CH FR

I’ll start to kick things off:

I’ve been drawing on-and-off on paper through all of middle school, but in high-school, I discovered Otomads and wanted to get good enough at drawing to add illustrations in my visuals. My oldest digital drawing is from 2018 (image below). I also met MajorMilk at that time, he gave me a lot of advice and that’s when I started improving faster.

Ever since, Otomads have been a big driver for drawing, I tend to complete illustrations a lot more often when it’s related to a video.

ColaLK

I think it goes back to when I was in elementary school. I started drawing silly manga by using some manga books my parents bought for me as reference. I dedicated a notebook to my own “Manga Magazine” and started prentending to have “serialized issues” (althought it was basically just myself). But of course these were just directionless doodles. It wasn’t until 2019 that I really started learning to draw on my computer.

I remember when I had just taken an interest in Otomads, it felt almost entirely parallel to my interest in illustration. Although they were both related to “creative endeavours” at-large, I had always developped them independently without a thought that they could intersect one day.

Here is an illustration guidebooks that initiated my interest in drawing a moe-style when I was in elementary school.

CH FR

Wow, it’s cool to be introduced to something like this at such a young age. It was very difficult to find hard copies of moe-style books where I grew up.

So did you already branch into your own unique style when you started doodling based on these references, or was that only made more clear after 2019?

ColaLK

I remember developping a fairly concrete style around faces, but it was mostly from drills off of references. So my anatomy had been fairly terrible.

It was after studying from moe-style illustrators on Twitter in 2019 that I started to refine my own style.

Theas

I started doing it around December 2023 when I had nothing to do after my solo collaboration. The reason was that I wanted to increase my range of expression in my Otomads. I was going to ask someone else to do it, but I thought it would be easier if I did it myself because I was afraid of problems such as lack of connections and deadlines.

It’s a relatively passive reason.

CH FR

I think this is a good reason.

Even if your original goal is to become independent in video production, you should be able to use the skills and knowledge you’ve gained from the process when working with other illustrators.

For example, even if you don’t draw it by yourself, if you have knowledge of illustrations, it will be easier to convey poses and compositions.

MajorMilk

I started drawing in 2005, but didn’t take my craft too seriously until 2009 when me and a friend made a card game using pieces of paper. I started watching YTPMVs in 2012 and realized that many folks would include their own art into their videos. Even simple drawings would immensely improve my opinion of such works so I decided to start including them into my videos when I started making them in 2018. I saw it as an opportunity to show off my interests as well!

CH FR

Lmao, I was not even 5 when you first picked up a pencil

MajorMilk

I still have those pictures too

MajorMilk

Spent a whole afternoon scanning them

🦀

Around July, 2023.

At that time, my friends and I were really into doing things together, and I wanted to try drawing, so I tried it and it was fun. At first, I wanted to try drawing a Liar Dancer animation , but drawing quickly became fun regardless of what I was doing it for.

CH FR

I remember checking that “one drawing every day” server that you made. You continued to draw enthusiastically, and I could see the progress in real time

7=5

The first time I started drawing was around 2015, when I was in middle school. At that time, there was a video upload site in Korea called ‘TVple’, which was similar to niconico (it doesn’t exist now because it’s closed), and there was a culture of drawing pictures by placing a lot of comments on top of the video. I wanted to draw a picture as a comment on Otomad, which I liked, so I started drawing for the first time.

CH FR

Do you mean you could post a picture as a comment?

7=5

It’s like this!

🦀

I’d like to see a comparison between everyone’s drawings when they first started and their drawings now.

MajorMilk

2005 v 2025

MajorMilk

I used videos to promote my art too. Gave me a good excuse to put stuff in my portfolio

CH FR

2017 / 2026

ColaLK

Here’s one from when I just started digital illustration in 2019

🦀

2023 / 2026

エマイユ

There wasn’t really a specific reason I started drawing. I’ve always just kind of liked it, like being in the art club back in the day, and I used to draw traditionally.

Later on, around March 2024, I started playing Blue Archive, and around the same time, I began posting Blue Archive fanart on Twitter. Back then, I only watched Otomads and had almost no intention of making them myself.

So, my story is actually more about how I got into making Otomads .

About five months after I started posting my art, perhaps because I had posted a few Otomad-inspired fanarts, I ended up becoming mutuals with a few Otomad creators.

I was invited to a Discord server hosted by one of them, and 四月一日, who was in that server, reached out and asked me to participate in the “Yutori Natsu Collab”.

