Hakumo is both a digital and traditional artist with pieces featured in a variety of art books including Kingdom Carousel, Quixotic, and GAIA. Each of these art books’ proceeds go towards a charitable cause (St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, American Cancer Society, and the Red Cross of Colombia, respectively). Hakumo’s skills range from digitally drawn fanarts of anime and other interests to creating fantastical pieces inspired from childhood memories.

ToonariPost (TP): What artists would you consider working with to do a piece? Why, and what type of work do you think would come from this partnership? If not, what are your reasons?

Hakumo (H): For the time being, I’m not mentally ready to work with other artists. As far as I know I have a strong urge to control. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be fair to the other partner if that happens. If I need to do it, something that’s humorous or playful, like maybe working with friends or people I already know is a possibility, or doing a meme of sorts actually feels like a way I could work with the artists who made it (and most of the time the answers are pretty much, ridiculous, haha).

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

H: All! Well, that would be too good to be true. As for me, I would like to master pencil and pen. I was inspired by manga and aspire to do my own comic one day. I think the two are a fundamental part of starting it. Not just that, it’s simply amazing how a piece of work can look with just a pencil or a pen! To be honest, I think there’s never enough practice for any medium, you keep finding different ways to play with it and that’s never boring.

TP: You are taking part in the charity art book project, Kingdom Carousel. Can you tell me more about how you became a part of this project? How did you choose an art piece to be used in the project?

H: I was kindly invited by the organizer and it was a great pleasure for me! How I chose the piece: there were 3 or 4 ideas to choose from. From them I took one that fit the criteria first, and then one I had the urge to do very much, to make sure I expressed the feeling well. The ideas are mostly my impression of (my) childhood; warmth, comfort, whimsicality, and fantasy because when you’re a kid it seems like your mind is at the wildest, isn’t it?

The piece submitted is the one I wanted to do at that moment, I loved working on it; crazy hours but I learned a lot. When I have time in the future I would love to complete the other ideas as well.

TP: What is your most memorable moment from any convention you have been to?

H: Aside from learning to organize, I got to meet people who enjoy doing what I enjoy to do! Not just the artists’ themselves (in real life!), but also people who enjoy the artworks: people who’re willing to buy, even just saying that they like it. I met people I didn’t know before and they became my friends. I think that is one experience you don’t get often.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

H: Both. Career sounds so formal doesn’t it? I like to think of it more as making art as a living. If I can make what I love to do that will be the best job one can have in the world! As for life itself, I want to make it as enjoyable as possible, learning new things as much as possible, and go with what chances greet me on the way.

TP: Do you feel that your culture has influenced you in some way that makes you different than other artists?

H: Quite likely. One thing I realized was it wasn’t as comfortable for me in exposing things that are rather personal because I was taught to keep low and safe. I still think I do now. There are so many safely kept ideas because of that. Although, recently, memorable things from my childhood or personal favorites keep appearing in my works, so I take it as a positive thing. Gradually I hope to conquer this habit.

TP: Can you tell me more about your background?  What experiences brought you to be the person you are today?

H: Ah, nothing interesting about my background except that I was born in a family with no artistic background. The support of family, friends, and people I meet or know me, online or offline is what brought me to what I am now. Without them I would probably be somewhere not knowing how to draw. Thinking back on that, I regard this as a great blessing and luck.

Image Courtesy of  Hakumo

The article Artist Spotlight: Hakumo Interview, Part 2 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Sunny Master is a 17 year old Norwegian artist who is never afraid to experiment with different art mediums. She brings a dose of traditional and digital artwork, as well as nature photography and tattoo designs to her gallery. Her dragon pieces are her most well-known and is the subject that she has been drawing for the longest period of time. Aside from these mystical creatures, Sunny also enjoys drawing animals, like wolves and horses, and adding fantastical elements to them.

ToonariPost (TP): How and when did you first start practicing your art (are you traditionally trained or self-taught)?

Sunny Master (SM): I started drawing in kindergarten, so I guess that will be as long as I can remember. I am self-taught. In kindergarten I started drawing horses a lot first. Later it became more dragons. I was always a girl who wanted to be with the guys and not the girls. I was never interested in playing with dolls, I would rather dig for worms. So I made dragons, trying to impress the boys. After that, I never stopped drawing them.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

SM: I use both digital and traditional mediums. It’s hard to choose which I like best. I think I like them both just about the same. With digital art, I can change the picture more easily as I go. With traditional, if you make a mistake, the whole picture might be ruined. But with traditional art, you can keep the originals! There are ups and downs with both, that’s why I like to do some digital, and some traditional. It’s fun to experiment with both.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

SM: Um… I don’t actually know… there aren’t any pictures that I am fully satisfied with, but I guess at this time I will choose the picture that I called “The meeting” and I think it’s because it’s my most popular deviation on DeviantART, yet!

TP: When you first started did you ever hit any bumps in your art process. How did you overcome them?

SM: Yes, there were many times that I felt like I couldn’t draw, and there were times I had to take a break from it all. But I think art blocks might be a good thing, sometimes, because you usually come back better than before.

TP: Who or what are your inspirations and why?

