Heart of Art: Welcome to a Small Glimpse Into the Grand World of Special Effects Makeup and Fine Art of Akihito (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781624650048)

Akihito was born in the Fukuoka prefecture in southern Japan. When he was young he appreciated horror movies, creatures, and the fantastic. He constructed unique creations from the images he saw. Growing up, Akihito's parents strictly emphasized schooling and lessons over play and toys. This pushed Akihito toward more imaginative outlets and he created Gundams, cars, and creatures using materials he had at hand such as bamboo, clay, paper, and tape.

As his skills matured he began to be interested in special makeup effects. In 1997, 1998, and 2000, Akihito won first place in TV's Champions' Special Effects Make-up King competition. 1998 was a busy year for Akihito, at that time he won the Avante Garde make-up competition at the IMATS (International Make-up Trade Show) held in the United States. He also produced an original special make-up effects fashion show in Tokyo. His work has been featured in Spectrum's Book of The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art two years in a row.

He has worked as a key artist and sculptor on a great number of films but most notable and recent are "World War Z", "Hunger Games", "Transformers", "The Hulk", "Alien vs. Predator Franchise", "Alice in Wonderland", and worked on the Academy Award winning "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".