INSIDE
AKINA'S
UNIVERSE

Gosh, there are SO many things and people that inspire me and my art! Some of my favorite artists are Alice Oseman, Naoko Mullaly, and Ross Draws. A lot of my semi-realism inspiration comes from Ross's unique style and cultivation of characters and colors, and I just adore Naoko's watercolor technique and style. Alice is someone who inspires me greatly (the creator of Heartstopper!) because before I knew about her, I didn't have anyone to look up to who was both an artist and a writer so successfully. Not to mention, her work is absolutely incredible. It’s wholesome and heartwarming, yet at the same time, it touches beautifully on heavier topics. I’m a huge fan of her storytelling and sequential art/comic style! Overall, she's a big inspiration as an artist, a writer, and a creative human being. And speaking of emotional inspiration, at the center of all my art, storytelling, and creations, is the influence and integration of emotion. It always comes back to emotions for me in any story that I'm trying to tell, whether it's through art or writing. It's not only a core piece of who I am but also acts as an eternal well of inspiration. On that note, I must add that I'm 1000% a romance girlie!! I just love love so dang much, and (not to risk sounding way too corny!) I believe it's one of the strongest forces in the world—from finding your person to finding comfort in the unconditional love of family, or even your dog! In short, love is a prominent driving force for creating my stories and just being a human being. It goes hand in hand with the way humanity, in all its glory and treachery, fuels my creative flame. The world is so complex, exploding in shades of not only gray but also so much color, and I truly long to portray the realness of life and the world in my stories—mostly the good, but also the darkness that makes us stronger. Switching gears a little, Pixar and Disney animations are a HUGE part of why I love art so dearly and are probably my earliest influences. Pixar especially always makes me cry at some point during the movie, and it never ceases to take my breath away at how my favorite Pixar films capture such realness and that spark of humanity, even if the movie is completely fictional. Those moments of real life are what inspire me so greatly, in addition to the incredible character work and storytelling. Another similar influence is Studio Ghibli—from early childhood, I've been in love with those films and the magical, otherworldly beauty of that hand-painted, 2D-animated storytelling. That segues into another main influence, which is my childhood and culture. Even though I'm only a quarter Japanese, I'm very deeply connected to my Asian side, which is mostly due to the comfort of my childhood and family, like watching Studio Ghibli films while snacking on okashi ("snacks"). Of course, one of the realest influences I have is my family, who constantly inspire me and motivate me. (Stories passed down by generations are also a special kind of magic!) Additionally, there are tons of books, shows, and movies that influence my art and creative side (like the beautifully complex Arcane in all its masterful storytelling and idiosyncratic art!). Alright, I could go on and on, but we'd be here for many more paragraphs! So altogether, those are some of my major influences and wells of creative inspiration!

It really depends on my mood, and it definitely varies, but music is a huge piece of me that I can't live without, and it heavily inspires my work. Not only do I listen to favorite artists and lyrics, but I also have playlists dedicated to purely cinematic soundtracks and inspirational scores that help me feel emotionally in tune (ha, pun not intended) before and during my drawing process. Ideas are often born in my head when I'm on a plane with my headphones and no other distractions. Because the art I create is "silent," so to speak, on an auditory level (it's absolutely magical when you can hear characters "speaking" even when they're still images!), music can almost bridge that gap between what I'm creating visually. Oftentimes when a song is playing in my ears, various scenes will unspool in my head of characters, stories, colors, feelings, and even words. So yes! Music is a major ingredient in tapping into my creative flow! Immersing myself in the many pools of inspiration I hold dear to my heart (favorite artworks by other artists, amazing character arcs, etc.) also kickstarts the creative zone. When I can't tap into the creative zone, I usually take it as a sign to first connect with my own emotions and feelings before delving into those of my characters and artwork.

As both a digital AND traditional artist, this is a multi-layered response! Traditional art was my first love, and growing up when all I had were crayons and markers and construction paper, I would just scribble for hours, and I loved the way it felt to take a blank piece of paper and breathe life into it—even if that life was lopsided glitter blobs at the age of 3!! When I do create traditional art, my favorite materials to work with are, honestly, pencils. I've always loved the magic of sketching with charcoal and graphite, the smudging of the page, the crisp, bold lines juxtaposed with quick, loose lines. It's how I taught myself light and shadow, and I also especially love to work with inking pens (like Microns). I absolutely love watercolor as well, and it's my go-to dimension of color. (Occasionally, I dabble in gouache and acrylics.) As for digital art, it's more or less the same essence but on my iPad or Wacom. While I was much more comfortable with traditional art in my early years as an artist, digital art quickly found a special place in my heart—it's truly incredible. My FAVORITE app is Procreate because it's super intuitive and it allows me to just immediately dive into that creative flow without the struggle of techy software headaches! In Procreate (and similarly in Clip Studio Paint which I also use), my favorite brushes are the following: scopus (for sketching), marker roll (for line art + rendering), studio pen, soft brush, medium brush, dry ink, and watercolor!