SM: There are many artists that inspire me and most of them are, or have been, on DeviantART. I have learned most of my art by studying them, and trying to figure out how they’ve made their pictures. There are so many inspiring artists, I can’t name one! Also, I like nature and animals, and I often use them as inspirations. And often I mix in some fantasy, too.

TP: What artists would you consider working with to do a piece? Why, and what type of work do you think would come from this partnership?

SM: Oh, I don’t really know. There are probably a lot of artists that would be cool to do a collaboration with, but Hughebdy, VampirePrincess007, PearlEden and Kerembeyit are the ones I can think of right now, but there are so many others I would like to collaboration with too!
I have no idea how it would go if I did do a collaboration with them, it would probably fail, but I’d have to try it to find out, I guess.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

SM: I think, maybe digital fantasy art. With that, I could maybe make book covers. I would love to make some book covers.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

SM: I honestly don’t know.. There are a lot of jobs I’d like to have, but it’s difficult to do art for a living. Book illustrator would be a cool job, though. I hope art is something I can work with because I love to do all kinds of art. But if not, I can always do it as a hobby. I’ll just have to wait and see I guess! I’m still only 17. In the next years, I think I will go to some art schools. I’m looking forward to that!

TP: Can you tell me more about your background?  What experiences brought you to be the person you are today?

SM: Well, I had cancer when I was 10. A tumor-type in the bone in my leg, called “Ewing sarcoma“. So I had to be at the hospital for a year and get chemotherapy and some operations. I had to lay in bed most of the time. I was drawing a lot than, when I wasn’t too sick. I was sick a lot because of the medicines. I didn’t go to school during that period and I didn’t see so many people because my immune-system was low, and it would not be a good thing if I got sick.

Most people I talked to in that period, was my mom, dad, and the nurses. I couldn’t even see my brothers and sisters often. When I started school again, my hair was short, and I sat in a wheelchair. So I couldn’t do the activities that the other children did.. so I was drawing. Now I am fully recovered, and I can run and jump around just as much as other people my age. I have always kept doing art after that.

The article Artist Spotlight: Sunny Master Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Chrissy Wang was born in China and immigrated to Vancouver in 2004. The immigration was a big event that changed the course of her life. If she was still in China, the intense school studies would have taken all of her time and would not have allowed her to draw as much as she does now.

As she learned to speak English, her vision broadened and let her discover online artist communities, like DeviantART. The core to Chrissy’s continuing practice in art are her parents, who have made her life all the more easy for her by bringing her to Canada and continually encouraging her to stick to her artistic interests.

ToonariPost (TP): How and when did you first start practicing your art (are you traditionally trained or self-taught)?

Chrissy Wang (CW): Drawing is something that I love doing. I have been doodling and making art as long as I can remember! When I was a kid, I discovered my artistic talent, and ever since, drawing became something that made me proud of myself. Nowadays, I only practice digital art because it’s cheap and convenient, but before that, I took some art classes that only involved fine arts. For example, I sketched geometric plaster forms and models with pencils and I also did several paintings with acrylic.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

CW: Like I said, I hardly draw in traditional medium anymore because the supplies can be really expensive sometimes. My favorite medium to work with is definitely digitally with a tablet. My tablet was a gift from my parents 5 years ago. It’s a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet, which I think is for beginners or even kids because it is really small compared to everyone else’s. But I have already gotten used to it and I love it anyways.

TP: What made you decide to go digital with your art instead of going the traditional medium route?

CW: First of all, making art digitally can save a lot of money. I haven’t started working yet so I figured even though I can, I shouldn’t spend too much of my parents’ money. Besides, when I work digitally, it is also easier to showcase my works (Thanks DeviantART!) and advertise for myself.

TP: You also make animations. What made you decide to try your hand at this type of art? What are the most difficult aspects in creating animations and how do you get past them?

CW: I guess my interest in animation was deeply rooted in those childhood cartoons I watched, a classic example would be Tom and Jerry. When using chatting systems such as Yahoo, I also pay attention to those animated emoticons. During high school, when I came in contact with DeviantART I also discovered many deviants making their own gifs.

That is when I started making my own frame-by-frame animations. The downside of frame-by-frame animation is that it is extremely time consuming and it requires you to be patient, which I am not.

Especially when one is trying to achieve the “boiling line” effect, one has to redraw every single frame and that can take up quite a lot of one’s time ( You can see the boiling line effect in my animation named “Morning“. I had to draw 260+ frames individually ). For me, since I am quite impatient, that is why I ended up making my short, loop-able Momo pixel arts.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

CW: So far, my favorite piece in my gallery is the one called “Warrior“. I am mostly interested in illustration and I have always wanted to draw beautiful people in cool outfits, like those game concept arts out there, and “Warrior” is the closest one to that. Although you can see that, once again with my impatience, I made him almost naked because I couldn’t stand to take all that time with so many folds in the fabric.

I have a long way to go before I can train myself to be both more talented and more patient. I am most proud of the Momo pixel art series I made because they are loved by many people. When I first started with Momo, I was simply doing something silly for the laughs. But who knew it actually gained me a lot of popularity and compliments so I was instantly motivated to make more Momos. Personally, I wanted to strive to be noticed more on DeviantART and I believe Momo can help me achieve that.

