Creator Interview: Retsuna

Recently, we interviewed TOM Special Creator Retsuna, whose beautifully striking art uses soft lines and colors. Read on for the interview!

Creator Introduction
Name: Retsuna
Creator’s Portfolio Page: http://otakumode.com/Retsuna

TOM: Why did you start drawing pictures?
Retsuna: In junior high, I borrowed Summon Night 3 from a friend and played it, and I fell in love at first sight with the package illustrations. I was driven by the impulse “I want to draw pictures like this!” That’s how it started. I started drawing pictures in digital when I learned about the existence of pen tablets in high school.

TOM: So all your works are done digitally?
Retsuna: Now, yes. From drafts to coloring, I use Paint Tool SAI, and I do adjustments and processing in Photoshop. Sometimes I also use Adobe Illustrator for creating doujinshi title logos. Even in digital works, I pay attention so that the lines have the pencil feeling I like so much.

TOM: Please tell us about a piece of work you like lately, about its arrangement.
Retsuna: I like “Shine Knight,” a picture in a doujinshi I made, which is an art collection in the theme of “female knights × sensuality.” The basic concept for this picture is the color orange, and I arranged it so that the first impression upon seeing it is “pretty.” By the way, my favorite color is blue.

I was also particular about the clothes. From the feel of the material to the structure of the desorption, I tightly linked the image with reality. When I tried to draw clothes worn by game characters that make me feel like “there’s no way you could wear this in reality,” the thought “I can’t let the reality in my works crumble” unconsciously crosses my mind. But it’s a fantasy world and not reality, and I warmly welcome a setup other than reality. I think such clothes are “cool and I want to draw them!”, so it seems it might become a task for doing more fascinating character designs.

There is a lot to think about, but I most enjoy thinking about things like this.

TOM: So you like thinking about different worlds and characters?
Retsuna: I like fantasy RPGs, and I like thinking about creating characters. I like characters with long hair such as Aty or Megurine Luka, so that might have an influence on when I think up a character.

Before, I made a doujinshi in the image of a character reference collection. At that time, I thought about all the little details, from names to costumes. I also made a video similar to the PVs often seen in games (GrandArcLuminous PV).

TOM: Oh, you make videos, too!
Retsuna: That’s right. I made short movies in university and started learning 3D CG on my own when I got employed by a game company. I am using these experiences in creating illustrations. If there is something I don’t understand or run into trouble when creating pictures or CG, I often ask the creators and illustrators around me.

In the future, I’d like to make an original RPG together with other creators. Although I can do the characters, the logo design, and the illustrations by myself, I also have my limits. And since I only made original works until now, I’d like to challenge myself in derivative works as well.

TOM: A comment to the fans, please.
Retsuna: I always create a detailed scenario and a world for my works. I would like you to imagine, “What personality could this character have?” or, “What world does this illustration tear the curtains off from?” while looking at the pictures and enjoy them!

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

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.