Initially, the invitation was just for me to handle the illustrations, but I figured that since I had the chance, I wanted to try making the audio and video as well. So, I created my first solo project, “ナツオ”, and that became the catalyst for me to start making Otomads. Even from that point, I was already incorporating my own drawings into my Otomad videos.

CH FR

Oh, some people here started with art first.

Also, that is a very good first video.

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

I started drawing when I started watching inmu, around 2017, I focused on cookie☆."

I’ve been drawing on my smartphone since then[Did he switch formats?}, and I’ve been making pixel art as well as illustrations.

After that, in 2020, when I was watching Otomad on Niconico, I found in the video description posted by Torinoesa asking if someone could draw an illustration for them, and I thought, you know, this is the kind of thing I wanted to draw for. This is the first time I did art for an Otomad

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

Here’s the video I first did art for (warning: NSFW)

ゎ

Since around 2016, I have been doodling simple sketches on paper and creating pixel art on my smartphone.

I started posting art online around 2019. I was posting pixel art, traced art of Chargeman Ken, and fan art of Nico Nico Medleys on Nico Nico Seiga

The following year (2020), I started posting Otomad. Around this time, I began incorporating my own illustrations into the videos, and ‘using illustrations in Otomad’ became a major motivation for improving my drawing skills.

Theas

I tried finding some to compare, but it was all hard to tell, so I drew the first one again ←2023/12 _ 2026/02→

イダルゴ

I wanted to keep the fanservice scenes from Shonen Jump around before the magazines got thrown away, so I got into tracing them, and before I knew it, drawing itself became pretty fun and I got into it.

One thing that got me started was realizing that if I could use illustrations, I’d have a lot more tools and possibilities when it came to a visual medium like my Arknights Otomads. It also got easier to draw digital pictures with the graphics tablet I bought.

My first digital art (←2018) and a recent picture (2026→)

smileyshirt

I’ve been drawing since I was a kid in the early 2000s, long before I knew what Otomads or YTPMVs were. It’s a hobby that I never put my full focus into, so I never became super good at it, but it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing on the side. I hadn’t considered utilizing illustrations in my videos until relatively late into my time as a YTPMV/Otomad author, but I think now it’s a distinct element of my style that I want to use more and more. I really enjoyed creating the animated Unwelcome School part for New Years Dreams 2025, for example!

SakiZ

if I remembr correctly the first time I did it for Otomad was 2022 in a friend’s collab

SakiZ

I’m not good at visuals so having some drawings really helps me execute my ideas

MoonTDN

My father used to play video games with me on our laptop. When I was in first or second grade of elementary school (around 2011), I was already addicted to computer. My mind always wanders off to something like Plants vs. Zombies or Call of Duty when I was in school. If only to find something fun to do during boring lectures, I’d start drawing contents from these games in my sketchbook. Slowly, the entire sketchbook became a world of video games made out of paper. My mom went to extracurricular art instructors with my notebook to ask whether there appears to be promise with my work. Ultimately I never formally attended any such extracurricular classes.

When the entrance exams were near, it became rare for me to dedicate time to drawing. Most attempts were just doodles within margins of exam papers. At the end of 2018, I saw the Dance Robot Dance part from IWF2018, the creator pinpointed the particularities unique to the characters with very simple strokes. It was such a funny part, and I immediately picked up a pencil and started drawing Gachimuchi characters. Henceforth it became more common again for me to draw stuff. But it’s mostly been centered around Touhou or my OCs, usually unrelated to Otomads.

MoonTDN

There’s no way I could find the my first attempts on paper. Even my earliest digital works have been lost to computer troubles… From my recollection, the earliest digital work was in September 2021, when I downlaoded SAI and drew Toyosatomimi no Miko from Touhou Project.

I’ve never been confident with my drawings, so I never upload them onto social media, which was another reason why many things weren’t properly archived. I’ve been keeping tabs from my recent works in 2024-2025 though. (It’s mostly my OCs. Growing up I’ve always liked them but at the same time feeling embarassed about it, which is one of the primary reasons why I don’t post them!)

1時

When did you start drawing?

→ I’ve been drawing for a long time, but if we’re talking about when I started uploading things online, that was when I was about 14~15

What Inspired you to draw?

→ There were several things that got me to draw, but if I were to pick something internet related, it’s probably Kirby OCs. I mentioned this in another interview I did before. This applies to everything I do, but rather than “wanting to draw”, I wanted to connect with people through art.