Image Courtesy of   http://wangqr.deviantart.com

The article Artist Spotlight: Chrissy Wang Interview, Part 1 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Cynthia L. is an illustrator of the fantastical based out of Toronto, Canada. If you need another world to transport yourself to for while, just take a look through her gallery. The colors, the characters, and atmosphere created in each image is at once nostalgic of imaginary childhood make-believe friends and thought up places of retreat.

ToonariPost (TP): How and when did you first start practicing your art (are you traditionally trained or self-taught)?

Cynthia L (CL): I started drawing in high school after taking art, where the teacher was a stellar artist and a big motivational factor to keep practicing. Generally, I am self-taught because high school was mainly art history and I pursued science in university.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work? Which is your favorite and why?

CL: I use mixed media, but a large percentage of that is watercolour paint. I adore watercolours because they are prone to imperfections and irregularities, and the results can often be unpredictable. It’s really the reason why I love traditional mediums.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why? Which one are you most proud of?

CL: To be honest, I don’t remember the pictures too clearly after they are done. I think this one is a favorite at the moment because it is simple, but still has some mood to it. I’m proud of this one because it took so long that it threatened to jump into the abandoned paper pile but didn’t.

TP: When you first started did you ever hit any bumps in your art process. What were they and how did you overcome them?

CL: There were and still are countless bumps in the road. The first couple were probably drawing proportions and colours. I overcame or learned to live with them by trying to allocate some time to draw every day.

TP: Who or what are your inspirations and why?

CL: When I first started drawing, it was actually all fashion designs. Alexander McQueen was such a huge inspiration with his ornately beautiful and eccentrically morbid works. Later on, when I became more interested in the picture book illustration style, Tove Jansson was a HUGE influence. Her stylistic works are full of imaginative creatures and scenery, and that fantastical other-worldliness is something I strive to create day.

TP: Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work? If so, what did you do to resolve it?  How did this art theft make you feel?

CL: Art theft doesn’t really bother me anymore if the person is not using it for monetary gain. It used to upset me because of the time and effort put into a piece, and I’d still contact people if they are blatantly announcing that the picture is their own. But then I realized that the person will never get anywhere by works taken from others, and all the while I continue to make new things beyond the few stolen pictures.

TP: What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

CL: My favorite theme would be children in an imaginary world, partially because I’d like to illustrate children’s books one day, and also because I hope to capture the magic of the world seen through a child’s eye where anything can be, and is possible.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

CL: I’d love for more than anything to master water color. It is my main medium of use, but I’m far from using it to its full potential.

TP: Outside of art what is your life like?

CL: I have a loving family, a handful of very close friends, and fantastic coworkers. On my off days I like to attend art events or explore downtown. When I work, it is in an art store. So I guess art is my life right now, haha.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

CL: Actually, I had a complete life direction change recently. I’d gotten into teacher’s college and was going to pursue teaching science. It wasn’t a direction that was driven with the right intentions, I think, because I was quite unhappy. It took me a while to finally let go of that, so now I am going to pursue graphic design and hopefully make creative output into a career.

TP: Do you feel that your culture has influenced you in some way that makes you different than other artists?

CL: I don’t think it makes me different, but there is quite a bit of Asian influence in my art because of the cultures I was exposed to as a child. Since I was raised in China and Japan, I think maybe some of the values and feelings in the pictures are slightly different.

Image Courtesy of   http://deathofrats.deviantart.com/gallery/

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NekoKirara is a full time graphic designer of Malaysian origin and you can find your artwork in her various galleries on Deviantart and on Tumblr. The first piece of her work that I was exposed to was “Koibito,” which means lover and was inspired by koi fish.

The resemblance is in the color palate, but the posture of the characters and the look of their eyes struck me and caused me to wander through her other galleries and become enraptured with some of her more macabre art. To find out more about the artist behind these pieces of art, I requested an interview and was allowed to ask a few questions.

Toonari Post (TP): How and when did you first start practicing your art (are you traditionally trained or self-taught)?

NekoKirara (NK): I started to draw in 2005 and am self-taught. I mostly learned to draw by observing and constantly practicing.

TP: What mediums do you use for your artwork? Which is your favorite and why?

NK: I do my work mostly through digital media, such as Paint Tool SAI and Adobe Photoshop. I used to do my work using traditional media (e.g. markers and color pencils), but I like doing my work through digital media nowadays because it’s really convenient.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why? Which one are you most proud of?

NK: Ah, I don’t have a set one, it usually changes, depending on what I would make in the future, but this is my current favorite for now. I like it because I’ve always loved surreal elements that are out of the ordinary. The artwork I’m most proud of has to be this.

TP: When you first started did you ever hit any bumps in your art process. What were they and how did you overcome them?

NK: Not really, well, I have to be honest, I neglected my studies during school and put all the time I had on drawing because I knew it was what I wanted to do when I grew up.

TP: Who or what are your inspirations and why?

NK: My main inspiration for now is my favorite band, Goo Goo Dolls. Their music is the biggest inspiration to me. I have done quite a lot of work that is inspired by their writings.

TP:  Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work? If so, what did you do to resolve it? How did this art theft make you feel?

