Behind the Scenes of The Cat Who Wanted to Become a Tiger.

As an illustrator immersed in daily creative pursuits, thoughts of giving up surface and fade away countless times a day. "Still in my 20! I might be able to turn back now." "Hey, you're already 30! What are you going to do? You can't turn back!" Such internal conflicts unfold every day. One day, a quiet inspiration arrived to gently counsel the uncertainty within. A certain singer spoke on the radio, saying, "If you get caught up in societal norms and self-imposed conventions, giving up halfway on what you truly want leaves regrets. Those regrets linger in your heart, and eventually, you find yourself pursuing them again. So, it's better to wholeheartedly devote yourself to what you want to do." from the beginning, While my recollection may be a bit embellished, the essence was something like that. Until then, I had considered myself a smart individual who, based on age and comparisons with others, could easily abandon what I wanted to do and make rational life choices. But, it was just arrogance. I probably can't live life rationally. I felt that listening to this radio program. Let go of "giving up by listing plausible reasons." Since regrets accumulate, in the end, you will pursue them anyway. I remember silently engraving that in my heart. On another day, I was engrossed in playing a video game set in the Wild West, featuring unique characters. Among them was a particularly intriguing character—a member of a traveling circus who, during the journey, had lost the tiger playing the role of the signboard and sought my help. Chasing and capturing the tiger, it turned out to be a cat disguised as a tiger...! By coloring itself, it appeared as if it were a tiger. I was captivated by this scene. There was no shame or pride; they used what they had to the fullest, striving to become what they wanted to be. It seemed like they had given up on giving up and were living with all their might. This series of experiences led to the creation of the illustration, "The Cat Who Wanted to Become a Tiger."