Interview with debut illustrator RISA HORIUCHI

I am thrilled to introduce sisters Rina and Risa Horiuchi and their debut picture book K IS FOR KINDNESS. Illustrator Risa was in my summer SVA class several years ago and she just sent me the happy news that her first book has been published, a collaboration with her writer sister, Rina. CONGRATULATIONS! 

From School Library Journal: "The Horiuchi siblings bring a fresh appeal with this book's emphasis on incorporating kindness into daily life. The theme feels especially timely for today's audience, as parents and caregivers increasingly seek to instill empathy as a core value."

It is exciting to hear about an artist's debut picture book – can you tell us about your journey from idea to publication? How did K IS FOR KINDNESS get started? What were some of the stages of working on this book?

My sister Rina was inspired to write the book because of current events and feeling like the world needed more kindness. She wrote it hoping for a kinder world for her daughter (my niece) and her generation. Rina wrote multiple drafts, and I gave suggestions. Then, as the story was revised, I drew rough sketches of the main characters, and Rina gave me feedback. Once we were both happy with the text and the sketches, we made the book dummy and showed it to our agent.

 

A collaboration like this doesn't happen very often - Congratulations!

 

Yes, usually the author and illustrator for a picture book work completely separately! I have been drawing ever since I was a child, and Rina had many ideas that she wanted to turn into books, so it made sense for us to collaborate. We’ve both always loved children’s books. We do give feedback on each other’s work, which is nice.  We have been working on several book ideas in addition to K Is for Kindness, so we hope we get the opportunity to release more books together.

 

What was your favorite part of working on this book?

My favorite part of working on this book was drawing the lion and the scene with the Jaguar! I am a cat person so it’s always fun to draw big cats. 

 

And the most difficult part?

I think figuring out how to make the last illustration balanced and not too busy was a challenge.The last scene shows several characters at a picnic, doing different acts of kindness. So it was challenging to make sure everyone and everything was in proportion. 

What were you like as a child? Did you always draw and paint since you were very young?

 As a child, I always enjoyed drawing. Comic strips like “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Garfield” inspired me to draw my own animal characters and also comics. I was also influenced by movies like The Great Mouse Detective and Abel’s Island which is probably why I like drawing mice. 

 

When did you decide you wanted to do children's books?

In 2006, I had the opportunity to work on some illustration projects, and the process of planning and sketching for a picture book made me realize that illustrating children’s books was what I wanted to do. I then came to New York City and got my degree in illustration at SVA: The School of Visual Arts 

 

Do you have any special words of advice or encouragement for illustrators/writers starting out now?

I would say to connect with other illustrators and writers through critique groups. If you can, join organizations like SCBWI because you have access to different events and classes. Keep drawing what you love and don’t give up. 

For more about Risa, here is her website: risadraws.com

and her instagram: instagram.com/risadraws/

Good luck to Risa and Rina, and we look forward to many more collaborations!