NK: Oh, a lot of times, it is no stranger to me. Usually, someone would inform me about thieves who are claiming my artworks as theirs, and I would, firstly, ask them to remove my work. If they refused to do so, I would just contact the administration or anyone in charge of the sites where my work is stolen to have them removed. It has worked very well so far.

TP:  What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

NK: As for now, I’m really enjoying drawing object heads. I have a fondness of doing dark macabre art.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

NK: For painting, I would like watercolors. I have always admired the skills and patience needed to use that medium. I really like the smooth blending on textured paper. Other than that, I really would like the ability to play musical instruments, like piano, violin or guitar.

TP:  Outside of art what is your life like?

NK: Of course, but I’m afraid it’s nothing amazing. I just feel very blessed to have the ability to transfer what’s on my mind to a blank canvas, so I’m just drawing all the time.

TP:  What are your goals in life? Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

NK: I want to be inspired and to inspire people. It is my biggest wish! I want to send messages through my work. It would be the greatest compliment to me if I could do that. Art is already both a hobby and career to me. I’m really grateful to be able to make it.

TP: Do you feel that your culture has influenced you in some way that makes you different than other artists?

NK: I’m not sure what to say about this. Maybe, a little? I try to stand out from the ordinary through concepts, I’m always thinking of new ideas to win the hearts of my audience.

Image Courtesy of    http://nekokirara.deviantart.com/

The article Artist Spotlight: NekoKirara Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Egyptsand is a Canadian artist, whose playful clay figures I first saw on her Deviantart page. She accepted my inquiry to ask her a few questions to better know the maker of these cute, clay figures and many other forms of art.

Toonari Post (TP): I see that you are an artist of many talents (plushies, clay figures, and traditional drawings). Which is your favorite medium to work with and why?

Egyptsand (E): I enjoy working in a variety of mediums as you’ve noticed. The earliest medium I remember using was graphite and colored pencils, and then I moved on to paintings and recently, sculptures and plush. I am favoring sculpting a lot more lately because I enjoy the 3D aspect of it.

However, combining mediums (mixed media) is even more exciting for me to think about. I haven’t had many projects that call for this yet, but I am hoping to work on some in the near future. Another thing about sculpting is that you are able to feel the material with your hands, and it’s definitely a much different process than pencil to paper, which I quite like, that brings my creations to life.

TP: How and when did you first start practicing your art (are you traditionally trained or self-taught)?

E: I am a self-taught artist and have been doing art for as long as I remember. From the first day I picked up a pencil and pen, I began to draw and color all sorts of shapes everywhere. This progressed to doodling and art class soon became my favorite in elementary school. I began exploring different mediums as I grew older that were more available and accessible to me, like charcoals in high school, which were supplied by the school for students to experiment with.

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process? What were they, and how did you overcome them?

E: I’ve always been a big perfectionist when it came to making art, so I would always see visible flaws in my own work. This did not go well as one of my primary interests back then was realism, so I would spend hours and days just going back and reworking details until I was exhausted by the piece. Over the years, I have figured out various methods of simplifying details and saving time, but still retaining the intricacies. This has probably been one of the most valuable things I have taught myself.

TP: Who or what are your inspirations and why?

E: I am inspired by many artists for various reasons ranging from the quality of work to how much of a role model they are as an individual. I adore artists who are passionate for what they do and I am drawn to technical pieces in different mediums, especially ones I do not recognize. It’s very hard for me to pick favorites as I do not browse religiously, but a few artists on Deviantart come to mind: demiveemon, juumou, witchiko, babylondonstar for plush and costume, blackeri and farkwhad for digital art, olluna for her little misshapen human sculptures, and DannArte for beautifully painted and molded fan art sculptures.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

E: I find it tough to choose a single medium, as I generally have an indecisive nature, but I am very attached to plushing right now. I just got a new machine, so I am excited to experiment and see where it will take me. Next up would definitely be sculpture, but I am aiming to push outside my comfort zone with most mediums (for example, working bigger or manipulating it in a way I have not before) because I feel like I can achieve remarkable things when they are done spontaneously.

TP: Outside of deviantart, what is your life like?

E: I am a full time student attending the University of Victoria and I enjoy gaming, taking commissions, playing piano, and working on side projects in my spare time. I used to play dance games (like DDR) competitively and still do occasionally for fun.  I feel as if I am able to tie together my experiences in my artwork as a means of self reflection. Not many people are able to harmonize their activities with what they do as a profession or would like to do, and for that I feel very lucky.

TP: What are your goals in life? Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

E: At the moment, I am finishing my bachelor of Fine Art in university, and am a freelance artist. I am planning on taking a year off after I graduate at the end of the year to think about the direction I want to pursue while working on some of my own projects. As far as a career goes, ideally I would like something that both is enjoyable for me and can supply me with a wage that I am satisfied with; I am not afraid of risk taking, but I also appreciate the security of a steady income.

I definitely want to do something related to art for my career, but I may have to take some time to decide on that still. I have thought about becoming my own manager and opening up a business, but I also like the idea of working on a larger project with a team of other artists. I’m very flexible with working alone and with others so I am not too concerned about this.

