Interview with Artist Acky Bright: World Debut with "Doodles" He's Been Secretly Writing at Work

"Acky Bright" (a.k.a. Acky) is an artist active not only in Japan but also on the world stage, creating illustrations characterized by his "delicate touch in black and white" and "bold composition.

He has been recognized by the curator of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York) as an upcoming artist, and has participated in the "CULTURE GATE to JAPAN" program conducted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan, and overseas, he was in charge of the variant cover art for DC Comics "THE JOKER" and the manga for BMW's "HEROES OF RIVALRY”. His solo exhibition "BORDERLINE" will be held at Nagoya PARCO from August 28 (Sat) to September 12 (Sun), featuring only black and white works drawn with a single pen under the theme of "line". The venue will be changed by Acky's "doodles" without sketching every day, and the venue itself will be used as a workshop to show his work.

Acky, who says, "I want you to see the changing venue and me, who might be getting skinnier or fatter (laughs)," is actually a founder and planner of a design company. This is a rare text interview with Acky, who posts almost nothing but illustrations on social networking sites.

Reporting and writing by Yuka Abe; Editing by Yuta Onda

The artist is also an exhibit, the goal "experience" solo exhibition "BORDERLINE" will aim.

──Congratulations on the opening of your solo exhibition "BORDERLINE". I was surprised to see that you will be in the gallery all the time during the exhibition and that you will use the venue as your work space.

Acky (Acky Bright) I wanted to include all my work. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of exhibitions and events for artists. I have the impression that many people just come to buy goods, take pictures, and leave. I have the impression that many people come to buy goods, take pictures, and leave. This is probably because they have never seen the work before. I think it's because they have seen the work before because they can see it online.

I think the most interesting thing about going to an exhibition is that you can experience it. I think that's why I want to incorporate elements that you can't understand or see unless you go to the exhibition. I want to incorporate elements that you can't see or understand unless you go.

I want people to enjoy the process of completing the works on site during the exhibition. Even if it may not be finished until the last day (laughs).

When you draw every day, there are days when you feel like you can draw today, and days when you feel like you can't draw at all. On days when I'm having a really bad day, I might just fix a few small details, but I think the pain is part of what makes the work real. I hope you will think of the artist as an exhibit. ──There are a lot of artists who don't show their faces, but it's very avant-garde to say that the artist is also an exhibit.

Acky (Acky Bright) In Japan, most artists are anonymous illustration icons, but overseas, it is common for people to show their faces. Whenever I work with people from overseas, they always say, "Fans want to know who drew the pictures! That's why you should be at the event! So come to the event!" The idea is that people want to know who the artist is, and by showing up, the work will be more exciting.

I think there are times when showing your face interferes with your work, but if people don't see your work as a result, I don't mind. I myself don't usually do Instagram live or YouTube, and I don't often show the making of my work, so I wanted people to be able to see the artist as well in this exhibition.

Also, sometimes when I do live drawing at events, it's a different kind of fun and interesting than drawing in a cage. I'm hoping that I can make new discoveries when I draw under a sense of tension while watching people's reactions.

pic.twitter.com/zg7u7rEvvE

— あき(Acky Bright) (@aki001208) August 15, 2021

──That's a feeling that only Acky, who actually works overseas and has many fans, can give.

Acky (Acky Bright) I guess so. It has nothing to do with my solo exhibition, and it's not the reason why I show my face, but actually, people sometimes don't think I'm Japanese, or they have an image of me as a woman, probably because of the illustrations I draw.

When I first started Instagram, an Indonesian guy of about 20 years old sent me a lot of DMs saying "Hi!" After exchanging a few messages, he seemed to have noticed and said, "I can't believe it! "I wanted to get to know a Japanese girl!"

I was shocked when he expressed his shock in English with a lot of slang, so I changed my profile picture to my own photo and started using DMs in a closed manner. I'm sure there were DMs asking for work, but thanks to him, I may have lost a few jobs ...... (laughs).

A very sadistic drawing project where everything in the venue is an exhibit

──The exhibition will include "black and white original illustrations" and "analog drawing" on a huge wall and various objects. Could you tell us about each of the exhibits?

