Q: Your work is full of imagination, and much of your inspiration seems to come from everyday life. How do you extract unique creative ideas and narrative perspectives from ordinary daily experiences?
Rather than being drawn to grand or extraordinary things, I tend to be more sensitive to the “kindness” and “unexpectedness” hidden within the small gaps of everyday life.
I collect things that often pass by unnoticed—overlooked objects, ordinary relationships, even the sounds of certain words. Then, one day, I capture the moment when these seemingly unrelated elements intertwine and collide. By adding a touch of humorous imagination, a character is born.
In particular, I try not to immediately turn the fragments I observe into words or images. Instead, I let them settle and gradually take shape as a story.
For me, creating is about looking closely at the familiar landscapes I encounter every day and gathering the interesting cracks and gaps hidden within them.
Q: Your characters are highly recognizable, and many illustrators aspire to create their own iconic IP characters. What do you value most when designing original characters? How do you create characters that are both distinctive and emotionally engaging for readers?
More than giving a character a visually striking appearance, I want to give them a story.
Like the characters in Iparapanyamunyamu and The Legend of a Friend, I believe it is often the imperfect characters—the ones who reveal their eccentricity and sincerity in unexpected moments—that truly open readers’ hearts and become memorable.
To me, a character is not merely a tool designed to stand out visually or to act according to the creator’s intentions. A character is a living being, one that experiences joy and sadness and moves through its own life.
Q: Your work has received significant international recognition. As an Asian illustrator, what do you think is most important in creating work that can transcend cultural differences and resonate with readers around the world?
I still have a long way to go before reaching that goal, but I sincerely appreciate your kind words.
To be honest, I don't really know what the single most important factor is in creating work that readers around the world will love. I would very much like to know the answer myself.
I believe that within cultural specificity there are universal human emotions. No matter where we come from, we have all experienced curiosity and fear toward the unfamiliar, the warmth of embracing one another, and the joy that comes from humor.
Perhaps it is these shared emotions that create a foundation for genuine connection and empathy between people.
Q: How do you think artists can find a balance between developing a personal style and responding to market demands? How did you navigate this transitional stage yourself?
Based on my own experience, I think predicting market demand in advance is nearly impossible, and in reality it rarely leads to good results.
In the end, the only way I found to maintain that balance was to observe more clearly the stories I truly wanted to tell and the world I genuinely wanted to present.
Even now, it remains a difficult challenge.
