Born in London in 1980, Ayano Imai spent much of her youth traveling the globe with her family. From 1986 to 1990, she lived in Japan, then relocated to the United States, splitting time between Connecticut and Los Angeles. After returning to Japan in 1994, she studied Japanese painting, specifically mineral pigment painting, at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. While there, she developed an interest in illustration. From 2003–2006, she participated in the illustration exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair. Her first picture book was published in 2006. She now lives in Chiba, Japan.
