Inside an Artist’s Creative Process : How an Artist Brings Inner Worlds to Life Through Drawing

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Inside an Artist’s Creative Process : How an Artist Brings Inner Worlds to Life Through Drawing

Published onNovember 6, 2026

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- As part of a series introducing the four artists behind our new website key visuals, we are delighted to feature our third artist.
  For the new key visual on our website, we invited an artist to breathe new life into a photograph by layering hand-drawn illustrations over the scene.
  In this interview, she shares her creative process, the stories behind the motifs she chose, and the everyday moments that inspire her.
- What was the first thing you focused on when creating this key visual? (What did you feel when you first saw the photograph? What drew you to it?)

The moment she turns her attention to her sketchbook, absorbed in quiet concentration, feels as if she has stepped away from the outside world. And yet, something is quietly unfolding within her. It feels like a moment of entering “the world of creation.”
The soft light in the photograph and the way her head is tilted suggested a rich inner world to me—something far more subtle than a dramatic or outward expression.
That’s why I wanted to bring the colors and shapes moving through her inner world into view. Rather than simply depicting what she was drawing, I wanted to express the landscape of her mind as she drew.
- What kind of world did you want to express by layering your illustration over the photograph? (For example, reality and imagination, everyday life and the inner self)

I wanted to portray a world where reality and imagination naturally blend into one another.
She is sitting quietly in a corner of the living room, while on the pages of her sketchbook, a rainbow flows, flowers bloom, butterflies flutter, and rain falls. I wanted to convey that even in our everyday lives, a colorful universe can be unfolding within us.
The photograph represents her reality in that moment, while the illustration represents her inner world. By layering these two worlds, I wanted to express the idea that creativity can also transform the way we experience reality.
-What meanings or emotions did you put into the motifs and colors you added?

The rainbow represents the flow of emotions. Rather than drawing it as a straight line, I let it flow freely in a curving form to express the fluidity and flexibility of the imagination.
The flowers and butterflies represent sparks of inspiration, while the raindrops represent seeds of inspiration. Each of these elements emerges naturally from within her and expands outward into the world.
I intentionally used vivid colors close to their pure, unmixed hues. I wanted to express a pure, instinctive energy—free from hesitation or doubt, like the energy of a child. By contrasting these vivid colors with the calm, muted tones of reality, I designed the composition to make her inner world stand out more vividly.
- -What was it like creating this piece?
  
  The time I spent drawing, layering my imagination over reality, was also a time for me to look inward. I believe that drawing is always an act of moving back and forth between oneself and others.
  With this piece in particular, I found that back-and-forth especially comforting.
  
  -When do you feel inspiration arises in your daily life?
  
  Rather than coming from a single, extraordinary moment, inspiration often arises from small, everyday experiences. It might be the way light enters a room, the combination of certain colors, or someone’s expression. Sometimes, I find myself pausing for a moment and thinking, “That’s beautiful.”
  I also have three children, and their words often spark ideas for me. Their innocent way of seeing the world can lead to unexpected discoveries. I feel that I am often able to pick up on these small, fleeting moments and turn them into something creative.

Orihara

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Inside an Artist’s Creative Process : How an Artist Brings Inner Worlds to Life Through Drawing

- What was the first thing you focused on when creating this key visual? (What did you feel when you first saw the photograph? What drew you to it?)

- What kind of world did you want to express by layering your illustration over the photograph? (For example, reality and imagination, everyday life and the inner self)

-What meanings or emotions did you put into the motifs and colors you added?

-What was it like creating this piece?

-When do you feel inspiration arises in your daily life?

Inside an Artist’s Creative Process : How an Artist Brings Inner Worlds to Life Through Drawing

- What was the first thing you focused on when creating this key visual? (What did you feel when you first saw the photograph? What drew you to it?)

- What kind of world did you want to express by layering your illustration over the photograph? (For example, reality and imagination, everyday life and the inner self)

-What meanings or emotions did you put into the motifs and colors you added?

-What was it like creating this piece?

-When do you feel inspiration arises in your daily life?