@oliwabiu’s (Oliwa) colorful world of soft, weird, cute original characters draws inspiration from Japanese manga, Showa period pictorial fonts and patterns, plus the Gyaru fashion style. “I hope people find my work relaxing. I just want to draw things I like. I prefer the hand-painted feeling. I rarely do computer graphics,” says Oliwa, who majored in animation and creates her compositions using marker pens. “When I’m drawing illustrations, I pay more attention to the design of color pairing and specific characters. When making animations, I pay more attention to coherence and smooth movement. My work is not that profound. I think the biggest compliment is that seeing my work makes others want to create. Because when I see great work that other people have done, it makes me want to draw too.” Art by @oliwabiu