Mangaka Kiyohiko Azuma has made a name for himself for his Azumanga Daioh and Youtsuba&! manga. But among artist circles, many praise him for his attention to detail, especially in doing backgrounds.

When he’s not busy working on a story involving Yotsuba and Danboard, he’s doing a few other sketches of his own. And to be specific, he loves sketching urban backdrops which many can consider as standalone artwork.

In an interview back in 2014, Azuma talked about using realism as opposed to cartoonish characters. He admitted that he leans towards the side of realism, but not fully.

“I lean toward realism, but at the same time, it’s not like I’m trying to make things actually realistic – what I’m going for is more like having a somewhat strange character within a realistic world. Now, that’s pretty standard in manga, but what I’m aiming for is to strike the right balance of being ‘somewhat’ strange – not too out there, but not too normal, either.”

Fans can also find Azuma’s urban sketches via Tumblr and DesignStack. They truly show off the mangaka’s attention to detail, as well as the realism he uses in his work.

source: Spoon Tamago