Momo Sugimoto

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Animals

Architecture

Children

Nature

Evening streets of Takayama brought to life in a stunning painting

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Eye-catching album cover design for Barefoot Spacemen's Tailspin

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Beautiful landscape designs for Sydney Harbour

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Illustration of a dog and birds on a mural by Momo Sugimoto

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Children exploring magical glowing scroll on desk in cozy library

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Momo Sugimoto creates imaginative worlds for children using minimalist figures, atmospheric lighting, and richly detailed settings.

Momo Sugimoto combines cute characters with atmospheric, richly detailed visual worlds.

Self-motivated and self-taught, Momo has a talent for crafting gentle, inviting environments that feel real and lived-in, using light and colour to create an atmosphere not dissimilar to stepping into a hobbit hole with Bilbo Baggins for the first time. Indeed, Momo’s inspiration ranges from Tolkien artwork through to Miyazaki, Magritte, Hopper and Kandinsky. Communication and creativity are major themes in Momo’s life, which run deeper than yet underpin her talent as an illustrator. Born in Japan, she’s travelled the world and has a degree in modern languages. Plus, she’s a skilled musician with a further degree in classical music. Maybe this is why her illustrations don’t just speak to us – they sing, dance and take us away to another place.

Approach

Working in Procreate or Photoshop, Momo focuses on colour and light to build the mood of a piece, using painterly gouache brushes, scratchy pencil strokes and grainy textures for realism.

Key software

Procreate and Adobe Photoshop.

Style

Simple in form, Momo’s characters are styled to appeal to children, grounded in settings full of life and texture, where little details help tell the story.

Languages

English and Japanese.

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? It wasn’t really until the pandemic forced me to slow down that I began looking towards different opportunities. It was also during this time that I got my first iPad, Apple Pencil, and Procreate, which opened the door to the world of digital illustration and whole bunch of new possibilities.Did you study illustration in college? Nope. It took a long time for me to realise that I could earn a living through art and illustration. I wasn’t fully aware of the interesting ways in which my illustration skills could be put to use across various industries, so my tertiary education actually began in classical music. From there my life took a few unexpected turns, eventually leading me to where I am now.Where did you grow up? I was born in Japan and grew up in Brisbane, Australia.Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? As a kid I’d always spend way too much time making my school projects look pretty, like the title pages and borders, and making sure my handwriting looked nice - the largely unimportant parts, as often pointed out by my teachers - because they were always my favourite parts of an assignment.Can you remember when you first saw art used in a commercial context? I’d say it was probably the illustrations on cereal boxes that I’d look at while eating breakfast as a kid.Where do you live now and what drew you there? I currently live in Sydney, Australia. I came here initially to study, and grew to appreciate its cultural diversity, good food, weather, and proximity to beaches and mountains. Oh, and I met my husband here.Describe your studio for us. My home studio is a work in progress at the moment, since I’ve just had a baby and I’ve had to rearrange my previous workspace to fit all of her things. That said, I also do a lot of my best work curled up on the couch with my iPad.Do you have a studio pet? I wish! I’d love another cat one day. Who or What is your biggest inspiration? My mum! We’re so different personality-wise, but I’ve always looked up to her and am constantly inspired by her. As a single mother who raised two kids in a new country while simultaneously building an impressive career over decades of hard work and still managing to be a kind, silly, and fun-loving person, she’s the most amazing person I know.What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? Eating good food with my family or close friends, with time left over in the day to work on my personal projects.Do you collect anything? I definitely like collecting random little things to remember my travels, as well as stationery and tote bags.What do you listen to when you work?Mostly music, though I do enjoy a good podcast too. What is your favourite quote? "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."What movie can you watch over and over? I don’t watch it very often these days because I’m so time poor and it’s so long, but the Lord of the Rings trilogy for sure.What is the last show you binged? The Studio.What was the last exhibition you saw and loved? The Archibald Prize.What was the last concert you went to? The DMA’S.If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Somewhere with snow, because it’s been far too long.Is there any random thing you consider yourself an expert on or any hidden talents? Hmm… I am pretty good at recognising film scores after listening to them for a couple of seconds… does that count?If you could only any eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Japanese food, of course!If a client paid you enough money to take a year off and create whatever you want – an open brief - no constraints – what would you create/deliver? A children’s picture book that I’ve both written and illustrated.Is there a type of job you haven't done yet, but would love to do? I’d love to work in visual development for tv or feature animation, and it’d be fun to make artwork for a craft beer or wine label.If you were not an illustrator, what would you be? A translator.What is the most challenging part of being an illustrator? The unpredictability of the industry which, while challenging, can also be fun in a way.What career advice would you give your younger self? Be true to yourself and don’t worry about what others think of you.