Acky (Acky Bright) I have prepared more than 100 original analog drawings from my first illustration book, "DOODLE," as well as all the drawings I have on hand. There are also original drawings of my current SNS icon and drawings in pencil and sharpie before coloring.

We will not only display them in simple frames on the wall, but also allow you to buy the original drawings you want. Since I can't display 100 drawings at once, I will display the next drawings after each purchase.

Because the drawings will change everyday, I would be happy if you could just drop by and see if there is a painting you want today. Acky (Acky Bright) A 2m×5m collage of about 80 other illustrations will be displayed on the wall. The collective lines of the black-and-white illustrations make them look different from the way they look on their own. There are some interesting things you can't feel on the screen, so I hope people will look at the real thing to find their favorite parts and take pictures.

In the exhibition space, I plan to draw mainly on the giant wall, but also on the walls and floor, and just draw as much as I can without getting PARCO mad at me. I'll also be drawing on chairs, helmets, torsos, leather jackets, and other 3D objects prepared. It's a very sadistic project, isn't it (laughs)? ──Indeed (laughs). Why did you decide to start drawing on three-dimensional objects?

Acky (Acky Bright) I drew on a skull model once. It's really difficult to draw on a spherical object. When I told that to the person who planned the exhibition, he said, "It's interesting, let's do it!

Also, as the title of my illustration book "DOODLE" suggests, my basic style is to draw on anything and everything. With just a pen, I can draw anywhere. I thought it was interesting to see the freedom of expression that is unique to analog art.

The drawing on the skull model that inspired the work shown in the solo exhibition. He said, "It's quite difficult to draw on a curved plastic surface with a single stroke of an oil-based pen, because it's slippery and there's no pigment." Acky (Acky Bright) I don't know if it is possible in this time and age, but I'm thinking of consulting with the stores in PARCO and doing some doodling on POP advertisements and shoppers.

........ What if the little kids in Nagoya take this opportunity to doodle all over the place and get angry? I may have to write, "Don't try this at home.” (laughs)

──(laughs) But I think that your solo exhibition, which conveys the joy of drawing, might encourage more people to want to draw pictures too.

Acky (Acky Bright) That's very good, isn't it? " I'd be most happy if people said, "I'd like to try drawing.” I am here every day, and I am also the exhibit. So I'm always available to sign and draw. I think it would be nice to have some kind of communication where visitors can draw pictures in the exhibition space as long as time permits. I think it would be nice to have some kind of communication.

I'm also planning to distribute my drawings in some form. I'm also planning to broadcast my drawings in some way so that people who can't come in person, including overseas fans, can see them. We are also going to have online shopping for merchandise. I'm very grateful for this, because I wanted to make my solo exhibition something that people who couldn't come in person could enjoy.

"DOODLE," which I drew pretending to be working

──How did you come to draw “black-and-white”, “line-drawing” illustrations, a doodling style that you are conscious of in your solo exhibitions?

Acky (Acky Bright) I've been drawing pictures on the back of flyers since I can remember. Since then, I've been mostly self-taught, and I've come to my current style. I started posting on social networking sites like I do now in about 2017, but at the time I was pretending to be working at the office, drawing doodles and posting them (laughs).

My main job is at a design company, and I also work as an illustrator, but I do a lot of work for large companies, and I draw conservative pictures, which is in contrast to the pictures I draw as an illustrator. So, to be honest, I was embarrassed.

However, I couldn't draw digitally because the layout of the office was such that other staff could see my PC screen. So, I decided to pretend I was writing a rough draft of a proposal on paper and I actually was drawing. I started drawing when I couldn't do anything major like coloring, so that became an extension of my current style. ──So you didn't tell anyone at the company that you were doing this?

Acky (Acky Bright) It was around April of 2020 that I was able to tell everyone at the company that I was also working as an illustrator. It was finally when we got together just in time to declare a state of emergency and switch to remote work.