My biggest dream is to become a well established artist, to master and be known for what I do (when I decide on this, which could be one focused medium or a larger body of work in various mediums), and to be an inspiration for other artists. I have always fed off inspiration, so I hope to make it my biggest priority to help other artists achieve their dreams and motivate them with the drive they need to do this by being a good role model.

Image Courtesy of   http://egyptsand.deviantart.com/

The article Artist Spotlight: Egyptsand Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

To see any of Burcu’s art, you can visit her Deviantart page.

Image Courtesy of   http://burcu-yildiz.deviantart.com

The article Artist Spotlight: Burcu Yildiz Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Josh “Briarthorn” is an artist from the United Kingdom who is a predominately self-taught artist who liked art in school, but found that he did not take direction well, so he stuck to teaching himself.  He has the ability to put a visual shape to the things in his mind, but since it is quite difficult to do this successfully, he has his fair number of tantrums.  Thankfully, his gallery has proven that he makes it through these difficulties and gives his audience pleasurable works to enjoy.

To get further into the mind of Briarthorn, an interview was acquired.  ToonariPost will be abbreviated ‘TP’ and Briarthorn as ‘B’ throughout the interview.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

B: Usually a notebook and a ballpoint pen. All my notebooks are filled with doodles. When I think of something more interesting, I attempt to put it through Photoshop, and try to make it into something good.

I prefer using Photoshop for big and small pieces, mostly because it’s a smoother process, but also because of the minute adjustments you can make to patch over big mistakes (such as drawing out of proportion or rectifying the color palette, so the visual effect is blocked and registers well, as opposed to clashing, disgust, and eye-gouging.)

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

B: My favorites are my collaborations with my friend, Kimmy Baylor. It’s a very neat process, because we seem to have the same eye for the light touches (and shortcuts) in painting, and it always feels like a lesson learned when a new piece of art is complete. Of my own work, my favorite piece is “Sleep” – it’s the only picture I don’t want to re-work, or change in some way.

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process? What were they, and how did you overcome them?

B: My first tries with Photoshop were pretty interesting – I was working with a mouse in Photoshop Elements.  But I’m still learning, obviously. I’ve noticed that I tend to reach for something I find easy rather than something that will really challenge me and make me a better artist.

I tend to skip backgrounds, and my range in face design and posture is very narrow, which is something I’m working on now. I try to collect tutorials or photographs that will help me broaden my understanding of facial expression and anatomy.

TP: Who, or what, are your inspirations and why?

B: Primarily, books are what makes me want to draw. Films are great, too, but if someone’s already rendered the image, I don’t tend to want to mess around with it. I love all kinds of art though. I really liked Lois Van Baarle’s early work. I love anything with a lady with very long hair – the Pre-Raphaelites for instance or Art Nouveau – Alphonse Mucha, and Klimt. On Deviantart, itself, my favorites are Leela Wagner, Claire Hummel, Matt Rhodes, Phobs, Sanchin Teng, Heather “Makani”, and Katie.  Why? Take a look for yourself!

TP: Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work?  If so, what did you do to resolve it?  How did this art theft make you feel?

B: I have once or twice had to call someone up on using my work – someone reblogging me on Tumblr without permission or similar. To be fair to those guys – it’s not like they claimed it was theirs; it’s just they didn’t really think about the fact that art demands acknowledgment. 

TP: What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

B: From the eve of my ability to draw, it’s been women. You know when they ask you to draw your family at school? I drew both my parents and myself as stick figures in skirts. I couldn’t conceive of anything I’d rather draw. I love the shape of women – in any size or contortion. I also love drawing hair in any shapes I can find, although curly is my favorite, in all likelihood because I have exceptionally tangly-curly hair.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

B: Calligraphy and font design I think are utterly beautiful, and I’d love to be able to make art out of words. It’s a really underrated skill. If I had the time, I’d probably study font making more. Other than that, I’d like to be able to manipulate oil paint the way my sister can – her art is amazing.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby, or make it a career?

B: My main ambition is to write novels  - good novels, if I can. If they’re successful, all the better. The compulsion to write goes deep, and I honestly couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do with my time. Art is a different, more instinctive thing for me, and by that, I mean it’s a different tool I use for the same thing (which is storytelling). I can see it working alongside my writing as easily as I can see myself combining the two.

TP: Do you feel that your culture has influenced you in some way that makes you different than other artists?

B: Good question! Yeah, definitely, and not always positively. I think the internet has made such a wide range of art in so many mediums available to us that often we’re spoiled for choice or else have this strange idea that one type of art is “better” than another. Obviously, you’re going to have your personal taste as an individual, but what’s interesting is that even if you don’t like a certain type of art, you’ll find yourself trying to re-work it to suit you better.

For instance, my irritation at the over-sexualization of female superheroes makes me want to play around with the way they’re presented to an audience.

I want to see Wonder Woman in flat shoes (who in their right mind would try to fight bad guys in high-heels? I mean, I know she can fly, but seriously…) and wearing more than a spandex, one-piece, swimming costume. You might note that Superman, whatever his deal with the red undies is, gets to wear wrist to foot clothing. I don’t see why Wonder Woman should be any different.

