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Shiho So

Shiho So

Meet Tokyo-based illustrator, Shiho So.

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am Taiwanese born in Yokohama, Japan. I like to draw girls with a little 80s cartoon atmosphere and airy feeling. I also do artworks related to cassette tapes and records, video, magazine, web, VJ, etc. I came to Tokyo 2 years ago to learn illustration, and I am now I work in a Japanese design company called Highlights as an illustrator.

 

Describe the city you’re living in and what it’s like to live there.

Tokyo is clean, simple and quiet. The culture is so diverse and full of excitement especially the many elements of their music and design development. It inspires me every time.

 

Tokyo is clean, simple and quiet. The culture is so diverse and full of excitement especially the many elements of their music and design development. It inspires me every time.

What is the best and worst thing about living in your city?

Best: Security, Culture and Food.

Worst: Drunk men lying on the roads and the train station is horrible.

 

Give us 3 words that describe what it’s like to be a creative in your city.

Past, Now, and Future.

 

How did you start your career in art?

Japanese illustrator, Utomaru, made me want to be an illustrator 3 years ago. Her music videos and album artworks really inspired me. Eventually, I started to draw and make an Instagram account to put my artworks. Customers started contacting me after seeing my works in IG.

 

Japanese illustrator, Utomaru, made me want to be an illustrator 3 years ago.

Were the people around you supportive of your decision on working as a creative?

Yes, my parents encouraged me to go to illustration school in Japan and become an illustrator. Of course, they are really proud of me.

 

What are some goals and ambitions you have for your future work?

I want to hold a solo exhibition in Tokyo and other cities within two years. I also want to do official video artworks.

 

I want to hold a solo exhibition in Tokyo and other cities within two years. I also want to do official video artworks.

If you could collaborate with any person in the world who would it be?

Matsuda Seiko , Anri, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Perfume.

 

How would you describe the women around you?

They work hard for their dreams. They enjoy the moment. My friends in Japan are sometimes troubled by the cultural differences but they are never discouraged. Being with them makes me have more courage to face the future.

 

They work hard for their dreams. They enjoy the moment.

Were there any local female creatives that you looked up to when you were growing up?

I think my mom is one of the local female creatives I looked up to. My mother was a fashion designer. She once founded a brand in Japan and cooperated with the famous idol Matsuda Seiko. She entered the market in her own style, rested after retirement, and tried many things before finally switching to be a floral designer. Her transformation gave me a lot of strength and also a reference to my life. Now, I want to be an illustrator. In just two or three years, there are many unexpected achievements that happened to me, although I can’t imagine the things to come after. All I can do now is cherish what I have and work hard and challenge the new.

 

Are there any challenging aspects of being a female in your industry?

I think none. Your work represents yourself and it has nothing to do with gender.

 

Although hard work does not necessarily achieve the goal, there is no chance at all if you don’t work hard.

Do you have any advice to young women who are aspiring to work in your field?

Although hard work does not necessarily achieve the goal, there is no chance at all if you don’t work hard.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Shiho So.

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