Sakura

For the planetarium dome at Restaurant Alchemist, a visual chapter that leans into a distinctly Japanese atmosphere, reflecting the many dishes inspired by Japanese cuisine, was created.

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The concept was to give guests the feeling of sitting inside a living painting: a soft, European wet-on-wet watercolorbackdrop layered with traditional Japanese ink-style illustration. I hand-drew the branches and flowers using a traditional sumi-e brush, and the  VFX team brought the scene to life with subtle animation: falling petals, drifting texture, and motion designed to preserve a handcrafted watercolor look.

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A key part of the Art Direction was also to honor the history of Prussian Blue, a pigment introduced to Japan from Europe in the early 19th century. Its intensity opened new possibilities for Japanese artists, especially in landscape prints, and later returned to influence European art through Japonisme, shaping painters such as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh.

 

That loop of inspiration—Japan to Europe and back again—is exactly what this dome content celebrates: Japanese drawing traditions, Prussian Blue as a symbol of cultural exchange, and a European watercolor technique fused into one immersive, cross-cultural visual experience.