🦀

What kind of art do you usually like to draw (series, characters, genres, etc.)?

I usually enjoy drawing original characters! They take up more of my art than copyrighted ones, I’d say. When it comes to fanart, I’d say it’s mostly Pokemon, Blue Archive, and IDOLM@STER

Does drawing take an important place in your Otomad creation process? For example, thinking things like “this is a more serious video so I have to draw something”

Almost never. I’m not going to go out of my way to hand-draw something if I don’t need to. First I’ll think about whether or not the presence of a hand-drawn picture in the video is valuable, and if it is, I’ll draw it. That’s rarely the case, though.

I have a lot of respect for the original art of whatever I’m making a video of, so I’d like to use that if possible. I think I’ve drawn for my one videos maybe once or twice?"

CH FR

That’s a pretty interesting take, now that you mention it, I realize that the only time I saw illustrations in your video work was in this MV you made for Yomitan Akane

CH FR

I personally often find drawing to be a prerequisite whenever I try to do a high-effort videos. I like to make things that stand out and custom illustrations are an easy way to do so. Maybe this is also because limited sources like Itodenwa are very limited visually, which encourages the creation of custom assets.

As for things I like to draw, it used to be fairly diversified across the Kirara spectrum (that and Yuru Yuri), but recently I’ve only been drawing/doodling this one character (G****a from Pocket Mirror), she’s like, my go to for whenever I want to draw casually (I want to draw her more).

エマイユ

I mainly like to draw pictures of Blue Archive characters. (I also draw a lot of original characters, but I rarely show them on Social Media.)

When I make serious Otomads (especially in collaborations), I almost certainly just draw pictures. Because my video editing skills are low, I feel like I draw a lot of pictures to cover my poor technical skills up.

Even so, most of the authors of BA mads are good at drawing pictures, so I’ve been working hard on animation lately so that I won’t lose even a little bit.

There’s also the fact that BA has less official video content than other works, so I draw to make sure the viewers dont get bored.

CH FR

Your animations are really fun to watch. Also, I like how you animate more than just characters, and also put some effort in things like this transition with the carton of milk, or this drum set.

CH FR

I’m particularly interested in how you managed to animate the drum set in sync with the BGM.

エマイユ

I brute-forced synchronizing the DrumNatsu movement using Clip Studio Paint, like shown in the picture. CSP allows you to import MP3 files, so I was able to match the movements while listening.. The fact that INTERNET OVERDOSE had a BPM of 180 in the collab medley, that matched well with 15FPS framerate of the video, was one of the reasons I was able to push through with it. Since 5 frames equaled exactly one beat, it wasnt too hard to synchronize to the beat. (So if the BPM was 170 or something, I probably would have given up…)

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

What kind of pictures do you usually like to draw

I like doing pixel art. I do hope I get more requests to do pixel art in the future!

Is drawing an important part of the Otomad production process?

Even if the video doesn’t specifically require hand-drawn art, I think there’s enough demand to make putting the art in appeal. If it were up to me, I’d put hand-drawn art in all my videos.

CH FR

Speaking of pixel art, do you have an interest in spritesheet-based animation? It feels like the natural fusion of video production and illustration, though it requires a bit more setup.

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

I am interested 👀

CH FR

For example, when I look at this sprite sheet, I simultaneously think “that’s a lot of sprites” and “that’s still fewer sprites than I expected”.

So seeing that a (relatively) simple spritesheet can allow you to make such a good video feels a bit motivating in a way.

Theas

I’m not usually looking for something specifically to draw, so I usually end up drawing OCs or Blue Archive - not that I set out to do that.

When it comes to using my art in Otomads, I mainly draw Blue Archive. That’s because there’s a lot less official material to work with compared to other sources…Its’ better to use official materials if you have enough of them.

On the other hand, sometimes I make an Otomad because I want to draw for it.

I dont have any strong opinions about Otomads, so I just do what I want.

There’s a bunch of other reasons sometimes, but they’re kind of crude, so I’ll skip those.

CH FR

Despite starting fairly recently, I feel like you manage to fit your drawing style to your videos really well (like the way it integrates with your motions and easings)!

I’m also noticing how quickly you started to integrate puppeteering techniques (like, limb separation and stuff). For example, this video has some very intricate body movements. How difficult was it to adapt your editing skills with this newfound control over the assets you work with?

7=5

Since I often use ‘blue archive’ as an Otomad source, I feel like I naturally began to draw blue archive illustrations often.