Even before that, clients from Overseas, such as Americans and Germans, had been coming to the office for meetings about illustration work, and people had been wondering, "He’s having another meeting, what kind of work is it ......?" I had a faint sense of that atmosphere, so I thought I should tell them (laughs). Everyone was surprised.

When I started working as "Acky Bright," I wasn't thinking about making money or a job. I'm a planner and a business owner in my day job, so I started painting partly to take it easy. In the end, many people turned it into a job, and here I am now.

"Draw what you want to draw honestly."

──You have been drawing a lot of illustrations with the motif of "girls and weapons (mechanical)" since you started posting them on SNS.

Acky (Acky Bright) I don't remember much from that time, but I think I was interested in drawing girls.

I was never good at drawing girls, and I rarely drew them outside of work. I used to draw only male characters. However, once I started drawing them, I found it easy to add variations.

There is a lot of diversity in hairstyle, body shape, makeup, fashion, etc., and the combination with machines is an interesting contrast. I thought I could combine various textures, like something tough and something soft.  Acky (Acky Bright)  But I'm a contrarian, so while drawing girls, I would sometimes draw creatures and men, saying, "Don't think that's all I got.”

Right now, I get a lot of requests for "girls and weapons (mechanical)" in my work, so it just happens to be the center motif, but that may change if I get more requests for other motifs in the future.

──I've heard that you don't have a strong preference for a particular motif, but is there anything that you stick to when drawing illustrations?

Acky (Acky Bright) I try not to look too much like other people's drawings.

I'm very much influenced by people like Mr. Katsuya Terada and Mr. Akira Toriyama, who are like gods to me, so I can't stop myself from doing that. I don't try to imitate their symbolic elements. When I decided to become a professional, I stopped copying the symbolic elements of other people's drawings.

Also, when I draw as an artist, I value the feeling of "drawing what I want to draw honestly.” I don't often draw what is popular in order to get someone interested. ──There are some trends in the expression of the last part of the story, but are you not aware of them?

Acky (Acky Bright) As a planner, I have to be a bit of a mainstream, so I check the latest trends and fashions and understand their merits, but I don't really enjoy drawing such illustrations myself.

──Is there any way in which your work as a planner and designer can be applied to your activities as an artist?

Acky (Acky Bright) I think it's unconscious, but I think it's mutually influential. The planner's way of thinking is similar to the way I structure and create stories for manga. Even in my illustration work, if I have an idea for a promotion, I try to convey it without being rude.

Also, I think it is very important for anything that can be called "design" to be "recognizable" at a glance, so I think the way I place space and trim the image naturally expresses this in my illustrations.

Doodles are not about quality, but about stance

10月発売のDC「ジョーカー」の
バリアントカバーを描きました。
I drew a variant cover for The Joker # 8. It will go on sale in October. pic.twitter.com/CD1MRqf7AO

— あき(Acky Bright) (@aki001208) July 16, 2021

──Could you tell us about some of your most memorable work as an artist?

Acky (Acky Bright) All of the work I did this year left a deep impression on me, so much so that I haven't taken a day off since the beginning of 2021. I was honored to be selected by Paola (Antonelli), the famous curator of MoMA, to join the Agency for Cultural Affairs' "CULTURE GATE to JAPAN" project.

The BMW "Heroes of Valhalla" manga was also an impressive work. I worked on a weekly series of eight episodes, and I thought I was going to die (laughs). The deadline for the final story of the BMW manga was the same time as the deadline for the covers of KADOKAWA's manga magazine "Terran" and DC Comics' "THE JOKER". I was doing a ridiculous amount of work. I felt like my life was in danger, thinking "I'm working so hard, ......", but it was an intense and fun time (laughs).

Then, a little aside ......

──What is it?

Acky (Acky Bright) I was really impressed by what Paola from MoMA said to me when she introduced me. He said, "Your work is influenced by the manga and anime of the 80s and 90s, but with a modern sensibility.”

It made me personally very happy, so I decided to use it in my profile for the exhibition (laughs).

