Falcoon

Tatsuhiko Kanaoka, better known by the pen name Falcoon, is a Japanese artist working for SNK Playmore. He has been involved in several iterations of The King of Fighters franchise.

Before he was hired by SNK, Falcoon started as a fan-artist doing extremely quick and professional looking renditions of games and anime such as King of Fighters, Street Fighter, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. From here he grew quite a fanbase, which was eventually noted by SNK. FHP-Color is his personal website. Older fanarts before his employment can be no longer be linked to though they have been archived by fans in various places.

His art is recognized by its heavy emphasis on muscle and weight for both genders (the proportions vary though it has a very anime-like influence), shaded with sharp gradients and highlights. His designs are also influenced by the bizarre yet colorful clothing found in Japanese street fashion, particularly Lolita and Fruits fashions. In several interviews, he insists that he uses no reference for his work, relying only on "strong images from memory". He was once an avid gamer and loves to visit the local game center on his time off. He hopes to make games where people can practice them like a sport and "perfect their skills like I used to."

SNK Works

 * SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash
 * SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS (main illustrator + for select rare cards, also director)
 * Capcom vs SNK (promotional)
 * SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos (in-game portraits)
 * The King of Fighters 2003
 * The King of Fighters XI (ending artwork, also part of story development)
 * KOF: Maximum Impact
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (also producer)
 * KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A
 * The King of Fighters
 * The King of Fighters 2
 * The King of Fighters Perfect Reader - cover
 * Garou Densetsu The Legend of Wild Wolf
 * Garou Densetsu Special

Criticisms
Falcoon has quite a variety of fans and detractors. Grievances seem to be most prominent when concerning design decisions in the KOF: Maximum Impact series, usually regarding original characters for KOF: MI which said critics may feel don't fit in with the style of the main series, in addition to some of the alternate costumes for pre-established characters. This is a result of these alternates usually being radically different from what's already set in place, bearing little resemblance to the previous design without accounting for consistency with the theme of the character (as opposed to alternates in other 3D fighters, which typically suit the character they're designed for).