Quirky illustration series combines artist's love of basketball, Ukiyo-e art and Japanese culture

He explains: "The series started in 2013 with two personal artworks I created, The Rock & The Ghost. These artworks were created from the love and passion of the game of basketball, Ukiyo-e art and Japanese culture. The subjects mixed together seamlessly and were incredibly popular with the basketball and Japanese culture communities.

"The first release of Edo Ball included 12 original artworks which were hugely popular and led to me creating another series of 10 artworks. Each artwork has a story behind it. Some are based on Japanese mythology and culture, others are narratives based on players nicknames and some are created from popular sayings from the game of basketball.

"The whole series has always been organic to me, it just feels right and the ideas flow naturally. My sketchbook has always had at least 10 ideas to choose from when starting a new piece, there are so many strong ideas on the backburner. The real challenge is trying to find a way to really incorporate the game, the culture and art of Japan and an idea that the community can enjoy and think about.

"Talking with the community on social media has also produced some great inspiration. People have got very involved and have put forward some amazing ideas and suggestions, from a basketball and cultural standpoint, it’s magical." Discover more at www.edoball.com.

All images courtesy of Andrew Archer