あき(@aki001208)先生のモノクロイラスト集を購入しました。かわカッコいい！ pic.twitter.com/CMaaLmudei

— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) June 19, 2021

Acky (Acky Bright) Also, Mr. Yusuke Murata, who is known for his work on "One-Punch Man," said, "Kawakakkoi," (meaning cool and cute at the same time) on Twitter so I also put that in.......

It was difficult for me to come up with my own profile, so I thought of it by adding a few words given to me by people I like. As a result, I came up with the sentence: "Kawakakkoi art from '80s and '90s manga and anime' and 'modern sensibilities."

──I never thought I'd hear the story behind the birth of your profile sentence (laughs). As an artist, you participate in various projects both in Japan and overseas, but are you still conscious of your "doodle" style?

Acky (Acky Bright) I have a fundamental mindset that "the most ideal thing is to be able to express myself in a way that I like and feel comfortable with," including in my work. In short, for me, doodles are not about quality, but about stance. "The kanji for "doodle" is "fall + write," but I think it also has the meaning of "fun + write."

Sometimes people say that the quality of my illustrations is not that of a doodle, but a rough drawing is not a doodle, and even a well prepared drawing is a doodle. In my mind, "doodling" means drawing freely and freely without any restrictions. Acky (Acky Bright) I think there are a lot of people, including myself, who try to work within the framework of precedent, not only in illustration, even when the client doesn't want it. They try to get into the discipline without realizing it.

We tend to try to find the right answer to how we should paint color, what kind of composition we should use, what we should do as a cartoonist or illustrator, and so on. In order to avoid this, I would like to continue to work freely from a "doodle" stance.

The appeal of black-and-white and line drawings, which can be drawn with just a pen and paper

──What do you think is the appeal of black-and-white and line-art illustrations for you?

Acky (Acky Bright) I think it's an edgy way of drawing, because the lack of color creates a blank space and allows the viewer to change the colors. I hadn't thought about it too much, but maybe that's what I find attractive about it.

Also, I'm not someone who studied painting in an academic environment, so this may be a cop-out, but the appeal of "black and white line drawings" is that anyone with paper and a pen can freely draw as much as they want. Anyway, I want to keep drawing even when I'm 90 or 100 years old. I think I can draw "black and white line drawings" for a long time (laughs). ──So the appeal of black-and-white and line drawings is that you can enjoy drawing them even if you don't have any tools or skills.

Acky (Acky Bright) Of course I understand the importance of basics, but even if you don't have it, you can still get out there and have some fun. If I can embody the idea that I might be able to move people's hearts even a little bit. It would be great if people could see my style and think, "I could do that too.”

In that sense, I would like to break all the boundaries of "this is the way it has to be" in my solo exhibition. The curator of this exhibition, EBISU HORIZON, also said, "Black and white line drawings are fine! I am very grateful that I was able to hold the exhibition with my own stance. I am very grateful that I was able to hold the exhibition from my position. Acky (Acky Bright) We wanted people to be able to take home information and experiences that they can't get online.
 
The venue and exhibits are gradually being completed, and I may gradually lose or gain weight (laughs), so we are aiming for an exhibition that changes a little bit each time you come and see it. I'm sure it will be very interesting, and I hope many people will enjoy it.

Autographed card from Acky giveaway!

We're giving away autographed cards by Acky to three people! Please check the outline below and apply.

【How to apply】
1.Follow KAI-YOU.net on Twitter（@kai_you_ed）
2.Retweet the following tweet.

あきさんサイン入りイラスト色紙を3名様にプレゼント！

1. @KAI_YOU_ed をフォロー
2. このツイートをRTで応募完了
（※8月31日23時59分〆切）

アーティスト／漫画家・Acky Brightインタビューhttps://t.co/neMZlTevbv pic.twitter.com/euIAKIAvHF

— KAI-YOU (@KAI_YOU_ed) August 25, 2021

【Application deadline】
Until 23:59, August 31, 2021 (Tuesday)

【Conditions for entry】
・Residents of Japan
・Follow KAI-YOU.net on Twitter.
・Those who are able to receive DM (Direct Message) on Twitter.

【Announcement of winners】
Two winners will be selected by drawing from among the applicants.
Only winners will be notified via Twitter DM.

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