Creator Interview: saaki [2/2]

Click here to read the first part of this interview.

TOM: Looking back at your one year as a creator, what do you think?
saaki: When I started being active as an illustrator, I wanted my works to be known to foreign audiences right from the beginning. I think I have succeeded. Now, I get work from various places and I’m very happy about that. For example, when I made illustrations for Starlight Deco Dream (http://www.starlightdecodream.com/), I received numerous messages from overseas viewers saying, “Please draw for my site, too!”

TOM: Why did you aim for “overseas”?
saaki: From my experiences in my previous company as someone who used Adobe Illustrator, I recognized that in Japan, “a person who uses Illustrator is a person who makes raw material and is not recognized as a person who makes original artwork.” On the other hand, I don’t feel these restrictions overseas, so I decided right at the start that I would send information to overseas people in English, even though I wasn’t used to it.

TOM: So, that means your plan was correct, wasn’t it?
saaki: Yes. Luckily, I get jobs, I get introduced to overseas clients, and I have been given the opportunity to draw illustrations at a Harajuku club event, Heavy Pop (http://hebipo.blogspot.jp/).

I was deeply moved when I saw that flyers with my illustrations were placed at my favorite fashion brand’s shop. I want to show Japanese fashion to the world, so I was really happy I could collaborate with fashion, which you could say is my point of origin.

TOM: What do you plan to do now?
saaki: I still want to aim for overseas audiences and gather more and more viewers. In addition, when I participated in a recent event, I was granted the chance to make an analog illustration with acrylic paint instead of in digital. I think I still need to improve my technique. I received positive feedback from the viewers, and I am reflecting upon the importance of analog, one-of-a-kind pictures. From now on, I want to make both digital and analog pictures. I also started making original accessories in Nov. 2012, and I want to actively promote them at events.

Check out our picture collection of the talented saaki, and don’t forget to SUKI her! Keep it here for even more interviews with some of the most prominent creators in the otaku world!

saaki’s MyPage: http://otakumode.com/saaki

This is a TokyoOtakuMode original article.