Image Courtesy of     http://briarthorn.deviantart.com

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Victoria “xXMioXx” Aubry is a 21-year-old French artist who has had a fondness for art since she was a child, but began taking it seriously when she was 12. Her first inspirations were visual stories with shocking images. She wanted to be able to make others feel this way with her art and started to experiment. Until two years ago, she was self taught. Since then, she has attended a Japanese-media oriented art school.

The following is an interview with this talented artist.

Toonari Post (TP): What mediums do you use for your art work? Which is your favorite and why?

xXMioXx (M): I like to try a bit of everything! After years of using both digital and traditional media, that last one still stays my favorite. There’s a physical dimension in it that remains unequaled and asks for the artist’s hands to struggle with in order to achieve a piece. One is never too old for finger-painting! Digital has that interesting capacity in evolving quickly; we don’t really know how it is going to be in the future, and we could be greatly surprised.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why? Which one are you most proud of?

M: This one is my favorite. I spent quite some time on it, working with strong and saturated colors, but it left me unsatisfied. One
day I just got rid of all the colors on it, instead of trying to refine them, and took a fresh start! It was a great relief to finish it that way. (Here you can see how it evolved ). The one I’m the most proud of is this two years old illustration. It comes with a 10 page story that I would like to re-work soon.

TP: Who or what are your inspirations and why?

M: My main and general inspiration comes from Japanese manga artists. It’s still the case, but lots of internet artists are just as inspirational! My all times favorites are still the Japanese game-designers Shigenori Soejima (Persona 3 and 4…) and Akihiko Yoshida (Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre), amongst others.

TP: Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work? If so, what did you do to resolve it? How did this art theft make you feel?

M: No, I happily have not had to face any major case of art theft! Most of the time it’s just un-credited use of artworks. But real art-thief can make you fell pretty helpless, especially when you try to discuss with the art or idea thief and you only face a wall.

TP: What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

M: I love to draw characters that are heavily influenced by all the recent Japanese anime and manga cultures. The manga style is something I’ve loved for years, and as I still see many of the young artists I met during my teenage years “growing out of it”, I’m trying to  hold onto that style, in particular.

This is not something people should be ashamed to do because it does not mean being a copy-cat or “not evolving”, it’s a style that stands by itself, as valuable as western comics, classical art, or any other imaginable style. With the actual way art is shared throughout the world with the internet, styles are not bound anymore to specific countries and I’m always glad to see an artist from outside of Japan that successfully assimilated the manga style, took liberties with it and made it his own to convey ideas.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

M: Oil painting would be the medium I would like the most to master one day. Classical paintings fascinate me with their soft and unique texture that is created using particular kinds of paints. Still, it is a bit too expensive for me to use now! Maybe in a few years I’ll be able to afford it.

TP: Outside of Deviantart, what is your life like?

M: Sometimes I’m a student and somtimes I’m a hobby artist. I love to see as much visual material as my brain can absorb, and visiting museums. Collecting things is also my other passion! My room is my own little museum full of not-really-valuable toys, books, dolls, video games, and art prints.

TP: What is it like to be able to be part of a community (Deviantart) that allows you to share your artwork with artists from all over the globe?

M: The community part is the best thing it has to offer! I can’t count how many nice (and talented!) artists I’ve met there that led to some great art collaborations. Also, they are from locations I probably would not have been able to reach through, for example, a blog, or a forum, that are often made around a single language and country.

TP: What are your goals in life? Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

M: I would really like to make a living from art! I’ve tried some other disciplines like Art-History and Language, but I can’t focus on them completely; art is always in the way in my mind. So I’ll try in the near future to work it more and more and I hope things will come out as nice as possible.

If you would like to see any of xXMioXx’s artwork, check out her Deviantart page.

Image Courtesy of   http://xxmioxx.deviantart.com/gallery/

The article Artist Spotlight: Victoria “xXMioXx” Aubry Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Urukins is an artist from Portugal that has been drawing ever since she was little, but started to do it seriously around the age of 12 or 13.  Before then, she did not put much effort into her art, as it was just for entertainment.  She taught herself how to draw by looking carefully at cartoons as well as other people’s artwork to understand how the anatomy worked, how the artist used color, and other methods.

Urukins was happy to answer the following questions in an interview.  ‘TP’ will stand for Toonari Post and ‘U’ for Urukins.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

U: Traditionally, I use different kinds of inks, markers, pens, coloring pencils, acrylics, watercolors, and coffee.  Digitally, I just use Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop CS 5 along with my tablet, an Intuos 4. Out of all of these, the ones that take my heart are coffee and a black ballpoint BIC pen.

I pretty much spend hours doodling with these.  I think the ballpoint pen is a great tool. It gives me flowing lines, and it kind of keeps down every single line that I did to build a drawing.  People can see the effort I put into it. And then coffee, I love coffee, I think it has a pretty nice color.  I shade a lot of my sketches with coffee. It’s great to drink and also has a great smell and color!

TP:  What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

U: On every moleskin sketchbook that I buy, I draw a special deer.  There will be one page dedicated to a single deer where I will put effort and a lot of myself into.  These pieces have somewhat of a special meaning to me, so I can say that they are the works that I am the proudest of.

