“I want to make a cute world,” says Mana Ito, better known as Machico (twitter). The 23 year old illustrator started to become serious about illustration when she graduated from Tokyo Design Senmon Gakko in Harajuku two years ago where she had studied graphic design.

“I got involved with Kumamiki and Junnyann and participated in the Harajuku Fashion Walk and POP’NCUTE,” she explains. The colorful fashion of the participants of these two events became the inspiration for her work, cute drawings of girls in a palette of pastel colors. Especially pink dominates. “I think that all girls like pink,” she explains with a shy smile.

Machico looks like she jumped out of one of her own illustrations, she is wearing a pink and blue T-shirt with illustrations by Yurie Sekiya, a beanie with a self-designed unicorn attached to it, a mint green mini skirt, illustrated tights designed by herself, and pink platform shoes. While she is explaining about her art, she puts a pink lollipop in her mouth. It is very easy to understand why she creates this kind of art. She lives it.

Machico has participated in Tokyo’s DESIGN FESTA, Asia’s largest art extravaganza, three times. This week she showed at Design Festa Gallery in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. It’s Machico’s first time to exhibit at a gallery. It’s a good experience,” she explains, “ I have sold at club events, but with an exhibition you learn how to display your work and how to sell it.”

For this exhibit Machiko collaborated with her friend Nana Ito (not related to Machico), who uses the name gm (pronounce as goomy; twitter). Gm’s work is very similar to Machico’s, lots of cute girls in pastel colors, but gm’s colors are a bit darker and her girls a bit more mature. “I try to to express a feeling of antiqueness,” she explains.

Gm graduated from Tokyo Animation College in Takadanobaba last March, but she has decided not to pursue a career in animation. “It’s not for me,” she says, “I like illustration better.” Drawing opens the door to a world of gm’s imagination: “I can draw the clothes and hairstyles that I like, but can’t wear myself,” she explains.

Art work by Machico

Machico created the cover for Broken Doll’s “Reach for the Sky”

Art work by gm