I was pleasantly surprised that the performance of FireAlpaca is pretty good even though it is freeware. It is totally comparable to paid software. (lol)

--How was your experience by using FireAlpaca?

I have known about FireAlpaca, but I thought that functions are limited due to free of charge. Because I had been using freeware for quite a while in the past. So I was pleasantly surprised that the performance of FireAlpaca is pretty good even though it is freeware. It is totally comparable to paid software. (lol)

--Thank you for your compliment! Did you like any brushes?

I downloaded almost all the brushes in brush store. I generally like brushes with a strong texture, so I found "Pencil (wool yarn)" was easy to use for linework. My impression on the default Pencil was that it had a polished tip and light color. I prefered a darker color, so "Pencil (wool yarn)" was the best fit for my needs.

--Which features did you like the most?

I thought there were many Filters. There are the standard “Blur” and “Sharpen”, and “Chromatic Aberration" was easy to use for finishing up. Brush store had a preview, which was very useful to imagine where to use, so I could download exact brushes I wanted.

--Please tell us about any thought or passion on this illustration.

I kept thinking of a girl drawing an illustration within the illustration. and I also wanted to create an uplifting, dynamic image of a girl coming out of the painting.

--How long did it take you to complete the illustration?

I submitted two rough drafts for this illustration. Rough sketch took roughly one day (a half day per each draft), lienwork took two days, and coloring including fixing took roughly five days. I was working on another illustration simultaneously, so it took about a month from the start to the completion.

I often deliver my work right before the deadline. (lol) Because I want to keep improving to the very last minute.

--Next question is about an illustrator profession. What is your usual production environment?

I use both digital and analog medium, so I have a large desk splitting for digital and analog work spaces. I have the LCD tablet and laptop PC for my digital work environment. The LCD tablet is Wacom “Cintiq 16” and the laptop PC is a slightly larger and heavier 16GB. My previous PC had 4GB only so it wasn't very good as I couldn't install much programs, a large size artowrk made the processing speed so slow.. I wondered how long it was going to take to save.. (lol) I had to buy a new laptop about 2 years ago.

--What software do you usually use?

I used to use SAI for the most part and finish up with MediBang Paint. But I tried FireAlpaca at this time and really liked it as I found it easy to use.

--Welcome to Alpaca world! How do you use shortcuts?

I am right-handed, so I place my laptop diagonally on my left side and use the laptop keyboard for shortcuts.

--How many monitors do you have?

Just the LCD tablet and the laptop.

--Do you listen to music while you work?

I put anime on TV screen all the time. I'm the type of person who watches the same anime over and over, but the best anime to motivate my work speed is the anime about creating a cartoons. I remember everything because I've watched it so many times, so I just listen to the audio and keep cheering myself up. (lol)

--When did you start drawingan illustration?

I have always loved drawing and painting since I was a little girl. I have been drawing enthusiastically since when I was in a preschool.

--It depends on individual. Some start drawing in their adulthood.

Like I just mentioned, I have always loved drawing and painting since I was a little girl, so I am just keep drawing same as before. I feel those people who started drawing in their adulthood have some sort of goal, such as improving their technique.
I think that is inspiring. I have always liked drawing, but I realized I want to draw professionally when I was in my third year in high school or freshman in college.

--Can I ask how you established your current style, and about your pixiv account...

Please stop there! (lol) My current Pixiv account was created when I was in my junior or senior year in high school and those are mostly original works. But my very first upload was when I was in junior high school and I did mostly fan art. I started drawing digitally when I was in junior high school, using a pen tablet at the time. I used freeware at first then moved onto using SAI.

--Do you have anything to keep in mind in order to improve your drawing?

I try to draw one thing that I have never drawn before in my paintings. Even if I am able to draw without studying, I will research images and refer to documents to fully understand. When I work on my illustrations, I don't create a precise sketch or don't practice copying a pose, but I do want to broaden my repertoire of poses and colors and to improve my skills. Speaking of poses, I like to watch a play and buy a lot of pictures. I watch movies as well of course. So I draw referring to those, like "that angle of their feet looks awesome!". (lol)

--You are like a director. (lol)

And about colors, I tend to keep using a similar color range, so I force myself to use certain colors to widen my skill.

--What do you particularly keep in mind when working on an illustration work?

I always try to draw what client is expecting. For example, when I draw an illustration for a book, I consider the readers'age and determine the character proportion. I try to suit my illustration for trageted readers demand but at the same time try to show my own style.
And I keep in mind not to rush, as I do with any types of illustration.
I rarely miss deadline, but I often finish up my work right on deadline. (lol) I want to improve until the very last minute.

--Do you have any particular illustration style you like? It can be from illustrations that you usually draw.

I like all kinds of illustrations, but I especially like ones that tell a story in a single illustration. Most of my illustrations focuses on characters, but I like the illustrations focusing on the background or the game that has an established world view and characters happen to be there. My favorite illustrators are Eku Uekura, Hiromi Matsuo, and Senbon Umishima. My favorite cartoonist is Jun Mochizuki. I like everything about them. (lol)

When an inspiration comes to me, I take a note. Then I pick up what I feel like to draw from the accumulated notes and develop it.

