Interview with illustrator Senbon Umishima - Distilling Curiosity into Creation

── Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us.

── Do you avoid looking at or investigating other creators?

── What sort of things do you recommend be used as references when creating?

── You've worked as an animator, illustrator, and manga artist. Have you loved drawing pictures since you were a child?

── Did you know early on that you wanted to work in an artistic field?

── You often focus on a theme of "motion" in your manga and illustrations. Is this taken from your experience as an animator? Or is movement something you've always been interested?

──  Now that you have experienced all three paths, do you feel as though the things you've learned in each role have begun to blend together?

── You've said that you set your sights on a drawing career at a young age. How did you refine your technique over the years?

── How do you practice now?

── Sometimes when I'm drawing, I can't escape the feeling that something isn't quite right and get lost in the process. What do you do when you're in a slump?

── What is your current working environment like?

── You've showcased many styles of coloring. Is that what you switch up for a change of pace?

── "The viewer decides the style."

── This solo exhibition is centered on the Rooms series. How did you come up with the idea?

── Instead of deciding on the interior designs after considering the setting of the characters, did you draw the interior first, prioritizing how cute interiors like this would be?

── If that's the case, did you get new ideas and add more accessories while you were drawing?

── Is your ability to create such a wide variety of rooms a result of an interest in interior design?

── Lucky! I live in an old Japanese style apartment...

── The fact that you can come up with ideas so quickly shows how much you really love interior design.

── Foreign cityscapes, cats, maids, plants, sea creatures, and interior decorations are just some of the many motifs in your drawings, right?

── You like lots of things!

── The vivid colors in your works are impressive. The Rooms series is so intricately detailed down to the smallest areas. However, it gives both a clean and uncluttered impression.

── I see. I had this firm idea in my head that certain items have to be painted a certain color, like plants must be green. As a result, I kept using more and more colors, and the result was messy.

── What are the highlights of your solo exhibition?

── Finally, what are your future prospects as a creator?

── Taken from the illustration and comic compilation book Rooms by Senbon Umishima, recently published by PIE International.