After a sobering European tour revealed poor perceptions of Japanese pencils abroad, Mitsubishi hired industrial designer Yoshio Akioka to create Uni in 1958, featuring a distinctive maroon color ...

An artist creates a new purpose for old colored pencils and shavings that would otherwise be thrown away. His works embrace sustainability and even reflect the essence of life itself.

His amazingly lifelike pictures rendered with colored pencils include felines with mesmerizing eyes. Otomi, 22, is a college student here whose real name is Haruki Kudo (Otomi is his name as an ...