Let me preface this by saying there is a subset of culture here that I have little familiarity with and do not fully understand. But, I can tell you the more I looked into it, the more fascinated I became with this artist's work and the more intrigued I became by him.

Shin Tanaka was born in 1980 in Fukuoka, Japan. Never schooled as an artist, he studied art from street graffiti walls and street culture. "I watch them intensively, interpret them to suit my own purposes and feelings, polished these images and achieve mastery of the concepts and spirits," Shin says.

He creates templates – all made from folding paper reinterpreted in human forms with a definite urban slant. Then artists from all over the world put their creative spin on them. It's really kind of an urban origami.

He adds, "I'm well known as paper toy creator and I made a word 'paper toy' that means downloading and customizing paper toys. At first, I was looking for something I can draw my artworks on, however I couldn't find out a good canvas. Therefore I made a paper toys for my canvas. The next many artists are interested in my paper toys and they wanted to put their artworks on my toys. So our custom paper toy projects were started. Now I have collaborated with over 500 artists and brands, but I work with not only professional artists but also amateurs. Because I believe all people have individual elements of art, 'all people are artist!'"

His inspirations come largely from Hip Hop music which he always listens to at full volume. Great guy but maybe a bad neighbor! "The break beats and rhyming gives me fresh inspirations. I love HIPHOP culture, not only music but also DJ, dance and graffiti. I often go to abroad to watch the graffiti walls in all over the world," says Shin.

Don't think this is just an urban fad. Large corporations are tapping Shin to lend them street credit with young consumers. From large corporations like Nike, Reebok and Adidas to smaller more niche brands like Nooka and UNKL, they’re all tapping the creative fire of Shin Tanaka.

I never really received a clear answer if his products or artwork are for sale. I also asked him how he's translating being an artist into making a living doing this. His answer? "I don't want to make money from my works, I just wanna meet many talented artists and make something with them together!"

We could all learn something from Shin Tanaka.

Check out his website at: http://shin.co.nr/
And while you're there, download some of his free templates and apply your own creative take.