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process?  What were they, and how did you overcome them?

U: I think my first bumps were anatomy and coloring.  I had a lot of difficulty with anatomy. I couldn’t figure out what joints were meant to fit and where.   All of the animals, people, or mythical creatures that I drew during this phase had a logic challenging structure. I cringe at looking at my old work. It’s comical how I tried to make their bodies reasonable.

I also colored like a five-year-old!  It took a while to understand how a colored pencil worked, and when I finally figured it out, I ran into another bump–light source. One cannot simply cast random lights and shades on a piece. It makes it look a bit dumb, in my opinion.  When I realized that the shading I did made no sense, I started observing my surroundings and then tried to copy what I saw onto paper.  Eventually, I got the hang of it.

TP: Who, or what, are your inspirations and why?

U: Disney, Dreamworks , cartoons, my grandfather, and my mother are my main inspirations.  They were the ones who pushed me to start drawing.  As I grew, I got other sources, of course.  If we go classical, I can point out Dali and Leonardo DaVinci. On a more modern look, there is Banksy, some Deviantart artists (such as Lunacylore, Kaziczek-wolf,and JNCarvalho), and a few Japanese artists, such as Yana Toboso and  Katagiri Ikumi.

All of these people have styles that just fill me up with a need to draw.  I want to be as good as them; I want to look at my artwork the same way that I look at theirs, to think ‘my own artwork makes me want to draw’.   Youtube videos also inspire me.  I can honestly say that watching a three-minute video of a kitten playing with a feather makes me want to draw.

TP: What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

U: Birds, canines, deer, and old people. I love animals. I think they are cute, pretty, and interesting, and I adore drawing canines because of their expressions and their behavior; they can be pretty entertaining.  Birds and deer have this beautiful, mysterious thing about them, like crows and owls.

Having one of these birds in a picture can add so much to it.  The whole environment can change just because of their presence.  We build a stereotypical image of them; we connect crows to death, owls to secrecy or silence, and so on.  Deer, as stupid as they are, are amazing animals just for their looks.

Again, we can get a certain aura and feeling with a picture of a deer that maybe a duck can’t get.  It’s hard to explain.  And old people, yeah, I love the expressions old people make, especially old men with mustaches!

TP: Outside of deviantart, what is your life like?

U: I am a regular teenager, I suppose.  I spend a good part of my day in school. Sometimes, I spend an afternoon with school friends at coffee shops.  Friday and Saturday nights are for my closer friends, games, and just overall being silly, and spending as much time as I can with my boyfriend, drawing, gaming, or reading when I should be studying!

TP:  What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby, or make it a career?

U:  I don’t know. I’m in my last year of high school, so I have to decide.  I would like to pursue something related to art, but I don’t see many art related opportunities within my country.  The most likely thing to happen is for art and work to become two different worlds in my life. Art would be a hobby, and I would pursue something else professionally.

Image Courtesy of   http://urukins.deviantart.com/

The article Artist Spotlight: Urukins Interview appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Griffsnuff is a 22-year-old artist from Norway, whose mom got her into art at a very young age.  She spent a lot of time drawing with her daughter by holding her hand and starting out with simple subjects to draw.  This special bond between Griffsnuff and her mother allowed her affection to grow towards drawing and kept her at it.

She did not have any help with her art until she joined an art school in 2005, where she learned art basics.  She also joined the digital art community that same year and associates this with her improvement skyrocketing from thereon out. Griffsnuff agreed to do an interview, and her responses appear below.  Toonaripost will appear as ‘TP’ and Griffsnuff as ‘G’.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

G: I would call myself a digital artist by now.  I do some traditional works as well, but most of the time I draw digitally. My favorite medium has to be Photoshop. There’s just so much you can do there, even if I might not use many tools, it’s good to be able to have them. I also love using Flash just as much, its great to draw quick, simple drawings and to animate them, which I also love doing.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

G: My favorite artwork that I’m most proud of is Deathfight.  It may not be the most detailed, rendered, or most cleaned-up scene I’ve done, but I was able to portray exactly what I wanted. This made me very proud!

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process? What were they, and how did you overcome them?

G: Ever since I can remember there have always been bumps and blocks, sometimes they were hard, sometimes they were easy. But they are important! Because each time I improve by learning how to fix them.  So you could say anything has been a bump sometime in life. Humans were a big one of them early on and during art school. I love drawing cartoon-y, so when we had to draw realistic ones, I struggled a lot.

TP: Who, or what, are your inspirations and why?

G: Everything is my inspiration. I can be inspired by mostly anything. I think it’s important to be open to where inspiration can come from and not just stay inspired with one thing or just a few things.

TP: Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work?  If so, what did you do to resolve it?  How did this art theft make you feel?

G: I’ve dealt with all kinds of scenarios where people stole or heavily copied my art. At first, this pissed me off so much, and it hurt me and my pride. This is a fairly normal response when something personal has been taken. But now I’m very open, having a huge following, there are many people who are inspired by what I make.

I no longer see a problem with people copying me, there will always be those who never give credit, and it’s not that big of a deal to me anymore. I am glad that I make things that others want to make too.  But there have been times when people have actually taken what I’ve made and claimed it to be theirs.

