It sure doesn’t look like any more practice is needed.
Japan has no shortage of extremely talented artists. From replica watches to original Kit-Kat-based character designs and social commentary manga, you can find outstanding levels of creativity and undeniable skill in all kinds of mediums. Browsing Twitter and Instagram with the right Japanese hashtags will reward you with some amazing works of art.
One hashtag that has recently gained popularity on Japanese Twitter is #30minuteJK, which is exclusively used by professional illustrator and character designer Kina Kazuharu (@kazuharukin). The hashtag means “30-minute high school girl drawings” (JK stands for joshi kosei, which means high school girl), and are almost all full-colored, gorgeous illustrations of girls in school uniforms living everyday life.
スクールカースト1位のJKちゃん #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/hk1g5XdxnA
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) June 10, 2017
Kazuharu has published illustrations in several novels and has also participated in designing the characters of a few video games as well, so it’s not surprising that these beautiful works of art have appeared. But what causes Kazuharu’s #30minuteJK to really stand apart from the crowd is not only the fact that they are quick 30-minute sketches, but they’re also meant to be a relaxing practice round:
“Lately I’ve been working so hard on commissions that I just want to take a breather and do some doodles! From now on I’m going to do a quick drawing for 30 minutes every day. I’ll upload them with the tag #30minutesJK!”
That’s right, these works are doodles.
Kazuharu first tweeted using #30minutesJK on February 16, and while the sketches aren’t published every day, since then many beautiful works of art have been uploaded.
「次は、同じクラスになれるかな…?」 #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/gDgiVJGTYT
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) March 10, 2017
練習 水彩風 #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/HxsJXaP0pi
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) October 10, 2017
Most of the works are in full color. How Kazuharu managed to achieve a near-perfect sketch in full color, many of which are digitally painted, in 30 minutes is beyond any of us!
"明日から女子高生"🌸 #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/vGfmr0feBe
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) April 4, 2017
Many of the illustrations are original designs, but some are based on scenes observed:
“This scene I saw of some JK studying at a cafe just now was too precious. I just had to draw it right then and there! I’m so glad I was born in a Japan like this!”
今カフェで見たJKの勉強の光景があまりにも尊すぎたので即描いた!😂😂その場で描いた!!!本当にこんなかんじだった日本に生まれてよかった🙏🙏#30minutesJK #毎日JK企画 #冬コミ原稿 pic.twitter.com/myEvy31U1e
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) December 6, 2017
Others are based on anime characters, like this one of Seiren‘s Miyamae:
宮前先輩 『10年後も一緒にゲームしよ』 #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/RxQyvfKVeu
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) February 25, 2017
Others have sweet titles, despite only being “sketches”.
“…I’ll always be waiting.”
「――ずっと、待ってるから」#30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/flK9xWNur9
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) February 18, 2017
There are even some posts to illustrate how different kinds of hairstyles look when drawn:
▼Short, thin braids vs. long, thick braids
細くて短い三つ編み VS 太くて長い三つ編み #30minutesJK pic.twitter.com/V4jybOd0XF
— 和遥キナ (@kazuharukina) February 26, 2017
A look through Kazuharu’s Twitter and Instagram feeds will give you an even greater idea of the breadth of their talent. If you’re interested in the art, there’s an art-book available for purchase on Amazon Japan. Another will be released on December 23 and is available for pre-order.
I’m pretty jealous of Kina Kazuharu’s talent, since the best I can draw is a lopsided stick figure. If these 30-minute works have you feeling artistically inadequate, too, don’t worry! You, too, can learn to draw high school girls of all shapes and sizes with this handy guide from another pro.
Source: Otakomu
Featured image: Twitter/@kazuharukina
Leave a Reply