Emotionally speaking, this is definitely the hardest pieces I've made so far. On July 18th, 2019, an arson attack on Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 left 36 dead and 34 injured, one of the deadliest mass casualty incidents in Japan since the end of WWII. KyoAni has some of the best working conditions in the industry and have made some of the most iconic anime to date, including Clannad, A Silent Voice, and the show that got me started on anime, Violet Evergarden (as seen in this drawing). I sent this drawing to them through their website, and there's a good chance it was displayed along with thousands of other fan submissions in Kyoto this past November as part of a public memorial service. While this was a tragic blow to the company and community, they're healing and getting back to their feet, and I can't wait to see what they create next.
This was for a Kinokuniya tote bag contest but it was inspired by a whole host of things. I have included some of my favorite book characters in the doodle as well as some folklores from Japan and China. Can you recognize them and the book characters?
This picture was a participation to one of Creads' contest. I had to create a mascot for a french animation convention, with the theme CMYK. So... hu... I actually don't remember why I made the kitty six limbed, but hey, I'm not surprised by myself. Contest page https://app.creads.fr/u/recherche-illustrateur-dessinateur/concours-japanexpo-chara-design-2017/creation/417135/show
This is the very first charcoal portrait I ever made. I think I spent about 25 hours on this piece over the course of a week. Portrait Model is a Japanese singer (Gackt) and a reference photo was used. Size is 18x24 inches.
Flying Robot in the Sky, watercolor. I used my new Holbein paints. (I love them.) Drawn with a Pilot Falcon SEF using Platinum Carbon Black. A trifecta of Japanese paint, pen, and ink.
This was drawn with a Japanese fountain pen, Japanese ink, and painted with Japanese watercolor. To be specific - I used Holbein watercolor and Platinum Carbon Black in a Pilot Falcon. This trio is perfect for me.
The Japanese say you have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone.
Old drawing that I had contributed to a charity art book for Japanese tsunami relief efforts. Feel free to follow my facebook for additional updates! http://www.facebook.com/sonialaiart
I collaged "Krampus is Coming For You" together with my own monoprints as well as one of my drawings of Japanese Noh masks that I cut out of an old sketchbook. For the second piece, I had a drawing of Marie Antoinette as an ice cream cone, so I gave her a dress, put a background of my monoprints on her, etc. Then I added more cherries, and the circle reminded me of a clock, so I inked in the arms accordingly.
Well, this is my birthday present for Adit who recently upload several cooking video on youtube (called FOOD PAPA). And now I know that I love illustrating food.
