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[Comments on the award-winning work]
It is gradually getting colder, and becoming more and more like Christmas, and you are starting to wonder what presents you'll receive this year.
Santa is getting ready for Christmas. "Agh, it's tiresome work." He takes a break, leaning on his beard. He wraps presents together with his clever moustache. He even makes the wrapping paper himself. Santa stands in front of the mirror to check if this year's best outfit is all in order....
You start to worry that Santa won't be ready in time if he plays around too much....
But little by little, preparations for Christmas get done.
Look, now Santa has gone to lay out a sleeping bag by a fir tree in preparation for hibernation.
It's all very exciting. I can't wait for Christmas to arrive. |
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| When did you start using computer graphics to create art? |
I started in 1999, when I entered the university.That year was the first time for me to touch a tablet, and I was impressed.After that, I began creating CG artworks for my class work and outside of my classes.
Throughout high school, I used pencils and acrylic gouache to practice two-dimensional composition for the entrance exam, and for other things I used colored pencils and other media. |
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What first led to you to use computer graphics?
I studied at the design informatics department, the most digitized of all departments at my art college, so all students need to use PCs.
I draw my pictures using Photoshop, but the first time I used a PC I didn't have any computer knowledge, and I took on the challenge of learning it in my own way and have progressed with certain bad habits in my ways of using the software.
My approach to creating pictures on the computer is no different from the way I draw by hand, coloring in spaces with circular strokes, but I think one big reason for continuing to use the computer is that there are features such as the history tool, the ability to relocate objects easily, and the infinite variety of colors and widths of brush strokes, which cannot be obtained in real life. |
What motivated you to submit a work to the DCA?
I think there are still few CG competitions compared with those for illustration or paintings.
Of the few that are held, this competition is very attractive for the care shown in screening the works, the ease of data transmission, and the global scale on which this competition is held.
I entered last year's competition and got introduced in "Meiwa Denki no Kobeya" Web site, so this year I thought I would like to try entering again. |
What aspects of your winning work " I'm readying now." did you pay particular attention to, and what aspects did you find particularly difficult?
My goal is to become a writer of picture books, and when I was thinking about Christmas picture books, I began to wonder what Santa Claus, a hero only one day each year, does with the rest of his time.
That is how I chose the theme of Santa Claus making preparations rather than playing his role at Christmas, and then I went ahead and drew the picture.
I thought of a multitude of variations, and I think deciding what to keep and what to discard was the most difficult part. |
At first glance, your picture comes across as cute, Ms. Kubota, but the screening committee evaluated your superb work highly for the effort you put into the tiniest of details. What constitutes a work of art in your opinion? Also, what kinds of themes do you choose for your works of art?
When I was creating my graduation artwork at the university, I researched what "cuteness" is.
After developing an awareness of "cuteness," my way of thinking regarding works of art changed.
There is a limit to "cuteness" by itself, so while it is easy to create a little of it, it is very difficult to make it continue because it requires an investigation to the utmost extremes.
Even so, I think there is a wondrously addictive attractiveness to cute things.
I want to continue to seriously try creating something really trivial.
Also, when I'm working I always try to make digital processing as invisible as possible.
That is because I think of CG as the same as oil painting, block printing, or carving: just one tool for composition.
PCs are really great tools, but I always take care to be sure that I myself do not become a tool of the computer. |
Has anything changed since winning the DCA? (Have your friends told you that they've seen your work or have you become even more enthusiastic about your work?)
I have received e-mail from unexpected people and there have been other reactions that have astonished me.
Also, this is my first time to win such a big prize so I am really happy.
This has also boosted my confidence in my compositional techniques.
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What types of art do you want to create in the future?
I would like to create pictures with even more detail and variation of tones.
I would also like to learn more about tempos, atmospheres, heaviness, and lightness in pictures and express myself using these elements.
In addition, I would like to create pictures with motion or big pictures. Ultimately I want to create a picture book. |
Do you have any message for those intending to submit works for DCA 2006?
Go for it! |
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| Click on each picture to enlarge it. |
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Step 1.
First, use a pen and notebook to sketch out ideas and make a rough draft. |
Step 2.
Once a general outline has been chosen, draw it from the rough draft on the PC or tablet. |
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Step 3.
Then color in a large part of the picture. |
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Step 4.
Next, draw in more and more details. |
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Step 5.
Finish up the picture by choosing colors for parts that need to stand out or parts that are less important. |
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