Tabineko Illustration Illustration Calendar

I like to ride a mountain village on a bicycle while feeling the season.

The scenery that changes day by day, such as flowers, grass, insects, rice field scenery and clouds, and people in the town, is very delightful.

I think the core of my illustration lies in this "seasonal shift." I want to express the feeling of air and light that I felt at that time.

The cats are the "life" and "me" that are there.

I'm focusing on making people feel the "happiness" I felt when I saw the scenery through the shapes of clouds, the colors of plants, and the conversation between cats.

First of all, I will draw 6 more illustrations by the end of the year to make "Tabinneko Calendar 2021".

The rest is to complete the autumn and winter labels of the "Sake to Travel the Four Seasons" that is currently on sale.

Then I'd like to make a "48 postcard set" in a beautiful paper box.

My cycling journey began when I developed panic disorder.Riding my bike while gazing at the vast sky freed me from the suffocation caused by my illness. I also began to notice the surrounding plants and the shapes of the clouds in the sky—things I hadn't noticed when driving. Furthermore, cycling every day allowed me to feel the changing seasons firsthand.This is especially noticeable through the transformation of the rice paddies, from the time of planting when the fields are filled with water, to the lush green leaves, and finally to the yellowing rice stalks.The Jizo statues, clusters of flowers, old shops, and shrines surrounded by trees along the way also inspired me.And for some reason, cycling sometimes evokes a sense of happiness I felt as a child.I feel that all of these things contribute to the seasonal expression in "Tabineko" .

Perhaps it's a Japanese sensibility, but I've always loved the beautiful colors, the slightly faded finish, and the subtle misalignment of overlapping colors that are unique to woodblock prints.So, when I first decided to draw the illustrations for the "Tabineko Calendar," I wanted to create a texture that resembled woodblock prints.At the time, I was working as a designer, and I was most familiar with Adobe Illustrator, a digital application.As a design tool, using it normally results in a smooth, almost too-perfect, image that lacks interest. When you look at the picture, it doesn't inspire any further imagination. That wasn't what I wanted.I wanted to create an image that felt more human, with warmth.So, I decided to use the "Roughen" function in the "Effects" menu of Illustrator to add subtle bumps and textures to the lines.It created a slightly woodblock print-like blurring effect, which turned out quite nice.However, it's incredibly time-consuming because I have to change the parameters depending on the size of the color area. ^_^Also, to create a "faded" effect similar to printing on Japanese paper,I processed a scanned image of fabric and pasted it in first.This gives it a faded look in places.I'm often asked, "Is this a woodblock print?", but it's a little sad when people are disappointed when I say, "It's digital." ^_^

The award didn't drastically change my life in any way. However, for some clients, the award might have been a significant factor in their decision to commission work.The biggest change was within myself. Knowing that people overseas appreciated the quality of my paintings gave me a great deal of confidence.Also, winning the award broadened my perspective to a global one, which I think was a major shift in my mindset. I began to notice the good qualities and beauty of Japan more than before. I think this is because I became more conscious of "how people overseas see Japan."