When it comes to an Otomad production, regardless of the importance of the work, I draw if I need an illustration, and if don’t need, I just don’t.

Apart from putting illustrations in the video, I often feel that the know-how I have gained by painting, such as the use of colors and the layout, is also helpful in producing the video. In this respect, I can say that illustrating is an important part of my Otomad production.

ColaLK

I usually just draw my OCs or characters from Kirara works, leaning towards CGDCT/slice-of-life settings. I mostly just doodle, and occasionally take on serious, full illustrations.

Illustration is indeed a viable method for Otomad production. Instead of thinking about the “seriousness of the video”, I rather reflect on how hand-drawn assets can be effectively incorporated into an Otomad work. This also applies to 3D animation or additional musical elements like original counterpoints.

For example, when I was working on Talk!, it first came to me that hand-drawn animation would go very well with the sense of explosiveness in the track’s chorus. Only afterwards did I decide to increase the amount of hand-drawn work to stress the contrast between the verse and chorus.

Another example is ピ, which was a bit more of a fun and casual work in nature, but just for fun I threw in a sudden pile of freshly hand-drawn assets during the chorus.

CH FR

I just watched ピ for the first time. The sudden transitions really caught me off guard lol

Theas

I have absolutely no idea when it comes to that type of stuff other than that it’s better not to over-animate it; I do everything by feel, so it’s rough in a lot of places. I think After Effects was simply the best (UI-wise) for me to utilize these sort of expressions. That said, I’ve been recently wanting to create my own choreography and make the characters dance.

MajorMilk

It varies a lot but I draw things that I think are cute. Slice of life anime is my easiest creative output, but recently I’ve been thinking a lot about Blue Archive. I also like to illustrate games I am currently playing.

I try to draw for my videos if I have the time, which isn’t always, unfortunately.

ゎ

Lately, I’ve been drawing vtuber fanart.

I incorporate illustrations to make the screen look more appealing.

For example, when creating an Otomad using inorganic materials such as TV commercials, I’ll draw pictures that have the commercial stuff alongside the characters that appear in the original music videos and make them the main focus.

イダルゴ

I’m not good at drawing fanart, so I often just draw original characters. I kind of draw whatever I feel like. I also frequently draw erotic art. I tend to draw when making Arknight MADs. That’s because I want to maintain a certain style, as well as to make up for the lack of available video material. Besides that, I try not to draw unless absolutely neccesary. That said, drawing has been useful for creating effects and adding flourish to videos, which helps enhance my creative freedom.

SakiZ

I don’t often draw outside of Otomad. My main video subject has been blue archive

SakiZ

it plays an important role, just as much as everything else. Nowadays my ideas usually require me to draw and it’s been fun to learn

MoonTDN

Once again most of my art is about my lovely OCs, anchored around the interactions between them.

I often incorporate illustrated assets in Otomad produciton, because it does open your mind with respect to production processes. I did this a lot previously in CWF2022 (warning: NSFW), as well in an Arknights Otomad.

On one hand I had really wished to see the characters presented in the style of the illustration from the original songs. It’s as great presentation for both fans of the songs as well as fans of the sources. On the other hand illustrations like this make for a more rich presentation.

Personally, the illustrated part in the To Aniki and Beyond collab (warning: NSFW) around 3:44 made a big impression on me. The drawings are true to the spirit of the source but cute at the same time. It really adds to the part.

I also like the part at 8:04 in CWF2022 Yonmoji Aniki’s Jirai-kei♂Men illustration is definitely a highlight of the whole collab for me.

smileyshirt

When I was young, I enjoyed drawing comics and designing original characters. As I got older, I got into drawing anime fan art and fan art in general. In my opinion, enjoying drawing fan art lends itself nicely to making Otomads, since it’s also derivative of existing characters. Having the option to include illustrations in my work is something that was always on the table, and something I always considered when making visuals. While it didn’t happen too often for most of my time creating YTPMVs and Otomads, it’s been fun including it more and more lately. However, when I feel that a work needs to be especially serious, I’ll lean towards getting one of my friends to do illustrations instead. I’d like to do the illustrations myself more and more as time goes on, though.

I’ve very recently returned to my roots of character design and creating original content. I wonder if there’s a way to weave that side of the process into Otomads?

1時

What do you usually like to draw

→ Lately, I’ve been drawing art of characters that catch my eye when I watch anime. I tend to prefer full-body illustrations and distinctive poses, so I focus a bit on that.

Does drawing take an important place in your Otomad creation process?

