This latest episode of Vans’s OffTheWall.TV catches up with Mister Cartoon as he chats about his recent work for MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” exhibition. Amongst other things, Cartoon chats about his transition from being a graffiti kid to refining his craft and “beautifying” his artwork which spans across various mediums. Enjoy!

In the second part of the Tokyo Tattoo Tour series, we follow LA-based tattoo artist Mister Cartoon as he discusses the many ways in which he finds the city to be similar to his own hometown (loyalty and family are among the two traits both have in common). Although some might assume he gets commissioned for countless geisha and dragon tattoos, Mister Cartoon explains that the Japanese customer actually wants an authentic piece of the West Coast lifestyle, requesting LA-style body art in the form of block lettering, script, portrait styles and pin-up girls. Watch the video to see footage from Mister Cartoon’s Tokyo adventure.

A reception party for SA Studios Global E3 was recently thrown at Gram and Papas in Los Angeles. In addition to food and live music, the event also featured pieces from several local artists including Mister Cartoon, David Choe, Patrick Martinez and Estevan Oriol. Scroll down to see more photos from the event.

Gram and Papas
227 E. 9th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
United States

Photography: Brandon Shigeta for Hypebeast

Los Angeles-based tattoo artist Mister Cartoon (born Mark Machado) has become famous over the years for his many designs that range from sign painting and graffiti, to automobile murals and magazine illustrations. A master of the ink and needle, his client list includes a wide variety of celebrities like Dr. Dre, Travis Barker, 50 Cent, Eminem, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. For its “Art in the Streets” exhibition, the MOCA has chosen to display several pieces that are comprehensive of his work like a tagged hood and an airbrushed ice cream truck.

Photography: Brandon Shigeta

Two living legends in their own respective domains come together in this video showcasing Mister Cartoon and Cope2. Known just as much for his street art as his tattooing prowess, Mister Cartoon puts the ink to Cope2 in some of Cartoon’s iconic work which has elicited a huge following beyond just Chicano culture. The film was shot and edited by EWOK.

To compliment the recent Vans OTW Asia Launch Party in Shanghai coverage, we present to you a video of the events as well as short candid responses from the Vans OTW Advocates. To help promote the lifestyle-driven Vans OTW cause, a group of Advocates were chosen and include Mister Cartoon, Eric Elms, Dimitri Coste and The Blackouts. With an eclectic background to each entity, they have each helped drive the diffusion label’s agenda thanks to their strong creative work. The party and event took place at Kin. The multi-faceted creative space is comprised of a DJ school, a retailer and a cafe which will undoubtedly serve as a convergent point for all things creative in the bustling Chinese city.

Director: Chris Read

For the fall 2010 season, Vans launched an all new range of footwear titled OTW. A derivative of the original slogan “Off The Wall”, the collection was created in hopes of pushing a distinct lifestyle agenda. While the design of the footwear embodied a certain design language which has been a notable part of Vans’ footwear heritage over the years, it was essentially the dawning of a new collection with its own philosophy. Known predominately for its high performing footwear design over the last few decades, the OTW range and its lifestyle position was able to shed some of the performance elements of footwear execution in exchange for pure lifestyle design. This effectively combined itself with the creativity that many Vans wearers over the years have come to associate and recognize. The inaugural range brought on four creative entities to compliment the notion of fusing footwear with a strong creative foundation. The four Advocates include graffiti and tattoo artist Mister Cartoon, graphic designer and all-around creative Eric Elms, the beer thumbing photographer/art director duo of Atiba & Ako Jefferson who form the DJ group The Blackouts and photographer and gearhead Dimitri Coste.

To kick things off, Vans OTW debuted the collection including the forthcoming 2010 holiday season at Shanghai’s multi-faceted space, Kin. The event was marked by a strong local showing of local personalities who represent a burgeoning local Shanghainese street culture community.

Interview: Eugene Kan
Photography: Tobias Kiegler

David Choe and Mister Cartoon were recently commissioned to create art works based on the upcoming film, Machete. Detailing his inspirations and meetings with the famed Danny Trejo, a video follows both David Choe and Danny through the whole creative process to arrive at the two finished work which combines several elements of the movie and most notably Trejo’s iconic face. Seen after the jump are some other visuals including Mister Cartoon’s work and a video directed by Estevan Oriol as it follows Danny Trejo into his old neighborhood.

Twentieth Century Fox commissioned SA studios to produce a promo video for Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming film Machete. The film stars L.A. native, and Mexican cult hero Danny Trejo, and the video, directed by Estevan Oriol, posits Trejo alongside another L.A. and Mexico representative, Mister Cartoon as they cruise through East LA in lowriders. The two describe the lowrider culture as a family affair and describe some of the technical aspects of the cars and the culture which has blossomed across California. Look out for the film in theaters come September 3rd.

Mister Cartoon was a notable participant in the recent Nike Sportswear “True Colors” campaign which brought together a number of different global creatives to each make their mark on the icons of their respective countries. The 2010 World Cup-based campaign included ample amounts of products ranging from apparel to footwear and accessories. No stranger to footwear team-ups with Nike, a Mister Cartoon design is seen here with a gray canvas Dunk High AC. Subtle in its styling, the gray upper features a custom tongue tag and a sleek vulcanized outsole. The Mister Cartoon x Nike Sportswear Dunk High AC “True Colors” is available at New York’s Nike Sportswear 21 Mercer as well as select retailers worldwide.