Here, Nakane observed overworked, stressed-out workers like himself relax and communicate. He began sketching patrons in the bar, capturing the calming effect the safe haven had on his subjects.
Nakane soon left the packaging company to try his hand as a freelance illustrator, exhibiting his work in various shows around Tokyo. Within a year, Suntory, Japan's leading producer of whiskey, awarded Nakane with a significant contract to create a series of designs for Suntory's Valentine's Day whiskey boxes.
The key tools in Nakane's work are Adobe® Illustrator® and Adobe Photoshop®. "When I first meet with the client, I immediately begin sketching pencil roughs to draft a starting image," he says. "Once I get something I really like, I trace it in Illustrator and then finish it up in Photoshop."
Nakane is looking to the Internet to expand his business beyond Japan's borders. "I don't see why geography needs to be a limitation for me," he says. "My goal is to continue to create work that lives in people's hearts, wherever they are."
This article originally appeared in the Winter 1999 issue of Adobe Magazine.