→ It’s the same as any other option when I make an Otomad: Just one of many viable options. Whether I draw or not depends on the subject matter and the direction I’m aiming for.

CH FR

This question is one of the main reasons I decided to host this even in the first place, since I think about it often. It feels like Otomad is a medium that pushes people towards a generalist mindset, having to learn both about audio and video concepts for those who do both. Because of this, picking up drawing means having to juggle with one more high-complexity skills.

While I’m very happy with the diversified skillset Otomad gave me, I also can’t help but wonder what it would be like if I had focused my resources on just one of such skills. I see people who draw everyday, people who make motion graphics every day, people who compose music every day… Everyone who gives it their all to focus on just one area is naturally bound to be much more skilled.

Despite this, I don’t think I regret my choices, I’m happy with where I am right now in terms of skills distribution, and there are also advantages to being a generalist. 서노 kinda anticipated this question when they talked about illustration skills carrying over in video, like composition sense and whatnot.

MajorMilk

I just want to learn enough to draw my favorite characters. I never aspired too much outside of that. Though I wish I could be better at drawing backgrounds.

ColaLK

I learned to draw and make Otomads as entirely separate endeavours, but after intentionally combining the two skills in my works from recent years, you do finally feel like becoming a generalist. It also made me look at things as “a creator” outside of the confines of Otomads.

There are many generalist-looking creators in other disciplines like indie animation or indie games. Composition, illustration, programming… Of course they might not be the best at all of them, but they’ve undoubtedly managed to construct a unique style of expression via these skills. For me, it’s honestly, genuinely so cool to be able to use these skills to inform a distinct personal flavour of not necessarily Otomads – illustration, animation, or whatever the medium may be. So I hope to progress in this direction myself as well.

Currently I’m sort of at an impasse regarding 3D animation… Up until now I’ve been fairly content with the different skills I’ve acquired. Although my videos are only being made at a shockingly slow pace, I’m nonetheless glad to be able to convey my ideas through them.

Theas

Being able to create videos that incorporate illustrations has definitely made my skill tree grow further in that direction. Not only in how I draw more, but how I create more videos that complement and make use of the art I draw. Before 2023 my videos were a lot rougher, so together with my art style, it might seem like my video style has changed drastically. It’s easier so express emotions through illustrations rather than videos, so I can now show those emotions more clearly in my work. On the other hand, since I always have the option to draw, it can feel like a distraction when the video doesn’t require it.

ゎ

While it’s true that starting to draw seriously has increased the range of what I can do in Otomads, I feel like I haven’t actually been able to apply my illustration skills to video making. Rather, I often use the knowledge I acquired from making Otomads when drawing pictures.

Currently, I want to focus on improving my illustration skills rather than video or audio.

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

Ever since I started making Otomads, I also started taking drawing more seriously, and and I feel like the horizons of what I want to try is broadened with each work I post. Since I started making videos, I’ve been able to think more about how to make my illustrations look better and I’m always motivated, so I would like to thank everyone who has commissioned me in the past.

🦀

It feels like I “gained a new weapon for my visual arts arsenal.” However, like I said earlier, I rarely draw fanart, so I tend to use it for original creations.

It’s true I can do much more now, but at the same time it doesnt feel too different than when I’m working on visuals - just a different focus. I’m using my brain in the same way (sorry for being abstract).

I’m drawing a lot more these days so in terms of skill distribution I would say it’s about… Art>Video≥Audio? But subjectively, I don’t think I’m leaning any one way in particular, I’m just doing more art right now. Maybe you can say I’m an all-rounder…

イダルゴ

Even if I were to dedicate to one element in particular, I think I would feel like wishing I had invested in something else instead, so I don’t really feel bad about my current situation. If anything, I’m glad I’m able to do a wide variety of things. I do feel somewhat inadequate about my current abilities and want to improve, but I think that’s unavoidable. I have noticed that when I’m making Otomads, I don’t draw as much and vice versa. It’s a bit frustrating. Speaking of art in Otomads - beyond drawing art that mimics characters from the original MV, I should probably be thinking about finding ways to utilize the uniqueness and originality of using illustrations and trying to integrate them into video production in a way that will showcase their charm. After all, you can think of these not as two seperate skills, but as a unified skill

7=5

These days, I think that illustrating and video editing are complementary to each other. By honing illustrating skills, we can broaden the limits of visual expression, and by honing video editing skills, techniques that can be applied to illustrating gets developed…

Recently I’ve been trying to get more of the video editing skills, and I’m feeling like I need to study more systematic painting to do this more efficiently.

