Kaoru Takemoto
(SHE/HER)
Kaoru is an illustrator from Japan, with a particular love for drawing animal characters. Her project often begins with a fascination with individuality and freedom in her subjects—whether found in a child’s posture or casual remark, or in the movements and characteristics of animals. She explores ways of illustrating these small moments through narrative.
Before moving to the UK, Kaoru worked as a graphic designer in Tokyo. As a child, she loved picturebooks. A key part of her process involves asking what so deeply excited her as a child about the books she encountered. This reflection has become a dialogue between her childhood self and her present-day practice as an illustrator.
She works with mixed media, including painting, collage and printmaking, with texture playing an important role in her work. Outside of illustration, she enjoys dancing, baking, and going on bookshop crawls.
Website: kaorutakemoto.com
Instagram: @eyes_kaoru
Email: eyes.kaoru.art@gmail.com
WILD VISITORS
A boy living in a small city wishes for animals to visit him. The story depicts playful interactions with animals that appear in human-designed environments, while expressing the boy’s affection and kindness toward them.
ONE OF MY ORDINARY DAYS
Capturing childhood emotions in ordinary days, this story unfolds through the gentle, curious eyes of a child giraffe.
OUR SMALL WORLD
As children learn new things little by little each day and grow, their imaginations expand during playtime as if they are on a journey, just as the toy train travels along.
