Czech painter Alphonse Mucha is a
renowned painter and illustrator
from the Art Nouveau period.
His paintings have figures with
elegant curves and soft pastel
shades that evoke a sense of
harmony, balance, and a truly
diverse spectrum of emotions.
The beautiful and unique style
Mucha created had a significant
influence on comics, art,
and design, which is why his work
remains popular to this day.
@juntakun, who was inducted into
the Hall of Fame in March,
also creates her own world of art
with cartoon characters featuring
distinct lines and colors.
Her work often features
a variety of cartoon characters.
@juntakun uses characters bearing
different facial expressions to
convey the emotions they’re feeling
and to show the emotions
@juntakun wants her audience to see
in a really sophisticated and
delicate way.
At the same time, the way her
cartoon characters evolve from
being a monotone sketch to a
symphony of different colors gives
others a whole new experience that
inspires something new and unique.
We can't wait to ask @juntakun
about artworks through an interview.
Now, let’s begin the interview
with the artist.
Q1. @PENUP
Hello, @juntakun!
Greetings from all of us
at the PENUP team here.
First, congratulations on
being selected for the March 2024
Hall of Fame.
Can you quickly tell us about
yourself and how it feels to be
a Hall of Famer now?
A1. @juntakun
Nice to meet you, PENUP.
Thank you for being inducted into
the Hall of Fame.
I was really surprised.
The day I found out was my birthday.
I was surprised by the number of
messages I had never seen before.
I have never had a birthday present
like this before.
I was surprised and happy.
At the same time, it still feels
like a dream to receive such a
big award.
I am bringing up two primary school
boys.
I have loved drawing since
I was a child and I went to
art college, but my schoolmates were all better
drawers than me.
It was around this time that
I decided to give up drawing
as a career.
I didn't paint for over 10 years and
did a completely different job.
But when my children were born and
I gave them crayons, I taught them
how to draw simple human faces.
I also drew with my children and
taught them to write during
the Corona epidemic.
Now I enjoy drawing as a hobby.
Q2. @PENUP
You uploaded your first piece
back in January 2019.
How did you find out about PENUP?
We’d love to know why you decided to
share your work on PENUP.
A2. @juntakun
It was an app that came with
my Galaxy smartphone and it was
easy to use.
I like it because it is easy to use.
I could see a lot of work by people
from other countries and I could
easily interact with them, so I felt
like I was opening up a new world.
Q3. @PENUP
You seem to love drawing cartoon
characters with some beautiful lines
and colors.
Can you tell us what you like to use
in terms of devices and apps
when you're creating your work?
A3. @juntakun
Device Galaxy S22 Ultra
Almost everything I draw is done
in PENUP.
The types of pens I often use are
dip pens, oil-based markers,
mechanical pencils, 4B pencils,
smooth brushes and brush pens.
I particularly like pencils and
mechanical pencils.
They feel and sound really good
to draw with.
I also tried Clip Studio for a bit,
but there was a lot to learn
and it was difficult for me.
Q4. @PENUP
You have all these distinct
characters on your feed.
We’re curious as to what inspires
you to draw them.
A4. @juntakun
Some of my drawings are inspired
by picture books, music, films and
literature, while others are based
on my own stories.
This drawing of wings was inspired
by Kenji Miyazawa's Yodaka no Hoshi.
The red picture next to it was
inspired by an old Japanese film.
Q5. @PENUP
Each of your characters has a
different personality and they
convey their own emotions.
Why do you like drawing and painting
cartoon characters and do you have
your own way of expressing
what inspires you to create your
characters?
A5. @juntakun
I have been familiar with anime
and manga since I was a child,
so naturally I started drawing them.
When I was little, my mother used to
draw pictures of princesses
and I used to imitate her.
Even now, I usually look at the
expressions of the models on posters
and photos in magazines to naturally
find what I like and what I want to
draw.
My sons also ask me to draw my face,
so I do.
I try to give them
natural expressions
that are not exaggerated.
Q6. @PENUP
You have cartoon characters that
seem designed exclusively by
yourself.
Do any of these characters have
hidden stories behind them?
A6. @juntakun
Of course there are.
I have many stories in my head.
The owl children are captured and
frightened by humans and see us
as the enemy.
The little girl in the red coat is a
rich, good-natured young lady.
I painted her at Christmas.
Q7. @PENUP
We also saw you take one sketch
and remix into various pieces.
Where did you get that idea from?
A7. @juntakun
I like to watch before
and after make-up videos on
TikTok and youtube.
So I put them up because I like to
see the changes from the same photo.
What do you think?
Now that PENUP has given me the
layering feature, I can easily do
this.
It's fun to see more and more men
wearing nice make-up these days.
Q8. @PENUP
You also draw characters from
existing comics and cartoons.
Do you have a favorite character?
Did any of the comics and cartoons
you’ve read impact your work?
A8. @juntakun
There are so many ...
Yumiko Igarashi,「Candy Candy」
「Lady! George!」
Masami Kurumada,「Saint Seiya」
CLAMP 「RG VEDA」「東京Babylon」
Yun Kouga 「Earthian」
「Sailor Moon」 Uranus and Neptune.
「YuYu Hakusho」 Kurama、Sensui
「Kimetsunoyaiba」 Sanemi、Giyuu
Other favourites were Japanese
visual-kei music, such as XJAPAN,
LUNASEA and GACKT.
Q9. @PENUP
Looking through the work you’ve done
over the years really makes us
curious as to what you’ll draw
and paint next.
Do you mind telling us what you’re
working on at the moment?
Also, do you have anything or
any subject, aside from cartoon
characters, you’d be interested in
drawing in the future?
A9. @juntakun
I practice portrait drawing.
I hope that will be my job.
At the moment I draw on
my smartphone, but I would like to
buy a tablet and draw more
spontaneously on a bigger screen.
Q10. @PENUP
Last question.
Please tell us if you have anything
you would like to improve or
the story you want to tell while
using PENUP
A10. @juntakun
I am generally happy with it
as it is.
If I may add, a shortcut to
clear layers and a shortcut to flip
the screen left and right would be
useful.
Thank you for always making drawing
fun.
I look forward to each update
as it just gets better and better.
Please keep up the good work.
And thanks to everyone
who has sent me congratulations
and given me so many likes.
How was the interview with @juntakun?
Alphonse Mucha once said,
“Art is the expression of innermost
feelings.”
@juntakun, like Mucha, conveys
various emotions using beautiful
cartoon characters and she shares
her own stories with everyone
who enjoys her art.
If you’re reading this interview,
why not think about your
own cartoon character and paint them
into a story yourself?
You could paint characters from
cartoons, or characters from
your own imagination and share
their stories with other PENUP users.
We’d love to see PENUP
filled with new and interesting
stories from you.
