Charlie Yellow

Charlie Yellow is a Japanese-born illustrator based in Chicago who brings yurukawa (cute but quirky) to life. She celebrates everyday charm and the beauty of diversity—or even hidden thorns—through colorful illustrations, zines, and riso prints.

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Risograph Trials & Inky Triumphs

Printed at Spudnik today! Some tiny discoveries, a few head-scratches, and lots of inky joy. The Osusowake Club is coming to life!

monthly recap

Monthly Charlie’s Playground: October 2025

Between art fair prep, color separation chaos, and an emotional Peachtober exit, October was wild—but full of good lessons.

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My Brain Is Fried, But Osusowake Club Is Hatching Nicely!

I've been glued to Procreate doing color separations all day, and yes—my brain is totally fried. But!! Osusowake Club is finally hatching into the world.

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チャーリーイエローの「季節のおすそ分けクラブ」始めます

季節の“ほっこり”をイラストでおすそ分け！チャーリーイエローが始めた、勝手に届くポストカードプロジェクトです。

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Pamphlet Time: What Even Is Osusowake Club?

Today I worked on the bilingual pamphlet for Osusowake Club! Because if I just mail people art with no explanation… they’re gonna be confused.

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Osusowake Club: Production Week Begins!

Kicking off a big production week for Osusowake Club! There's still a lot to do, but I’m taking deep breaths and going one step at a time.

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Our First Art Fair: So Fun I Want to Do It Again!

Yesterday was Chicago Publishers Fair—and it was SO much fun! Like… “can we do another one already?” level of fun.

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Street Art Forage: October Edition!

It’s that time again—my monthly street art forage is happening today! And wow, October was full of weird and wonderful finds.

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Getting Ready to Table (For the First Time Ever!)

Tomorrow is Chicago Publishers Fair! First time putting price tags on our work and showing it to real people. Let’s gooo!

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Osusowake Club #3: Cat & Wrapping Paper

Started the third Osusowake Club illustration—this time featuring a cat I’ve been drawing for 20 years! No more just my face!

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Getting Solid (No More Fuzzy Ink!)

Finishing up the message card for my friend—and testing solid pens this time. Risograph fuzz + fuzzy pen = not cute. Lesson learned!

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Studying Risograph Like a Nerd

After last week’s print flop, I grabbed all the risograph prints we own and took notes like a total nerd. Time to learn from the masters!

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Running Out of Time (and Energy, Too)

With only 11 days left in October, I had to pause Peachtober—ouch. But I need to focus on the work that really matters right now.

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Testing, Tweaking, Still Not Quite There

Went back to Spudnik today to test one more layer on the tree print. Better… but still not quite right. Next week: redraw!

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Heartbreaking but Helpful: Risograph Lessons

Printed my Halloween card and attempted the Christmas tree risograph… and learned the hard way what not to do. Ouch, but okay!

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Print Day Eve: Separations, Layers, and Surprises

Tomorrow is the first Osusowake Club print day! I did the color separations today—and finished in just 30 minutes!?

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No sad postcards allowed

I fixed some distracting snow and resized the artwork so it’ll fit in frames and envelopes around the world. No sad postcards here!

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Snow Tweaks and Dancing Warmth

Got the OK on the colors, so today I made some layout tweaks and tried to bring more movement to the snow around them!

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Snowman Dance: Color Test

Still working on the snowman dancing illustration—tried some colors today! Might let it sit overnight and look again tomorrow.

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Snowman Dance Time (And a Custom Thank-You Card!)

This week I’m starting the second Osusowake Club piece—snowman dancing time! Also making a one-of-a-kind thank-you card on the side.

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First Osusowake Club Design Complete

I added yellow light, simplified some shapes, and adjusted the colors—and now the tree makeover illustration is done!

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Marine Red Saves Christmas (Maybe)

I repainted the Christmas tree today—swapped florescent pink for Marine Red and layered teal with federal blue. Better? I think so!

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Color Crisis: What Happened to My Tree?!

I thought I’d finish the final illustration today, but after coloring… something felt off. Time to rethink tomorrow!

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Tree Makeover Auditions: Which Angle Wins?

I picked the Christmas tree makeover idea and tried drawing it from different angles. Can’t decide! But tomorrow is final art day!

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Snowman Dance, Tree Fashion, and Too Many Presents

I picked three ideas from yesterday’s sketches and started working on making them move or into little comic scenes.