What’s That?

I sat and stared at the paper. Having finished drawing my favorite animal, the only homework I had left was to figure out my future. "What do I want to be when I growed up?" I had written carefully on the thin paper the color of wheat. My younger brother sat squirreled away in the corner, furiously scribbling and completely ignoring me. His teacher obviously gave him a less daunting task.

Oh, the choices. Maybe a baker? Those people who make the little dresses for Barbie had a pretty good gig going. I paced the room. A scientist...no, too dangerous. I looked around the living room and was momentarily distracted by the TV. All of a sudden, I tripped over a pile of books. As I gathered the Japanese comic books and small library of English children's books I'd knocked over, the choice was obvious: I was going to be a children's book illustrator! Didn't I just draw a fabulous kangaroo to represent my favorite animal? I even added a little purple bow on its pocket. This was by far the best idea in all of my seven years.

Thoroughly pleased with myself, I made the announcement. My brother continued to ignore me. My parents nodded and smiled. “That’s lovely,” my mother said, “can you pass me the green tea as long as you’re standing there?” For some reason, my mother was always asking me to get her the green tea tin regardless of how far I was from the kitchen.

I went to school the next day and shared the news with my best friend #1 and best friend #2 (I really called them that – I can’t believe they stayed friends with me):

Me: I’m going to do children’s illustrations when I grow up.

BF#1: What’s that?

BF#2: Yeah, what is that? Sounds lame.

Me: It’s not lame! I’m going to draw pictures for books. You know, like that book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’.

BF#1: Oh, I like that book.

BF#2: I’m going to be a ballerina when I grow up.

BF#1: Yeah! Me too.

Me: You are?

I went home and told my parents that I was going to be a ballerina instead. They smiled and nodded. I grabbed more tea for my mother. Then I looked over and saw what my brother was working on.

“What’s that?” I asked him.

“…a book.”

“What kind of book?”

“I dunno, for kids.”

“A children’s book??”

“…maybe,” he mumbled and turned away.

I peered over his shoulder and saw that it was indeed a book, neatly stapled, written and illustrated by my 6-year-old brother. His illustrations looked really good. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Children’s book illustration is lame,” and stomped off to practice some pirouettes. He continued to furiously scribble and draw and when he grew up, he became a very successful artist. As for me, let’s just say that leotards and I didn’t look too hot together…

All Articles:

What's That?
Ode to Fashion Plates
Flash for the Novice
I'm a girl
The Very World Wide Web
Joys of a Wee CD-ROM

About

SANAE ISHIDA: children's illustration and fashion illustration

Sanae Ishida creates children's illustration and fashion illustrations, CD-ROMs, Flash designs, websites and much more. She currently lives in Seattle, Washington. Sanae has been drawing for as long as she can remember and is heavily influenced by Japanese design and art. Her first exposure to children's illustrations came in large, telephone book-sized Japanese comic books. She also loved Japanese folk tales with woodblock print style images in somber colors that are not often seen in children's illustrations. As she grew older and the love for Japanese comic books gave way to a rather unhealthy obsession with Seventeen magazine, she started to draw fashion illustrations. She initially copied the fashion spreads in the magazines and gradually added her own design elements. She has been a professional doodler for over 20 years. For more information about Sanae's children's illustrations and fashion illustrations, contact me@sanaeishida.com.