Part 1The Chatty Suki-Usagi and Quiet Chikyu-chan
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- The Hobonichi Techo 2019 Spring cover is done! Here are the 3 types of Suki-Usagi covers for A6 Original, A5 Cousin and Weeks, and the A6 Original size cover Chikyuu-chan.
- Q-rais
- They look super cute. I’m really happy with how they turned out.
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- The Suki-Usagi cover has 2 tails, though. Is that okay?
- Q-rais
- That’s totally fine. Suki-Usagi’s even had 4 ears at one point. (Laughs)
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- Then that’s good to hear. Could you tell us a bit about Suki-Usagi?
- Q-rais
- I first drew Suki-Usagi sometime in 2015. There were a lot of negative things happening in the world, and it felt like people were also starting to speak more negatively than usual. So I drew out a comic where Suki-Usagi would freak out and love every little thing. In the beginning, the story took place somewhere on a mountain, but at some point Suki-Usagi had evolved into what they are today, a no-good moocher rabbit who loafs around Q-rais’s house.
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- Did that change happen naturally as time went on?
- Q-rais
- I had a panel one day where Suki-Usagi suddenly burst into my house and started watching the movie Alien 2 without permission. That was funny to me.
I’ve also written blog posts about solo trips I’ve gone on, except I write about having gone with Suki-Usagi. That’s how Suki-Usagi and Q-rais came to be together.
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- You’ve made a lot of characters besides Suki-Usagi, right?
- Q-rais
- All the other characters have appeared through the comic strip I’ve been updating to my blog. It’s not that I sat down to actively design characters I thought would catch on, or anything like that.
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- And those characters all took off in popularity, regardless.
- Q-rais
- I’m very grateful for it. I have considered writing a little more about characters that were received very well on my blog and on Twitter, but in general, I just draw things I’m interested in, and when I lose interest, I stop. It’s important to keep in mind the audience response to something, but my own interest in creating something is just as important. And on that note, my favorite character is Chaako. So whether readers actually like Chaako or not, I’m going to keep drawing that character.
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- I love Chaako!
- Q-rais
- I’m hoping that fans of Suki-Usagi will also become Chaako fans.
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- So we know you were formerly an animator, but when we see Chaako in your work, we get a particular sense of animation in that character.
- Q-rais
- Yeah. I like creating animations, and I’ve got a few ideas for some, but I just don’t have the time to make them yet. So in a way I’m taking that stress of being unable to make animations and releasing it into my drawings of Chaako.
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- Animation takes up a lot of time and effort, but does it have aspects you enjoy that you can’t find in drawing comics?
- Q-rais
- Certainly. It’s fun making characters come to life. The best part is when a character’s movement turns out even more interesting than I’d expected. With animation, you generally sketch out a storyboard before starting on the animation itself. But my animation “I like ducks,” I didn’t plan out any storyboards, and just made it up as I went along. I had so much freedom, and I had a lot of fun making it.
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- You’ve been taking on more commissions recently, including the character Chikyu-chan for our Hobonichi Earth Ball. What does this character mean to you?
- Q-rais
- Chikyu-chan doesn’t talk, so that’s nice. It lets me draw with a bit more freedom to interpret what Chikyu-chan is thinking. I think having that aspect open to interpretation is what’s so appealing about the character. It’s the exact opposite of my chatterbox Suki-Usagi character. (Laughs) I think it’s cute.
（Continue）
To celebrate the release of the Suki-Usagi and Chikyu-chan covers in the Hobonichi Techo 2019 Spring lineup, Q-rais has drawn us a special comic starring both characters!
©Q-rais