Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He first came into prominence in the late 1960s working on the anime adaptation of
Speed Racer. Amano later became the creator of iconic and influential characters such as
Gatchaman,
Tekkaman,
Honeybee Hutch, and
Casshern. In 1982 he went independent and became a freelance artist, finding success as an illustrator for numerous authors, and worked on best-selling novel series, such as
The Guin Saga and
Vampire Hunter D. He is also known for his commissioned illustrations for the popular video game franchise
Final Fantasy.