From a really young age, I've always loved stories. Even before I could read, I was always itching to scribble doodles and words. My mom played a pretty big role in giving my sister and me the tools to let our imaginations run wild and express the stuff we couldn’t always communicate traditionally. Art has always been a creative outlet for me—a way to express myself and feelings besides my early love for creating stories. And that’s actually where one of my major fascinations for art derives from—the sheer, magical fact that you can take ideas and colors and emotions in your head and heart and transform them into tangible stories. How is that not magic?! It’s probably no surprise then that I grew up with this great love and passion for both art and writing, and the older I got, the more I began to realize that I wanted to create meaningful stories of my own for the world and those I care about. Stories hold such immense power to heal and to break, to shatter realities and bring people together. Emotion is at the core of every human being and every corner of the world, and so is the power to connect with one another and share the magic of inspiration and stories. So many of my favorite stories live within my heart—they inspire me, move me, and fill my heart to the brim to this day. I've cried countless tears and laughed my head off and connected deeply with so many characters over the years from all sorts of realms of stories—novels, comics, animations, movies, and songs. Creating art and stories also opens up gateways to helping people cope by connecting to that creation. To capture and convey such realness within When you feel that moment of utter truth in fiction and it takes on real meaning, it is truly one of the most powerful forces in the universe (not to sound cheesy). I've navigated rougher seas and challenging times myself through experiencing stories and expressing myself through my art and writing. It's truly a gift when someone brings to life a character who makes you feel so seen, or when an artist bares their soul and gets through to someone’s heart in doing so. Art changes lives—it tugs at people's emotions and heartstrings, pushes them to think or see the world in a new light. This is why sequential art (comics and graphic novels especially) lights up my universe—everything I absolutely LOVE in art—whether experiencing or creating—is woven into the unique storytelling in the heart of comics. I'm truly so elated to nurture that blazing passion and special bond I have with stories and characters! And so there's my heartfelt spiel on how my love for art came to be and why I yearn so greatly to reach the world—to touch even just one heart—with meaningful storytelling.

To be brutally honest, yes. For several years, I felt like part of me was split in half with my art and writing. Sometimes I wondered, was it possible to have not a simple, clear-cut career, but instead have one that unfolds like a tree, where things bloom and grow and branch off to new, exciting paths, all tracing back to that one big spark of passion? For the longest time, I felt like I was torn between the writer in me and the artist. I could always envision my dream of becoming a best-selling author, but when it came to my art, I was always drawing a blank on exactly what that looked like in my future. But I see now more recently that my art and writing aren’t necessarily separate worlds—they can thrive alone, but they’re also connected and can harmonize together to create meaningful stories. Once I realized this, it opened the floodgates to sequential art, the magical world in which both my art and writing can merge to create stories! And what’s interesting is, deep down, I’ve always felt that yearning to create comics—it just took me a long time to finally see what my heart already knew. Sometimes a fresh perspective is the best possible thing that can help you grow. Art can be such a vast and daunting umbrella, and I think what really helped me overcome that struggle of uncertainty was giving myself the chance to let my mind fully open up to all the possibilities. It’s also valid that sometimes you don’t know what you want until you know what you don’t want. Self-reflection was key in order to realize what I truly wanted, and while we can't necessarily construct a future in exact details and timelines, it's important to find that passion, that spark that makes you want to take on the world, the thing that makes you feel so alive. I think what also helped me overcome that tug-of-war of art vs. writing is the firm belief I have that if you love something, it should star in not only your career but your life. Life is unfathomably short, and I truly think we're meant to spend our valuable seconds not wasting time but doing the things we love and seeking out the things that bring us fulfillment (my idea of "success" besides financial stability). With that, I would say a crucial turning point in my career (even if it's at the starting line!) has been that core realization that I am unequivocally a storyteller at heart. While things aren't always so clear, we have to be willing—even though it’s scary—to embrace the unknown future with not fear but excitement. Don't ever lose the ability to connect with yourself and understand all your feelings, the good and the bad. That's how real growth emerges.

