Hello all! Sakaki here with our first translation collaboration!! I love the idea of supporting a Sunday community, and this is the first step toward that.
The translator is Violet who's on X (formerly Twitter) here or Bluesky here.
They're an up-and-coming translator who does lots of supplementary stuff for big series such as 86, My Happy Marriage, and of course Frieren!!
Full disclosure, I checked over this translation but neither of us are pros, so if you notice any mistakes please let me know. Also, do not repost this without my or Violet's permission.
This short interview comes from the recently released Frieren art collection. I'll include both the image itself and then the transcribed text.
Without further ado, let's get magical.
Tsukasa Abe: The Question-and-Answer Portion
As they paint the world of “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” with elegant brushstrokes, we asked Tsukasa Abe-sensei a variety of questions!
Q1: How do you feel about your first art book getting published?
A: One of my dreams is to publish an art book, so I’m very happy about this! Thank you very much for everyone’s support.
Q2: What did you feel when you first read Yamada-sensei’s storyboard for “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”, and what did you feel when you first started to draw for said work?
A: I felt I wanted to express some things with it through my artwork, such as facial expressions and the worldview. I haven’t exactly drawn an otherworldly fantasy work like this before, so I thought it was a challenge.
Q3: With this work, who is your favorite character? Can you give us a reason why they are your favorite?
A: EISEN. I have never drawn a character like him until I started drawing for this work, so it felt very new to me.
Q4: It’s known that Frieren likes to collect all sorts of strange magic, but what kind of spell do you think that would be “magic that would be nice to have”?
A: Magic that gets rid of drowsiness.
Q5: Just like Frieren, do you have anything that you collect?
A: Recently,I’ve been thinking about collecting various art books drawn by various people.
Q6: What was the event or the encounter that inspired you to become a manga artist?
A: I’ve been drawing a lot since I was a child. I want to continue drawing as long as I can, and since I love reading manga, I set out on becoming a manga artist.
Q7: Why did you choose “Shonen Sunday” as the publication to submit your work to?
A: I was contacted by the current editor-in-charge, and from there I submitted my work for the awards there, or something like that.
Q8: Have you worked as an assistant for other manga artists before?
A: I have worked regularly with three other manga artists before.
Q9: Can you give us details of your digital workplace and equipment?
A: - Software I use: CLIP STUDIO
- LCD tablet I use: Wacom Cintiq 22
- PC I use: DELL XPS Desktop 8950
- Left-hand keypad I use: Razer Tartarus V2
Q10: Do you remember which illustration took you the longest to draw? Please feel free to tell us.
A: I can’t say how long exactly it took, but drawing the cover illustration for this art book did take quite some time.
Q11: When creating character designs, do you have any real-life people you’re specifically modeling them from?
A: Once in a while, yes. Though not for the main characters, rather, I use them as references when drawing villagers who appear occasionally.
Q12: Can you tell us about your staff’s work environment and how many assistants do you have?
A: Currently, I have three assistants. Each of them works from home.
Q13: In your work, do you have any favorite town or place that you’d like to visit?
A: All of them. I want to travel everywhere there.
Q14: Do you draw anything besides “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” to take a breather, or something like that?
A: Sometimes.
Q15: In “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”, can you tell us about any particular points that you never compromise on while drawing?
A: The eyes…?
Q16: What kind of music, if there’s any, do you often listen to while drawing?
A: I often listen to songs without lyrics while drawing. But I listen to any song regardless of genre depending on my mood or the ambiance of what I want to draw. Recently, I’ve often been listening to ambient nature sounds (like the sound of rain).
Q17: Any favorite work of yours you haven’t stopped loving? (It can be comics, anything in print or on film.)
A: Persona 3.
Q18: Did anything change for you before your work’s serialization and after serialization? (Environment, lifestyle, etc.)
A: I wasn’t good with making colored illustrations, but now I’ve come to like them a lot.
Q19: Do you have any message for readers who purchased the Frieren art book?
A: Thank you very much for buying this art book. Did you find any artwork that you like? I hope to study more to draw better illustrations, so please look forward to it. Thank you very much!
T/N: I think you might be aware of this, but on Q9, Tsukasa Abe-sensei’s equipment can be spotted in this video: 【もっとロングver. 】史上初!? 少年サンデー 表紙イラスト作画作業公開!!
Comments
Post a Comment