Hello there!
This summer, stepping outside and saying anything other than “It’s hot” feels like a difficulty level +50 challenge.
“Will it cool down a bit after the typhoon?”
Nope, no chance.
Where did Japan’s summer even go…?
I need to feel the chill ASAP!
So, I decided to draw a dragon eating Popsicle stick.
I think this is actually the most summery artwork I’ve ever created!
From now on, I’d like to make more pieces like this, focusing a bit on everyday life. Read more
I was inspired by the large, double-pronged horns of the Noko Kuwagata (Japanese stag beetle), so you’ll see a lot of branching and twisting throughout the design.
Also, if you’re of the same kind as me, you’ll probably recognize that I added a bit of feathered dinosaur influence.
Ancient Creatures and Cats
Edo-period ukiyo-e **never featured dinosaurs or paleontology-related subjects**.Even the **brilliant, eccentric ukiyo-e artists** couldn’t conceive of anything from **160 million years ago**—it was simply outside the realm of their imagination.
But depending on how you look at it, this means we’re in a unique position to “re-experience” what they must have felt.
It’s like when they heard rumors that “There’s a giant striped cat on the continent!” and painted tigers based on that vague idea.
Now, I get to do the same—but with dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures.
While working on this, I found myself wanting to explore more subjects like this.
The Struggles of Making a Timelapse
I’ve always known this kind of artwork takes an immense amount of patience,
but every time I attempt to make a process video, even I find myself a little overwhelmed.
Procreate’s timelapse export records absolutely everything—
layer visibility, opacity adjustments, redo/undo actions—so it results in a flashing, chaotic mess of a video.
Naturally, since this piece required me to push my creative boundaries, the number of recorded actions was absurd.
Hi!
I really wanted to draw a Spotted Gar in a ukiyo-e style!!!
Isn’t it amazing that this fish has remained unchanged for 400 million years?
It’s practically a dinosaur’s grandpa.
By the way, Kaido-maru refers to Kintarō, meaning it’s the childhood name of Sakata Kintoki.
I struggled with this part quite a bit—given today’s chaotic times, I wondered if Kintarō’s signature outfit would be acceptable from a compliance perspective. If I were to turn it into merchandise, would someone flag it?
Anti-Amazon Knockoff Measures
Starting this time, I’ve begun experimenting with embedding unauthorized-use warning text directly into the artwork to counteract bootleg products on Amazon.
For any actual merchandise I create in the future, I’ll replace this section with different text. Read more
