Design studio specializing in conceptual art, 3D rendering, digital illustration, and print.


Jo was born in Japan and graduated from Musashino Art University in Tokyo with an associate's degree in fine art. Shortly after graduation she moved to California to pursue a career in commercial art for video games and animation, and has lived there ever since.

Jo is currently working as a texture artist at Ready at Dawn Studios, most recently on God of War: Chains of Olympus. Previously she has worked in a diverse mix of 3d, 2d animation, and games, as a production illustrator at PDI/DreamWorks (Shrek 2 and Madagascar), a background painter at Warners Brothers Animation (Loonatics Unleashed), and a concept artist at Method Games.

She is experienced at texture painting and ui design for video games, as well as concept design for characters and environments in a wide range of media (pencil, pen, marker, pastel, acrylic, and digital).

-Hisae "Jo" Watanabe
jo@alieninthebox.com