MoonTDN

Actually I’ve always been afraid to post my drawings on social media. Partly because I don’t feel that I’m quite skilled enough, but also because I feel embarassed about a lot of my OC art to begin with. I’ve convinced myself that I drew them for my own eyes only, so I don’t necessarily think it as part of my skillset.

Further, it’s actually rare for me to make an Otomad in its entirety, I tend to be focused on organizing collabs or helping others. So it’s rare that they intersect. I mostly just want to satiate my own desires with more output with my OCs.

smileyshirt

Drawing has been something I’ve done for as long as I can remember, and yet, I would hardly consider myself a “master.” I don’t have very much traditional training and haven’t done much research, so my drawings can have a bit of a lack of polish in regards to proper anatomy and shading. It’s true that I could’ve spent time that I’ve dedicated to composing music or making YTPMVs and Otomads to drawing, and probably be much farther ahead in it than I am now… but I think it happened this way for a reason. YTPMVs and music are my biggest passions, while I would say drawing is just a hobby. And I like it that way! Drawing is fun, and I’ve never felt the need to start seriously researching it. It’s nice to have a low stakes hobby where the outcome isn’t important. I draw for myself, and if it makes it’s way into my other works, then that’s just a bonus. I have been improving at drawing over the years, but it’s been at my own pace, and that works for me. I like being a jack of all trades. Even if I’m not a master at everything, it feels very comforting to know that I could do so many different things myself if I wanted to. It’s very freeing for an artist to be self-reliant. Even if your skills aren’t totally refined because of it, I think having a large and varied skillset is worth it, at least for me.

1時

What are your overall thoughts on your personal skill distribution?

→ While it adds another option, it also makes me feel like there’s more I can’t do than can. If I were to use art here, what kind of style would they be? What would I use them for? I want to be able to answer these questions more clearly whenever they arise. I have to improve my skills, and I feel very aware of my shortcomings.

CH FR

I personally liked to see some more Otomad magazines being made (even though I could only read one of them), overall it seems like people have started doing more things outside of just drawing for visuals. Close friends held a spot at comiket. There were also some experiments like the challenge that Yonmoji organized through all of 2025.

That one comic that went viral lately (The beautiful hell of a creator) made me think that it could be fun to see more short comics about the process of Otomad creation.

MoonTDN

I feel compelled to plug 知Otomad客 here!

It’s the first illustration-themed doujin magazine from the Chinese Otomad community. I’m really glad that it sold decently both at Comiket 107 as well as online in China.

On one hand, the contents of Otomads are printed on paper. You can physically hold it in your hands; this is a vivid experience – as if the virtual content online had materialized in the real world. It’s incredibly fulfilling.

On the other hand, “watching Otomads” is no longer just about staring at a screen, but rather flipping through pages of a magazine. This is also a new and exciting experience.

As for me, I hope that the 知Otomad客 project can continue without overworking the the participants. Of course, I’d also love to see more similar projects in a variety of media outside of magazines, like novels, documentaries, or indie games.

(Also thanks to everyone participating in this project!)

CH FR

Majormilk sent me a copy of the magazine when he went to comiket, you’re right that holding it in your hands feels very special!

MoonTDN

MoonTDN

Fun fact this magazine is Trump themed since it’s a MAGAzine

MajorMilk

I’d like to draw more collaboration artwork

MoonTDN

We really should do more

MajorMilk

🦀

Rather than any event, I would want artists to share their knowledge with each other so that we may grow together.

smileyshirt

Admittedly, I’m not super in the loop about the more obscure things going on within the community… but I’ve noticed more generally an increase in custom art and animation in the YTPMV and Otomad space. Ever since IWF2021, which featured a lot of custom art and assets, I feel like it’s been popping up more and more! The latest Morsay collab from a few years ago had a part that was entirely 2d animated, and I was really impressed by that. And it seems like it’s a staple for the most recent NYDs to include a part with an animated dance sequence. Which I wholeheartedly approve of! I love seeing that this is becoming the new “meta” for visuals. It’s a lot more creative, interesting and fun than the shockwave epidemic from the 2010s, lol. This increase in animation and art in the community definitely had a big influence on my visual style, and played a big part of making the Unwelcome School part from NYD2025 happen!

1時

Lately, is there any event in the community that caught your eye? What are some things that you would like to be more common?

