Do you know what the creator of Naruto, Masahi Kishimoto, looks like? How about Hello Kitty‘s artist, Yuko Shimizu? Despite their drawings being prevalent all over the world, most people have probably never seen the true faces of these famous artists. With this in mind, amateur artists around Japan have been tweeting #イラストと描いた人 (an illustration and the artist who drew it), including their own picture beside a work of their art.
Unfortunately, a lot of people choose to hide their faces behind cosplay masks, editing techniques or just facing away from the camera. Some don’t even post a real photo! However, the artist behind the really cute drawings above decided to post a real, unhindered picture, but it might not be what you’re expecting…
▼ He’s not the adorable Japanese girl we were expecting, but that makes it even more awesome!
The artist, @xxxakimotoxxx, is proud of his drawings, and rightly so! They are cute, well done, detailed, if not similar to the work of accomplished artist Mel Kishida. However, he appears to be a very humble guy, maybe even selling himself a little short:
[tweet https://twitter.com/xxxakimotoxxx/status/555751163534921730 align=center]▲ The commenter states: “He looks like a great guy lol.”
To which Aki replies:
“I’m not actually that great. I’m the kind of lowlife that grills up expired meat, so as not to waste it. My heart is tainted with darkness.”
This response actually triggered people to like him even more, saying things like, “He doesn’t waste food! What a good guy!”
Another comment brought us even more insight to this interesting character:
[tweet https://twitter.com/xxxakimotoxxx/status/555766397666484224 align=center]▲ @ddk206 said: “My friend’s brother is also a tough-looking, heavy smoker who listens to heavy metal while drawing cute moe pictures. Are there a lot of people like you?”
To which Aki responded:
“I don’t smoke at all and I’m the delinquent-type that listens to idol pop songs. But it seems that quite a few of the guys that draw these fancy pictures have some darkness inside of them.”
We think this guy’s pretty cool! He doesn’t feel pressured to make his outside appearance (or the darkness in his soul) match his cute, fairytale-like drawing style, or vice versa. Remember kids, never judge a book by its cover!
Source: Hamusoku
Images: Twitter (@xxxakimotoxxx)
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