A Triple Collaboration Realized! The Picture Book "Tom the Candle Keeper"

At the beginning of May, I put out a call for collaborations.

Kazuki Nami raised their hand, and over the course of about a month, we created a picture book together.

And here is the completed work below.

To my surprise, Shiina Otowa joined in, and a wonderful triple collaboration was born with her narration!

Actually, when I received this story from Nami-san, I wanted to build the world of the story within myself, so I read it over and over again.

Every time I read it, I wanted to imprint the worldview even more deeply into myself, and I thought, "I want to listen to this repeatedly as audio data," and the first person who came to mind was Shiina-san.

But I worried and worried, wondering if it was okay to ask such a thing, and decided to try reading it myself. It was so embarrassing and awkward that I stopped before even a minute had passed.

Even though I kept thinking, "This narration has to be Shiina-san,"

I kept going in circles, thinking, "Is it okay to ask?" "Would it be a burden?" "Would she be troubled if I suddenly asked her this?" and I couldn't bring myself to say it.
But I really wanted to hear it.
If my drawings were layered over Nami-san's words,

and Shiina-san's voice was added to that,


the world of this work would surely expand even further.


Just as I was thinking that, Shiina-san actually reached out to me...!

Wait, was my inner voice too loud?
Did it reach all the way to Shiina-san?

I was so surprised by the timing that I thought exactly that.

From there,
・Nami-san's writing
・My drawings
・Shiina-san's voice
all came together to complete this unexpected triple collaboration.

This is a work I could never have reached on my own.

Hehe.
It's like a child we all raised together.

Nami-san, Shiina-san, thank you.

❤️Everyone, let's enjoy!❤️

It is a triple collaboration packed with those feelings.

I would love to hear your thoughts!✨

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask🤲