Cygames Calendar, May 2023: Nurses Day
Liven up your PC or smartphone with the Cygames Calendar! We have one of our illustrators create a uniquely themed image each month and ask them to tell us about their creative process. May’s theme is Nurses Day.
Click here for this month’s calendar image.
- Illustration Team Eri
- Eri is currently designing monsters and characters while providing art direction for various projects at Cygames. She enjoys drawing illustrations on a wide array of topics and considers herself particularly good at drawing muscles!
May 12th is Nurses Day!
A chance to spread the word about their heroism
Why did you choose Nurses Day as the theme for this illustration?
- Eri
- When it comes to May, Children’s Day is the big event that comes to mind. Since it was already featured in last year’s calendar, I decided to go with Nurses Day instead.
Each year on May 12th, International Nurses Day is celebrated on Florence Nightingale’s birthday to honor the contributions made by nurses around the world. Florence Nightingale is considered to be the founder of modern nursing.
Children’s Day in Japan is a holiday held since ancient times to celebrate the health and happiness of children. Families mark the occasion every May 5th with carp streamers, samurai dolls, and sweets made from rice cake.
It might not be a familiar topic to everyone. What is it about nurses that made you want to choose them as the theme?
- Eri
- Personally, I’m fascinated by people who decide to go into nursing. As someone who’s received care from nurses many times, I’ve always been impressed by their ability to demonstrate kindness and resilience in the face of hardship. They’re able to make on-the-spot decisions, despite the fact that their patients’ lives are in their hands. I enjoy watching YouTube videos about nurses as well.
I see! Do you feel like you were able to portray those characteristics in this illustration? I’m also curious about the relationship between the boy and the girl.
- Eri
- I think so. I had an idea of what kind of nurses inspired me, so I tried to turn those qualities into actual characters—cute yet dignified, kind yet serious, and above all else, devoted to their job.
As for the boy and girl, I had originally planned on drawing only the girl, but ended up including the boy for the sake of visual balance. I have a vague idea of their relationship in my mind, but it’s hard to put into words.
Does the cross motif symbolize the d-pad on a game controller? It’s also really cool how you designed the outfits!
- Eri
- Yes, that’s right! Cygames is a game company after all, so I wanted to scatter the motif all around the illustration. I also tried to give my own unique take on traditional nurse uniforms for the characters.
I’m sure there were lots of parts that you enjoyed drawing, but was there one that stood out and felt the most natural to you?
- Eri
- I gravitate towards sketching small characters, so I had a blast creating the cute, fluffy bunny sitting beside the boy and girl.
Were there any distinct challenges that you encountered while working on this illustration?
- Eri
- Definitely the faces. They’ve always been a struggle for me, so I put in a lot of care and effort when drawing them. I think faces are the most important part of an illustration because they pull in the viewer’s attention.
Did you enjoy drawing from a young age?
- Eri
- Yeah! Just like any other kid, I liked to doodle when I was in preschool. Of course I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I thought, “Oh this is fun!” and kept going.
What made you want to pursue becoming an illustrator?
- Eri
- I just liked drawing, that’s all. The thought of becoming an illustrator or making this into a career never really crossed my mind. My work happened to catch the eye of someone in the game industry, and now here we are.
What is the best part about being an illustrator?
- Eri
- Art is just one of many components that go into a video game, and I think it’s pretty rare to hear people specifically compliment a game’s illustrations. Whenever someone says that the drawings are part of why they enjoyed it, that makes me really happy.
Is there anything about your job that creeps into your day-to-day life?
- Eri
- It goes without saying that I love video games, and game development in particular. That’s why even when I’m playing something for fun, I can’t help but think about how the game was made, its systems, and so on.
Is there anything else you want to share with our readers?
- Eri
- I hope my illustration inspires readers to ask, “What is this theme about?” It would make me very happy if my work encouraged people to do a little bit of research on the topic.
Cygames Calendar will be making its final installment next month. We’d like to thank all our readers for being a part of this amazing experience, and although it will be our last, we hope you enjoy the June issue!
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