A career spanning a decade: what has changed and what has remained the same in illustrator lack's artwork - "Hard work always pays off."

I started studying art and learning the fundamentals from an art teacher around my second year of high school.

There are many! First, in the gaming industry, Hidetaka Miyazaki from FromSoftware, Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo, Hideo Kojima from Kojima Productions, and Hideki Kamiya from PlatinumGames.

In terms of illustrations and design, I love things that are simple yet have somewhat unique silhouettes. One artist who had a tremendous impact on me is Tatsuya Yoshikawa, known for his character designs in games Breath of Fire and other games. Actually, I think everyone from the former Capcom Design Team is incredibly talented in character design. In the world of anime, I have to say Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli, and as for manga, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of ONE PIECE. That's where I got my penchant for drawing very thin waistlines. (laughs)

During my middle school years, I remember spending about half a year copying the entirety of Vol. 21 of the Arabasta Arc. (laughs) I was goofing around and talking with friends while doing it, so I wasn't taking it super seriously. But through that, I discovered the joy of drawing group illustrations, and I was greatly influenced by the way backgrounds were drawn and the exaggerated proportions of the characters.

Oda's art is cool, cute, lively, and fun... It has a wide range that isn't limited to a single interpretation. His work reveals that he has had so many diverse experiences. By copying his art, I learned his stylization techniques, which have been extremely useful to me.

Of course, I make sure to listen to all of the client's requirements and ask questions, but I also try to come up with ideas of my own. Often, those commissioning the work are confined by the genre or preconceived ideas, so I intentionally offer ideas that are out of their comfort zone. Sometimes, those ideas are actually accepted and implemented.

For example, I have experience working at Level-5, a game company, so there have been instances where I have proposed ideas related to game systems even though I was only commissioned for illustrations. I would make suggestions like, "Wouldn't this game system make things more interesting?" It often surprises the clients, who weren't expecting such a proposal. (laughs)

Another thing I do during meetings is draw rough sketches while discussing and sharing the screen, to make sure what I'm imagining is what the client wants. 

Basically, I connect my desktop PC to a drawing tablet, an LCD tablet, and a monitor. I use Clip Studio as my main software and use Photoshop for final touches before delivery.

I have also been using Blender for about a year now. I use it to create the basic shapes for complex artificial objects in the background and then incorporate them into my illustrations. Blender also has some cool free features for artwork that I like to experiment with.

Well, back when I was working as a company employee I had some experience with a 3D software called Softimage, so Blender wasn't all new to me. After studying it for about a month, I became pretty good at it. Plus, there are tons of Blender tutorials available online, so you can learn to use it in about 8 hours even if you don't have much art experience. Blender is designed to be user-friendly, which is great!

That's right. When you have full control over every little part of your art, it can end up looking less interesting. I wanted to introduce a certain level of randomness. However, setting the brush to change colors at the tip of each stroke can make the brush itself heavier, so I mainly use it during the clean-up stage.

Until recently, I wasn't very good at drawing young characters either. It's funny because I find animals cute, but I couldn't quite grasp what makes young characters cute. (laughs) Through logical thinking, I've learned what elements to combine to make them cute. So, I've been able to overcome that challenge lately. (laughs)

What I really enjoy drawing are cool male characters like Snake from Metal Gear, sexy mature characters, and cool monsters. And I also have fun drawing dark characters with unique quirks, especially villains rather than heroes.

I get bored quickly if I stick to the same drawing style, so I alternate between three different drawing styles.

The first one is drawing in grayscale, including shading, and then adding color on top. It's the so-called grisaille technique. The second one is starting with color from the very beginning. And the last one is a combination of the first two. Right now, I'm using the third pattern because it's easier to make revisions for work. In the end, no matter which drawing style I use, the end result is similar. Since I draw more than 20 pieces every month, I would definitely get bored if I kept using the same style all the time. (laughs)

I also adjust the look of the eyes to match the current trends. Depending on what's popular at the moment, I incorporate different elements like highlights and coloring that I think look good. Normally, I usually like eyes without any highlights best, but that doesn't work for most jobs I take on. Lately, because of the influence of VTubers, there's been a higher demand for illustrations with lots of eye highlights, so the only chance I have to do as I please is when I draw original artwork.

The type of work I take on hasn't changed much, but lately, I've been getting more requests for mobile game illustrations and promotional artwork from China than from Japan.

As for my approach to projects, I used to draw about 30 pieces a month, but now I only do about 20 pieces a month on average. I used to draw for 16 hours a day, but now I feel like I can only devote about 10 hours. My drawing speed hasn't changed; it's just that the number of pieces I can finish has.

I believe one of the main reasons is that I got married and got a dog and a cat. When I was living alone, I could draw for as long as I wanted without any distractions. But now I have other beings to take care of, so I spend more time attending to their needs.

I believe there has been a shift from a time when the artwork itself possessed power to a time when the creators themselves wield power. Thanks to the internet, anyone can easily learn art techniques, so there are many young artists who are very good at drawing. However, simply being good at drawing is no longer enough to stand out, and artists must make themselves known in order to get work. It seems like now the ability to promote and produce oneself is more important than technical skills. Some illustrators become VTubers or create YouTube channels to promote their artwork...

There's no one right way to do it, but it's becoming more challenging to get work if you don't stand out. Personally, I would rather focus on quietly enjoying drawing every day than being the center of attention. (laughs) In a way, things have become more complicated nowadays.

Well, since there are only 24 hours in a day, first of all, they should quit social media. (laughs) Instead of getting caught up in the trends and being elated or frustrated by them, it would be better to spend that time studying art and actually drawing. Watching movies, playing games, hanging out with friends, and doing what you love without being influenced by others... That's what leads to making great work. Hard work always pays off: I believe that creators who consistently work on their projects will definitely be recognized and appreciated.

Especially recently, I feel like Twitter has become a place where illustrators easily get caught up in numbers, so I don't really pay attention to Twitter anymore.

Apart from those, I always try to get enough sleep. I think I sleep for about 7 hours a day. Having a healthy lifestyle and routine is crucial for maintaining a long-term career.

I became more aware of this after having health problems while I was working for a company. Now that I have a dog, I have to take it for walks in the morning and evening, and it also has set mealtimes. It helps me keep my life on track and in balance.

I really like coffee, and the character I use as my icon represents a coffee-loving gentleman. I also personally love coffee and the ambiance of cafés, so I decided to go with this theme. At the exhibition, we'll be giving out free cups of coffee with a special blend made from beans selected by yours truly. I hope you'll enjoy my illustrations with a cup of coffee in hand!

The black and orange color scheme was indeed inspired by the concept. The main character in the visual is actually a witch, but I've always loved the concept of witches and have drawn them a lot. So I combined the concept of a witch with my character, the coffee-loving gentleman. The artwork's background depicts a location that I would personally love to visit.

I really want to create more original content. I've never had the chance to work on character designs for anime, but if the opportunity arises, I'd love to give it a shot. I'm open to receiving requests and excited about new opportunities.