Hello. I'm Wenlai, from the techo team.

For three days from May 1st to 3rd, we participated in an outdoor sketching event held in Shanghai. The official name of the event is "Shanghai Urban Sketchers."

The event was held during this period of Golden Week, which is a holiday season in China. The venue was a grassy area along the river, and on sunny days, it's a popular spot for people to take walks.



The Hobonichi booth was located in one of the sunrooms here. At the corner where visitors could try sketching in Hobonichi Techo, many families visited every day.

Children were using a variety of drawing materials lined up to draw freely and enjoyably. They seemed to be having so much fun.




Throughout the event, we held several workshops.

On the first day, we invited Lia as a lecturer, and went on a sketch tour with the participants. Lia is an illustrator who paints warm and gentle watercolor artworks.

We packed the Stappo with colorful pens and went to find subjects we wanted to draw.




It seemed that many participants were accustomed to drawing, as everyone was very skilled! There were many impressive works.




On the second day, there was a workshop by Maoz (猫子).
Maoz's techo pages feature a yellow cat character appearing throughout. They're a bit comical and cute!
It's said to be like an alter ego expressing her feelings.



Based on Maoz's style, the theme of this workshop was "Let's create and draw your original characters!"



With just a few tricks, the characters become expressive. Once you have your own standard character, the expression in your techo expands all at once.



The guest on the final day was e-Zai.
e-Zai quickly captures the outlines of people and landscapes with her brushwork, and paints with the combination of vivid colors.
It's tasteful and very lovely!



First, we practiced sketching indoors before heading out to the riverside.





"I'm not good at drawing at all, but because it was an event where everyone was doing it together, I was able to challenge myself. I'm glad I took the plunge to participate," one of the participants said.

Many people discovered the Hobonichi Techo for the first time at this event.
They were amazed that despite the paper being so thin, it didn't bleed through even when painted with watercolors or other materials.
Truly, it's the Tomoe River paper, demonstrating its prowess without fail.

It's also becoming a pleasant season to go out in Japan - how about your place? Why not take your techo and pouch with you on your days off and try sketching?

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