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.

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.

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!

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!”

Others are based on anime characters, like this one of Seiren‘s Miyamae:

Others have sweet titles, despite only being “sketches”.

“…I’ll always be waiting.”

There are even some posts to illustrate how different kinds of hairstyles look when drawn:

▼Short, thin braids vs. long, thick braids

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