Illustrations that make people feel comfortable - Illustrator Kenichi Ikebe -

Kenichi Ikebe is an illustrator who draws illustrations for textbooks and advertisements. We asked him about what led him to start his current job, his dreams for the future, and his activities in the community.

A childhood hobby was the starting point

Ikebe specializes in expressive portraits. Recently, he has been receiving more medical and health-related requests, expanding his field of activity. When I asked Ikebe what inspired him to become an illustrator, he told me about two turning points.

Illustrations for educational media

The first turning point was when he was job hunting during his university days. When you hear the word "illustrator," you would think that he graduated from an art school, but Ikebe graduated from the Faculty of Literature. "I've loved drawing since I was little. There was a time when I wanted to become a manga artist, but I enrolled in the Faculty of Literature and continued it as a hobby," says Ikebe. After job hunting and receiving a job offer, he started to think about his life again at the point where he was planning to get a job.

When he had the opportunity to talk to his university professor about his worries and told him how he really felt, his professor encouraged him, saying, "You can start your life over, so if you want to learn a skill, I think you should go for it." He also said, "Why not try to do it globally, around the world, while you're at it?"

crayon drawing

With his parents' understanding, Ikebe went to the United States, and after returning to Japan he furthered his knowledge of graphic design at a vocational school.

My encounter with the profession of illustrator

The second turning point came when he was in design school in Japan. He was good at drawing interesting things and drew cartoons and illustrations of his teachers and friends. During breaks, his classmates would gather around his desk looking for those drawings. A teacher who saw them gave Ikebe a new encounter.

Looking at my sketchbook, the teacher said, "Why don't you use them for your assignment? These are pictures that only you could draw," and then told me about the illustration genre and about specialist magazines.

Following that advice, Ikebe immediately bought a specialist magazine and read it, and was shocked. Until now, I thought that being good at it was important, but there are many genres of art, and all of them are about "making people feel comfortable." This common point of "making people feel comfortable" is also the most important point for Ikebe, who works as an illustrator.

Graduation commemorative photo frame

After that, he got a job at a manufacturer and worked as a designer while attending illustrator school on weekends. After studying hard, he started working as a freelancer after about three years. Ikebe feels that all the experiences he had before becoming an illustrator are still useful in his current job, and that he is being helped by the people around him.

Future goal: giving back to the local community

When we asked Ikebe what he wants to do in the future, he said, "I want to think about giving back to the people who have supported me up until now. I especially want to give back to my hometown." Over the past few years, he has been gradually starting to work in his hometown of Yokohama.

Public relations magazine

Over the past five years, she has built a connection with the local community, writing a serial column for a community magazine and designing the packaging for sweets made at an employment support facility. Her cute, warm-hearted animal illustrations can be seen in the magazine and product packaging.

product packaging

He also teaches illustration classes for children locally and teaches at art universities. His illustration classes for elementary and junior high school students are extremely popular and are always fully booked. Ikebe said, "I don't teach to help people draw better, but to help them expand their imaginations while they're still young. I think imagination is important for anything we do in this world, so I'd be happy if I could help with that." It seems like it's hard to find vacancies, but if you're interested, check the website at the end of the fiscal year.

Illustration class

"I'm blessed with people," says Ikebe, and I think people and work naturally come to him because of his warm personality. He also actively collaborates with the local community, and there are opportunities to purchase items with Ikebe's illustrations at local stores.

Badges at local stores

Ikebe, who will happily share her stories with you with her lovely smile, creates illustrations that are all "comfortable."

Illustrator: Ikebe Kenichi.
Website here
InstagramHere
SUZURI (original product purchase site) here