONSTERPALOOZA 2016 – is currently available for pre-order from ELITE CREATURE COLLECTIBLES. The 1:1 ratio bust is cast in high-quality translucent resin, giving it a life-like feel. The heavily pierced skeleton samurai hero stands 28- inches tall, 22-inches in width and possesses a 16-inch depth.
“I wanted to create something cool, a Japanese dark hero kind of character never seen in the movies before since we tend not to have ‘dark heroes’ in Japan,” says Akihito. “I hope Brain Dead will be a famous dark hero everyone loves in a Hollywood movie in the near future.”
The BRAIN DEAD bust includes real metal jewelry, a real metal samurai sword, handmade glass eyes and a handmade samurai costume all atop a stylish base. This bust is limited to 699 pieces worldwide and is set to ship the first quarter of 2018. Each bust is priced at $2000 (USD) and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Akihito himself.
“BRAIN DEAD” is also available as a Limited Edition wooden poster in a collaborated effort between AKIHITO and ENGRAVER’S DUNGEON. This laser engraved poster is designed on solid wood and available in two different sizes:
Medium size $130 (USD)
Size: 15.5 x 7.5 ” – 290x190mm -Solid wood
Limited edition 30 pieces (signed and numbered).
Large size $230 (USD)
Size: 15.5 x 11.5 ” – 390x290mm -Solid Alder wood US$230
Limited to 30 pieces (signed and numbered).
Find out more on Akihito at his OFFICIAL WEBSITE or on official FACEBOOK