→ I’m the type to just go with the flow with things that aren’t related to me, so I don’t really have an opinion on that. However, one thing that piqued my interest was this collaboration posted as part of Otomad HUA. The approach of using a character that is a stand-in for Otomad maker himself is an interesting, since Otomads usually require a publicly-known character as an element in their structure.. The art posted under the 音FA tag follows the way of Video>art, but I wonder what would happen if we had a more interconnected, rich and flexible relationship between the two.

→For another interesting trend, there’s the tag 東雲アカコ (Shinonome Akako) At first glance, it appears to use some sort of indie animation as a source, but it’s difficult to actually find the source material, and many seem to enjoy the mysterious elements on this trend. Personally, I just enjoy how much this original character gets up to. In the fact that you can enjoy it while completely ignoring the background behind the character and work I see the possibility of a real compatibility between Otomad’s structure of being aggressive and overbearing but really enchanting, and putting in new original drawings.

CH FR

Most of my notable achievements regarding drawing are joint works with Majormilk, doing things like a fully illustrated part or participating in a magazine.

While I don’t have any one specific artist that I really try to learn from, I have a ton of artists that I really enjoy, the two that come to mind the most easily are:

• Tokunou Shoutarou, his manga New Game has some very consistent and good character art
• Satoko Kiyuzuki, her sense of composition and use of colors in GA and Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is absolutely stunning

Tho I don’t think their influence really show in what I draw

CH FR

In terms of personal goal, I don’t really have that many when it comes to drawing. There are some very classic “would be nice” ideas like making a full doujinshi and such. I did some minor animation work in collab parts, but I don’t want to get too serious in this domain since this feels like another rabbit hole to pour a lot of skills into (and my skill distribution is already stretched very thin).

One of my more serious, but also more abstract goals, is to illustrate an album cover, there are a lot of album covers that I really like, such as the one for 凛として咲く花の如く (I really love this one’s composition)

I also like those slightly ecchi album covers that you can see in old EDM tracks, like the one in The Personalizer (but maybe this is also because I’m a huge, huge fans of Taishi’s music, especially when he’s doing tracks with Mitose Noriko on the vocals)

MajorMilk

I met my girlfriend after she saw my Comiket artwork. Even if I missed out on reprint revenue from publishing it online, I am very happy right now. My goals for illustrating is just that I hope to use them in a game I’d like to develop.

My inspirations are

• Akira Toriyama, I love drawing spiky hair because I used to draw a lot of Saiyans back in the day
• Yuyushiki, my moe drawings still have that funny wide face
• Nichijou, the artstyle is very flexible, so you can have something very cute and simple, or something erotic

CH FR

I’m glad you managed to both finish the calendar AND still find a way to get a stand to sell it thx to Moon’s circle

CH FR

I don’t think many westerners have actually gone and sold stuff (+ sold out) at comiket, make it twice and that number is probably even lower

MajorMilk

Specifically this piece she really liked.

Watch Hidamari Sketch and you may find the love of your life!

MajorMilk

Correction: Another fellow Kirara circle offered a spot for me

CH FR

ooh right, the other circle moon helped in was Otoeromag, not yours, I forgot

MajorMilk

Moon was helpful though and gave me the option of a last minute spot if I couldn’t find anyone

CH FR

This Yuno is one of the only times I’ve ever seen you draw eyelashes like that

MajorMilk

MajorMilk

Straight from Azumanga

CH FR

Can’t believe Yomi was voiced by Satsuki Yukino in Azumanga Web Daioh, would’ve loved to also have her in the main series

MajorMilk

Very few legchads left in the anime industry these days. Only feet fetishists rule it now [Sad news]

MoonTDN

I did the thumbnail for 知Otomad客 and I’m very happy that people love the original character. Her name is MadArthur by the way!

🦀

Do you have any works or achievements that you are proud of so far?

I draw one piece a day. I say this not out of pride, but confidence

Doing this got me drawing faster, kind of like doing croquis sketches with a little more work in them

What is your goal in drawing illustrations?

My goal is… I haven’t decided anything in particular, but it would be great if I could live only by creating.

What is the source of inspiration? (Artists, works, animations, etc.)

Human creation. I’m always watching outputs by other people. It would be an exaggeration to say I do this all day long.

イダルゴ

I felt really accomplished, having completed a whole manga. I really like it when I draw one picture out of a few that looks better than usual. When it feels like something I haven’t drawn, something out of the ordinary for my usual style, that feels great.