This is tough! A quirky blend of semi-realism, I would say. It can be tricky to stick a label on art sometimes, especially an artist's style. After all, creatives tend to be very much outside-of-the-box people! There’s also the fact that I'm still growing and exploring my art style, and I hope in time to keep evolving my art and dive deeper into my niche and true calling with art. In terms of describing my art style, I’d say a lot of my style comes from the things I love and appreciate in art. I love the proportions, details, and life-like quality of realism, but my heart also has this undeniable tether to stylized art, and that's where my love for semi-realism comes into play. I love to capture (to the best of my ability!) accurate representations and life-like essence (with characters, especially), but a lot of that realness morphs into my own stylization. For instance, I tend to gravitate towards capturing bright eyes and animated expressions, and I love to play around with lots of creative techniques that almost cause the realms of realistic and stylized to bleed into one another, creating something different. Some of my favorite artists really thrive in that area while still putting their own creative flair into the mix, and that’s exactly why stylized art is my favorite kind. That flair sets artists apart from each other, and even artists who share a love for the same spectrum of art (such as semi-realism!) have their own distinct style because of that unique spark. In short, I'm still finding my "style," but an artist's style isn't always finite—it shifts and grows with the artist's journey. I'm really excited to see how my art and storytelling progress through the years; I hope to improve in everything overall!

Oh, goodness, I'm not sure! It's so odd to talk about your own art in a way that doesn't make you cringe or want to point out all the flaws and hide under a table, haha. Well, if I had to pick one, I would go with the piece that is either most personal to me or evokes the most inspiration. Currently, I would pick Pointless Perfection, which is a deeply personal illustration that conveys not just my own struggles with perfectionism but the earth-shattering reality of never feeling good enough and continually pinning impossible expectations to our hearts. The ballerina in the piece is inspired by my mother's history as a ballerina and how in such beauty there can be such pain and darkness lingering beneath the surface—the pointless perfectionism that threatens to tear us apart. I'm really touched by the fact that this is also a favorite artwork of my mom's and others who support me. Thank you for peering into my heart and feeling the ricochet of emotion.

It's undoubtedly one of the most difficult careers in the universe, being an artist. Whether you create strokes of paint, craft melodies, or speak in poetry, the creative minds in this world are SO vital to humanity, and yet we are the ones who struggle quite possibly the most when it comes to supporting ourselves. Unfortunately, as nice as it would be to just do what we all love 24/7 and not worry about rent or eating something other than instant ramen, we have to find stability in our careers in order to carve a thriving, healthy, balanced life. The phrase "starving artist" is tragically still so true—and I hope that in my future, I'll be one of the lucky few to enjoy what I do for a living. So yes! On the note of support systems, I'm eternally grateful to my family for always supporting my dreams and believing in my aspirations and art. There are countless artists in the world who don't have the opportunities (or support systems) to pursue their dreams, and I'm incredibly thankful for both of my parents, especially my mom—she's always been my cheerleader and not only keeps me grounded, but also encourages all my hopes and dreams.

At this point in my art journey, I'm entirely self-taught, but I did have an art mentor during high school who always believed in my art and dreams (like my family!), and she told me constantly that in art we should always include a deeper meaning. I remember one of her paintings she showed me appeared to capture simply pretty flowers at a glance, but up close there was a uterus sprinkled here or there in between petals, adding an entirely new level of femininity to the piece in such an utterly real way. What I love about art is that it is so interpretive. Where someone might see pain, someone else might view beauty. Symbolism, too, is naked to some eyes, while others perceive its deepest traces. Art speaks to us in so many different ways, and my mentor's advice echoes my own feelings about art and creation, and her words have stuck with me to this day! Because I'm so young and my career is just taking off, I feel like my main advice to give to someone like me and other aspiring artists out there would be this: be a sponge. That is my advice for anyone really, but especially the up-and-coming generations of artists like me—be curious, be adventurous, and soak in everything this world has to offer. Dance through life creating art and stories, drinking in every moment, and feeling every emotion, the good and the bad. Take no moment for granted, because this one life is all we get. Don't just stop to smell the roses—really look at them, upside down, wondering how the world could be and what we can do to make the world a better place. We are living in a pretty amazing time, and with so much of the world already at our fingertips, it's up to us to absorb everything and yearn to grow—to always strive to be better. If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room! So be a sponge! And never forget that kindness doesn’t cost anything. Make every second of your human journey in this world count, and don't just survive. Live.