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A fantastic world painted with thick coating paint, colored by warm light! Interview with Lenu!

2021-03-05

Gentle, warm, and beautiful worlds drawn in thick coating. We interviewed Lenu, who draws wonderful and enveloping illustration! We interviewed to her about how she draws thickly coated illustrations that look difficult, about her creative activities, and even about the article she wrote for our "Work" section! We had a lot of fun interviewing to her!

What is Lenu's origin of art?

ーWhen did you start drawing illustrations?

Lenu:I have been drawing illustrations since I was very young. I remember admiring my older brother, who was a good artist, and imitating him.
I was about 12 years old when I first came into contact with digital technology, but I drew pictures with Copics all the way up to high school.
It was only in the last two or three years that I started to draw illustrations for work.

ーYou used to draw with Copics. When did you start to draw with thick coating?

Lenu:I started thick coating and digital drawing at the same time. At the time, I loved watching hand-drawn VOCALOID PVs, and I was particularly attracted to the thick coating style.
So I had a pretty clear idea of the style I wanted to draw, but it took me a long time to get used to the feel of the painting tool I was using, and it wasn't until I was in high school that I started practicing thick coating.

ーHave you ever learned to draw at school or in a class?

Lenu:I am self-taught. I attended an art college for only a few months, but the environment and content didn't suit me, so I quit immediately.

ーDo you have any hobbies other than illustration that you're into? If so, please tell us about them!

Lenu:I guess it's about creating stories...! Even when I'm not drawing, I create in my spare time.
I also love to travel, though I can't do it as easily these days because of COVID!

ーPlease let me know your working environment.

Lenu:I use a Macbook air, a Wacom cintiq pro, and very rarely an iPad.
As for software, I mainly use CLIPSTUDIO and sometimes Photoshop. Before that, I used to use Fire Alpaca.

ーWhen painting, do you have anything to prepare, such as music, drinks, etc.?

Lenu:Folk, ambient, and chill-out music and water are always my companions.

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ーAre there any artists who have influenced you? Who are they?

Lenu:There are many...! If I had to pick some, I'd say Ichika, Zero, and awanqi from the Daughter of Evil series.
Manga artists include Hiroyuki Asada (Tegami Bachi) and Atsushi Okubo (Soul Eater).
And then there is Leonid Afremov, a Russian contemporary impressionist painter.
I'm often influenced by people who are particularly unique and beautiful in their use of color and worldview.

ーOkay, so you've been exposed to a lot of work!
I don't know much about modern impressionist painters, but when did you first come into contact with such paintings and works?

Lenu:I'm not a big fan of painting either, but I think my interest in it started in high school or college.
As I saw various artworks at art exhibitions, galleries, books and art stores, I began to like them.
I especially like Impressionist paintings that emphasize the changing colors and light, but I am also attracted to graceful works like Rococo art.

ーSo you know a lot of foreign artists! Nowadays, you can find many artists and their works on twitter, etc. for manga and illustrations, but how do you often come across paintings by foreign artists?

Lenu:As I mentioned earlier, there are many art exhibitions and galleries. This is because I have been living abroad since I was in high school, so inevitably I have had many opportunities to learn about foreign artists.
As for Leonid Afremov's work, I first saw it displayed in a store, and I couldn't forget it, so I desperately researched it on the Internet and became a fan.

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