--Besides illustrations, please tell us your favorite works, comics, anime, novels, movies, etc.

My favorite cartoonist is Jun Mochizuki and Arina Tanemura. My favorite cartoon is “Black Butler”. I read a lot of comic, both in print and apps. I really like boys comic books, so I read “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic” and “Haikyu!!” over and over again. I watch lots of anime and cannot choose one, but as I mentioned earlier about BGM while I work, “COMIC GIRLS” got the high quality and is awesome! Kyoani (Kyoto animation production) is the best.
Other than above, I'm really into Takarazuka (musical group) lately and also really like idols such as Hello Project. I'm enjoying my life with all these hobbies. (lol)
As for novels, I read the young adult novels. I've been buying “The Apothecary Diaries” and “Spy Classroom” serieses. I watch the new Kyoani movies and that's about it. And I listen to Hello Project's music.

--Do you often listen to idols' music?

Yes, I listen to Morning Musume and Takarazuka.

--People who are into Takarazuka are really dedicated to it.

I'm already hooked. (lol)

-- Do you think of drawing an illustration of your favorite artists?

I don't know...I just want them to exist... I want them being an idol and don't pay attention to audiences. That's my honest feeling.

--Gotcha. Sounds like you are supporting them in a polite and clean way. (lol)
Let's move onto the next question. How do you come up with an idea before starting to work on an illustration? Some people struggle to get an idea.

As I mentioned earlier, when an idea comes to me, I take a note and accumulate them. Then I pick up from the list what I feel like to draw and start forming it. When I need to start from absolutely nothing, I try to come up with a broader theme, like "it's summer so draw something about summer!". Then I branch off and ask myself "what elements does summer have?" or "Is it Western or Japanese style?" and finally I will narrow down to the final image. An idea sometimes comes to me out of the blue, so I type it down in memo on my phone not to forget.

--Do you have any situations when ideas come to you often?

It will be while I take a walk or go for shopping. When I find something cute, it inspires me to draw an illustration in those color schemes.
Afternoon Tea changes the shop display and decoration seasonally, so I get drawn into the shop by the cute decoration. (lol)

I am the type of person who believes “If you like it, just do it”. So I hope you keep trying if you like it.

--Please tell us about challenging experiences or concerns regarding creating illustrations.

Once I worked on illustrations for children's psychological test book, and I remember it was hard because the amount of illustrations were quite a lot but the duration was quite short. (lol) I was a student at that time and had plenty production time. It was difficult to find a balance between the production time and quality of work, because I would never finish if I kept pursuing the quality too far.

--Did you have any troubles when you worked on illustrations, such as insufficient skills or slow production speed?

I often draw a rough sketch digitally and decide colors. Coloring an illustration on paper by hand creates a good texture so I sometimes color an illustration by hand. But it is difficult to create colors I want, or the colors turn out totally different from what I expect. Even though I have specific color palettes in my mind, it turns out too flashy or too bright. It is hard to control colors as I imagine.

--How do you solve the problem?

If I change the analog medium or go back to digital, it will solve the issue. But I really want to color with Copic, so I keep testing many times how to color over and over to get closer to what I want.

--A common struggle is that the number of views on SNS doesn't increase”..

That's right. But I don't look at the numbers anymore because it's all the time. (lol) If I am obsessed by the number of views, I can only judge my work by the numners.
I do want people to look at my work, but I try to focus on things like; I was able to draw an illustration as I imagined or I enjoyed the production process.

--How you ever found an artist who is better than you and started thinking you are useless?

There are times when I compare myself with someone who is better, but I simply try to appreciate the amazing work. “Thank you for creating such a masterpiece. I am going to save it". (lol) I try to think I am who I am.

--What's your future goals as an illustrator, and do you have any illusrtation offer you want to try?

I want to illustrate novels as I have not done it before. I want to create an image for an original story.

--Do you have anything you want to try by changing your art style?

I practiced drawing plants so I can draw much better now. But I am not very good at drawing inorganic objects, such as cars, chairs, desks, etc. Those are still challenging to me and end up similar designs every time, so I want to expand my repertoire. Retro cars are cute, aren't they? I want to practice sketching by studying those things.

--Lastly, please give some advice to folks who aspire for becoming an illustrator.

I'm still learning and am not in a position to give an advise.. (lol) But as I mentioned earlier, I am the type of person who believes If you love it, just do it. So I want you to keep trying if you have a passion. If you worry about the number of views, only competitive people can continue and everyone else won't be able to keep trying. Do you like to be evaluated by others or do you simply like drawing? It is important to know what is your priority. If you do like drawing, you should continue to do so no matter what others think.

--By the way, which one are you?

I am the latter. I simply enjoy drawing. I am happy when the work is completed, but I also enjoy the production process and the feeling of accomplishment “I finally did it!" at the very end.

--I agree. You can feel that satisfaction only after you get to the goal. Thank you very much for sharing your interesting stories with us today!