Shigeru Tamura is a Japanese illustrator, animator, filmmaker, and manga artist known for his work in both print and animated media. Born in Tokyo in 1949, he is a graduate of the Kuwasawa Design School. Tamura is noted for his work as a video artist and digital content creator, with his creative output spanning picture books, manga, animated films, and CD-ROMs.

Tamura has authored numerous picture books, with early works including his first published picture book in 1976. His published picture books include titles such as "Robot no Kuni SOS" and "Small Planet." He has also worked as a manga artist, with his work appearing in the now-defunct manga magazine Garo. Several of his manga short story collections, such as "The World Grew Spines" and "Small Planet," contain material that he would later adapt into animated works.

As an animator and filmmaker, Tamura is credited as the director, original creator, and screenwriter for the 1993 OVA "Ginga no Uo URSA minor BLUE" (also known as "Ursa Minor Blue"). This short film, which runs approximately 23 minutes, was his debut animation project. The story follows a boy named Yuri and his grandfather as they journey across the Milky Way to stop a monstrous fish that was once the constellation Ursa Minor. The film received the Noburou Oufuji Award at the 48th Mainichi Film Awards. Tamura also wrote the lyrics for the film's song "Iwao no Uta."

He continued to create animated works based on his own stories. The 1998 film "Kujira no Chōyaku - Glassy Ocean" is another of his notable projects, where he served as director, original creator, and screenwriter. This film won the Grand Prize in the Animation Division at the Japan Media Arts Festival. Tamura also created the OVA series "A Piece of Phantasmagoria" (1995), a collection of fifteen short animated episodes for which he served as the original creator and supervisor. The world of "Phantasmagoria" was further explored in his subsequent manga works, including "Phantasmagoria Days" and "Starhead."

Tamura's artistic identity is characterized by a focus on fantasy and whimsical worlds, often blending science fiction elements with a sense of warmth, humor, and occasional melancholy. His work frequently involves imaginative adventures, unusual characters such as robots and talking animals, and cosmic or oceanic settings. His visual style extends across multiple media, with his illustrations, manga, and animation all sharing a distinctive and cohesive aesthetic. He has also worked on CD-ROM projects, with "Phantasmagoria" winning awards at the AMD Awards Grand Prix, and his painting collection "Metal Physical Nights" won the Shogakukan Painting Award.