ANIME NEWS: VIZ Media, Autodesk form Art for Hope project to help disaster-stricken Japan

Translated by The Asahi Shimbun from the website of Anime Anime Japan Ltd.

VIZ Media, LLC, the largest Japanese manga publisher in North America, and Autodesk Inc., a leading developer and distributor in 3-D design, engineering and entertainment software, have joined hands to assist quake-recovery efforts for Japan, the companies said.

Under their collaboration called Art for Hope, artists are invited to create illustrations using the Autodesk SketchBook application to create works with the theme of hope for recovery. VIZ Media will compile them into a digital art book anthology that will be available through the Viz Manga App for Apple Inc.'s iOS devices and portal site VIZManga.com.

All proceeds from its sales will be donated to support disaster relief efforts, the companies said.

Five months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, many people in northeastern Japan are still forced to live with inconveniences.

The Art for Hope project is just one of many relief and recovery efforts pouring in from various organizations in Japan and abroad.

Parts of Art of Hope illustrations were showcased at a VIZ Media event to celebrate the publisher's 25th anniversary, which was held on the sidelines of the Comic-Con International convention in San Diego in July.

VIZ also announced that the digital anthology will be released this fall.

The two companies said they intend to further expand their efforts for disaster relief in Japan.

Visit the Art of Hope website at (http://www.viz.com/artforhope).