Nov 26, 2025
4 minute read
What artistic process has most influenced your color palettes today?
"A lot changed for me once I started using the risograph machine in college. The risograph printing machine was created by a Japanese company Riso Kagaku Corp. in 1986. It was used by schools and churches for quick color printing before it fell out of use.
In recent years, it has been rediscovered by artists. I would describe it as a cross between a copy machine and silkscreen printing. Each color is printed one at a time, layering up to create the final image. I fell in love with this fast-passed printing process. Putting a digital piece through the risograph process takes that drawing out of a flat digital space and makes it into a physical product that has a unique handmade look with an interesting texture and a bright fluorescent color palette."
Risograph art by Lili Todd.
3D color analysis by Hoppn.
Hue waveform analysis by Hoppn.
Even when I am making something that will not be printed on the risograph, sometimes I enjoy approaching the color like I would be printing it - working with a limited palette of bright translucent colors that overlap to create new colors. This gives me limitations that can aid the color story of a piece and make it more cohesive."
At what stage in the design process does color enter?
"Recently, I have actually been playing more with this order of color application and line in my work. The usual way to use color would be to apply it last after line work, but sometimes I enjoy loosely putting the color first and then adding the line work on top. Drawing this way can replicate the look of printing when it is misaligned, which is something I like to see in my risograph printed work. It is also how I work on pottery…
…For my go-to drawing process on pottery, I first add a base glaze (usually white), then loose washy color, then black line work on top. I find it interesting to think about mimicking my ceramic process on paper and vice versa."
How do you view the use of color across your different mediums of art?
"Color is a balancing game that I really enjoy. And that game is played differently for my illustration work and my ceramic work. And I would say it is even different when working digitally or analog for illustration. But, in all cases, I generally enjoy bright joyful color that uplifts my positive messaging and gives images energy. "
You’re married to artist Keiji Ishida and often work in the same house. Has Keiji’s style influenced or inspired any color choices in your own work?
"I think his style has influenced my work over time. And I think that is common when artists are sharing spaces for a long time. Keiji is more intentional, careful, and graphic about his color use. I tend to be more loose about it, adjusting it as I am making, especially in my analog drawings and ceramic work.
But Keiji's use of color as more of a design element has made me aware of how sometimes a single color or very limited palette can give a piece strength and readability. It is another way to use color that works for many kinds of projects, especially in designing a product or digital piece."
Has a last-minute change in color ever shifted the way you see a piece of your own work?
"Using color digitally is the hardest for me because it can end up looking so flat. Honestly, initially I tend to go for the obvious colors (tree is green, sky is blue, etc.) So coloring an image and then mixing up those colors with a digital tool can break me out of that basic palette and create something more interesting."
"On Procreate, after I color an image, I like to pick a random color and drop it into my image which can mix-up and change all the surrounding colors. I have found some good color stories that way."
"Specifically I am thinking of a desert scene I drew for an electrical box project in Yucca Valley, and a comic I made for Oak Tree Comics about my experience with the Eaton fire. For both of these projects I had very different palettes originally, but found more interesting ones through this process."
"If you are interested in learning more about my comic Visiting Home with Oak Tree Comics, it will be published along with other middle-grade comics about the fires in an anthology titled We Are Los Angeles. A digital preview of the book will be released in the new year, and the physical book will debut in January 2027 on the second anniversary of the LA fires."
How have the paints and glazes accessible to you influenced your color choices?
"I enjoy the challenge of creating good color combinations from whatever materials are accessible at the moment."
"When I was working at Remainders Creative Reuse, an art supply thrift store in Pasadena, I would play a game with myself as I sorted through large bins of donated drawing materials to make the process more fun.
Every marker and pen needed to be tested, so with each drawing tool I would add to a drawing, trying to create a balanced image. It was silly and loose! And created some surprisingly fun images with lots of texture."
What artists or brands would you like to collaborate with on a future project?
"There are so many companies I would like to collaborate with. Recently I was thinking of Nooworks, a limited-run apparel brand based in California that works with a lot of illustrators to make fun fabric patterns."
"Other companies I am a fan of and dream about working with include Chronicle books, Enchanted Lion Books, Red Cap Cards, Baggu, and Meri Meri."
What can we learn from Lili's playful and spontaneous use of color?
Color offers near infinite possibilities, so don’t settle for the obvious. Try something new. If you'd like more from INFINITE COLOR SERIES, let us know by sharing and tagging @hoppn.
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