He is best known as the lead character and mecha designer for the Metal Gear franchise.

[1] He began working at Konami after graduating from Kyoto Seika University.

He moved on to serve as art director for the later console ports of the game, and as the lead character and mecha designer for the Metal Gear series.

Shinkawa was inspired by anime and manga artists like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Yoshitaka Amano,[3] and western artists such as Frank Miller, Aubrey Beardsley and Willy Pogany.

[2] He is a fan of heavy metal, and artists such as Megadeth, Rage, Killswitch Engage and Yngwie Malmsteen.