How to draw

Roots in Japanese painting

SHIMASATOMI is a Japanese artist. She is fascinated by the “beautiful outlines” that are unique to Japanese paintings, and has a strong obsession with drawing lines.

Lines have a distinctive role in Japanese painting. Unlike the three-dimensional representation of light in the West, the object is drawn with lines (outlines) that accompany the intensity and shade of ink. In addition, by emphasizing the outline, the essence of the design is born, creating a tight mizaku style.

She came across Kyosai Kawanabe's work through her college assignment . Using animals, monsters, and ghosts as motifs, he created many caricatures and caricatures in a style that incorporates comical expression in harshness. He especially likes "Skull and Lizard" and "Jigoku Tayu and Ikkyu", and it is said that through copying these two works, he cultivated a sensibility that is consistent with his current painting style. At university, I immersed myself not only in drawing techniques, but also in researching painting materials and tools.

Utilizing traditional techniques and knowledge of Japanese painting, he tried and errored the combination of painting materials and techniques according to his own expression, resulting in his current style. She uses this technique to paint small creatures and beautiful plants.

Exploring your own technique

I used to use acrylic paints and mineral pigments, but mineral pigments were troublesome to prepare. Therefore, she focused on "Copic" as an art material that can be used immediately. Copics have good coloring, come in a variety of colors, and can be mixed like paint. However, it is not made for the purpose of preservation, so it is weak against ultraviolet rays. In order to keep your work beautiful, it is important to choose a frame that uses an acrylic plate that is resistant to sunlight.

But most importantly for her, Copics allow her to express what she wants to draw. Also, Copic is not suitable for fine and delicate depiction, so it seems that he uses watercolor paint to make up for it. Unlike acrylic paints, watercolor paints do not dry and can be used repeatedly just by mixing them with water. By using watercolors, you can add details with a fine brush and fine-tune the color of the parts you draw with Copics.

Paper is also a very important art medium for her.

I used to use Japanese paper, but Copic was not suitable for Japanese paper. There is also a special paper for Copics, but the feeling doesn't match. Over the years, she experimented with a wide variety of papers, and finally found her favorite watercolor paper, Watson. Watson is a very stiff paper, so even the Copic ink didn't penetrate the underlying paper. The paper is very strong, so you don't need to stretch the paper when using watercolors. Her favorite is the generated Watson.

Enjoy the world of SHIMASATOMI, from detailed depictions like illustrations in picture books to works with a sense of dynamism and original works that make you feel spiritual.