I’m usually at a bit of a loss since I don’t have anything in particular I want to draw when it comes to art. I often just kind of get my pen moving, chase a vague idea, make something that looks acceptable and call it a day. I’ve saved a bunch of drawings I like in my Twitter bookmarks, so I’ll often refer to those.

I do have the abstract goal of wanting to be better at drawing. Sometimes I’ll want to make some dark art, too. I’ve got a bunch of R18 manga story ideas, so I want to be able to draw a bunch more manga.

SakiZ

there’s an anime called The 100 girlfriends who really really really really really love you. I really enjoy the art and stories. The title seemed exaggerated but I realized the authors were serious about drawing 100 characters. I was inspired by their commitment and wondered if I could somehow include some 100 characters in a mad

CH FR

So that was one of the things that drove you to do the kyuu kurarin video huh, I never would’ve guessed.

チョコ味バ一ムク一へン

Do you have any works or achievements that you are proud of so far?"

I’m proud that I was able to finish this animation in almost a month

What is your goal in drawing illustrations?

I’ve got a lot more drawings I have to do lately, so my current goal is just meeting deadlines.

What is the source of inspiration?

Recently, the number of hand-drawn videos has been increasing, and every time I see such videos, I get inspired.

Theas

Do you have any works or achievements that you are proud of so far?

I probably can’t call it an achievement per se, but I was pretty happy when a video of mine focused around illustrations got 100k views.

What is your goal in drawing illustrations?

I’m having a lot of fun drawing now, and that’s enough for me. I really don’t want to forget fun this stuff is, so I actually don’t want to get better. Kind of like with Otomads.

What is the source of inspiration?

My For You page on X is full of pictures of girls I like. It’s that.

ColaLK

①What are some works or past accomplishments you are proud of?

It’s got to be these full illustrations from last year (although it feels like I’ve brought them up countless times in my entourage). Having stayed for a really long time in my comfort zone of doodles until last year when I specifically studied colouring, it even felt kind of unreal when I finished them.

②What are some of your goals when it comes to illustration?

As a long-term goal I’d like to become a serious illustrator in my own right. For something shorter-term, I hope to do more studies like last year to find a workflow that works for me.

③What are some of your inspirations (artists, works, anime, etc…)?

I can list some artists who have majorly influenced me: こかむも - who led me to the sharp and pointy side of the Moe style. In place of hesitant chicken scratches are the confident strokes-in-one, thanks to studies of their work back when my foundations were still shaky.

きゆづき さとこ - who led me to finding my own preferred style of combining characters and backgrounds with a great balance in layering and clean lineart. I really enjoy the pure and lovely aura, as well as just the raw ability to be able to cleanly deliver regardless of the tone in just the right amount of shape-defining strokes.

つくみず - whose works I reference for the tonal and emotional aspects of my illustrations.

I also look at the doodles from animators sometimes, to learn how to make lineart that builds tension and pops with motion.

#2025年自分が選ぶ今年の4枚
跟风 今年就这四张啦 pic.twitter.com/4hIABsC7gI

— LK (@ColaLKKKKK) December 19, 2025

smileyshirt

Looking back on my work, I feel like I’m really just getting started. I had been including art and illustrations in my work here and there for years, but ever since NYD2025, I feel like it marks a new era for me, and that there’s a whole new world waiting to be tapped into. I have a lot of bold and ambitious goals for the kind of things I’d like to accomplish within this space. Hopefully, you’ll see them come to fruition! I don’t know if I have any specific shoutouts to make, but it’s nice to have friends to bounce ideas off of and get excited about concepts with. The planning phase is often just as fun as actually creating stuff. I’m really excited to see where this community goes as we move into the second half of the decade, and I’m looking forward to seeing lots of fun new ideas and illustrations!

1時

What are some works or past accomplishments you are proud of?

→ I generally like all the art I’ve drawn, but speaking strictly about Otomads, I’d say it was my part for the Dance Robot Dance Otomad relay collaboration, that was posted on April 2025. I was happy I managed to make it like the type of MVs I like, where characters with intriguing backgrounds appear. I’m a fan of Shizu’s videos. So while there were areas for improvement, I did feel a sense of accomplishment. I also personally feel proud of the art I submitted for otoMAGAZINE2 based on Chuoes and 1-Q, as I feel I managed to represent a scene I wanted to see.

What are some of your goals when it comes to illustration?

→ As I said earlier, I’d like to expand the possibilies of what I can do with illustrations. Of course, I’d like to dig deeper into what makes art more appealing, but I don’t have enough time lately…For now my goal is to always be available to draw.