When it comes to her illustrations, it’s all fun and games for Yumi Kitagishi. Based in Tokyo, her creations are directly inspired by children’s books, both in terms of color and composition and her chosen themes. “I love the bright colors you find in them!” she told Flow Magazine. “But I also find pleasure in my daily life, like eating delicious food, chatting with my friends and family, and coming across cute cats in my neighborhood.”
Though Kitagishi has graduated from the Nihon Designer Gakuin Kyushu College with a degree in graphic design and has worked some time at a design studio in Fukuoka, she’s actually completely self-taught when it comes to her illustration.
In order to teach herself how to draw she came up with a challenge: posting an illustration a day on Instagram for a whole year. “I often draw characters like cats, owls, rabbits, girls with bobbed hair and men with mustaches,” says Kitagishi.
These playful characters aren’t restricted to paper. Sometimes, Kitagishi uses her nails as canvases. “I love drawing, and I draw on any blank space I can find,” she admits. “So one day, I l decided my nails were just a good a canvas as any.”
Here are some highlights from her Instagram page: