Tomoko Nagai’s works are known for their recurring girlish subjects and for the density of their compositions. Her palette is characteristically comprised of pastel hues that shift subtly depending on the mood or a particular season embodied by a work. Her tableaux occupy indeterminate spaces appearing to be composites of several places, at once indoor and outdoor, varying between fine detail and flatness unto abstraction. Recurring motifs in her work include endearing animals (particularly cats and bears), forest vegetation, toys, and young girls dressed as princesses. She sometimes presents her paintings and drawings in embellished frames arranged in suites, or as an installation. Nagai also creates sculptural objects featuring similar imagery; some of her other well known works include wall-mounted stuffed animals and human-scale dollhouse settings.