When this happens, I just try to talk to them, there’s no reason to create a huge angry storm over it.  I have the proof that I made most of my things, anyway, so it usually gets resolved nicely.

TP: What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

G: I love to design things, whether it be creatures, landscapes, characters, and so on. I love to try new things and draw in several different ways. This is why my gallery has such a variety. I would get bored drawing the same thing over and over.

TP:   If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

G: Traditional watercolors! Oh, I would so much love to do that. It’s just so beautiful and delicate! I love art that’s been made with watercolors so much. I guess I am too impatient to do much of it at the moment, though.

TP: Outside of Deviantart, what is your life like?

G: Outside of Deviantart,  I am a concept artist at a newly started game company in Norway called Krillbite. I started working there this January, and it’s what most of my time goes to. Other than that, I live in a tiny apartment with my pets.

TP: What is it like to be able to be part of a community (Deviantart) that allows you to share your artwork with artists from all over the globe?

G: Its great! It’s the main reason why I’ve improved so greatly, having so many different inputs and comments on what I create. It has also let me inspire and help so many others, which is the best feeling in the world.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby, or make it a career?

G: My goals in life are to help others and inspire others as much as I can, and create things. I will keep doing art as a hobby and as a career like I am doing now. I love drawing, and I don’t think I will ever stop.

Image Courtesy of   http://griffsnuff.deviantart.com/

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Maygikal is 21-year-old artist from Australia who did not pay much attention to art until she was about 13 years of age.  From that day forth, she took standard art classes in high school and taught herself the rest of the techniques you can see applied on her  Deviantart page.

Maygikal graciously agreed to be interviewed.  In the following interview, ‘TP’ will stand for Toonari Post, the interviewer, and ‘M’ will stand for Maygikal.

TP: What mediums do you use for your art work?  Which is your favorite and why?

M: I mainly use digital mediums. Adobe Photoshop is my favorite program to work with! It is an incredibly versatile program, and after so many years of using it, it’s almost intuitive to me.

However, I also like the fact that since Adobe is so complex and has so many features, there is always something new to learn, which means there’s always something new you can bring to the table for your art!  I have also worked with traditional mediums, such as marker when I have the chance, but other than that, I don’t do much traditional work.

TP: What piece of your work is your favorite and why?  Which one are you most proud of?

M: I am most proud of this piece because I deviated a little from my normal technique/process of work and liked the result!

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process?  What were they, and how did you overcome them?

M: Yes, of course! And as an artist, I still continually run into bumps – I don’t think you ever stop running into obstacles, as there is just so much to learn as an artist. My main obstacle, at the moment, is trying to get a good grasp on color, light, and shade, as I feel coloring is one of the hardest concepts to learn!

The most difficult part about starting out is trying to get a good representation of the image you have in your mind – that’s obviously difficult to do when you first start off, not having a lot of practice or a good foundational set of technique!

I honestly think that to overcome any obstacle, you just practice. You just draw and draw and draw until it’s no longer an obstacle to you!

TP: Who, or what, are your inspirations and why?

M: I have an incredible number of inspirations! I decided only to pull a few that I feel have a direct, conscious influence on my own work: ~Blue-Fox ~nujito *FatPandaLynn *KeshiMeg ~Potetoe ~msh ~skullcaps, Julia, ~cheepers

I watch (on Deviantart) and follow (on Tumblr) an incredible amount of immensely talented and varied artists. I am also incredibly gifted to have the support of many fantastic artists who are my friends; it’s a fantastic resource to have a network of peers that can offer you advice and share your own art woes with.

I feel I have a really broad taste in the kind of art that I like, which keeps my own art fresh as I can draw inspiration from so many different sources without relying on just one person.

I picked the people above, however, because they encapsulate the kinds of aesthetic that I would like in my own art. Each of them have a very unique style with an incredible energy. I feel that all of them also have an impressive repertoire of foundational techniques which they use to every advantage.

TP: Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work?  If so, what did you do to resolve it?  How did this art theft make you feel?

M: Yes, many times! Often (if it is on Deviantart or on a site with the necessary functions), I’ll just report the image as a violation. In some cases I might approach the person in question and ask that they take the image down. I never like having my work stolen – so it doesn’t necessarily make me feel good! – but I’m past the point of getting unnecessarily angry or upset over it.

Many people who upload work or take credit for work that isn’t entirely their own tend to be little kids who don’t really know any better.

TP: If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

M: Oh goodness, so many! I would say painting, though. I’ve never really gotten the opportunity to paint ever (except digitally, but I haven’t mastered that yet either), so I think mastery of it would be pretty handy.

TP: Outside of Deviantart, what is your life like?

M: Outside of Deviantart, I’m a recent university graduate that has a bachelor degree in arts, majoring in History & Psychology! I’m returning to another institution this year to study a course in Animal Studies, though, as I have a real passion for animals.

TP: What is it like to be able to be part of a community (Deviantart) that allows you to share your artwork with artists from all over the globe?

M: I think it’s amazing, as Deviantart can be a great platform to get exposure for your work. It can really help you connect with all kinds of artists, and it’s an incredible tool useful for networking.

TP: Why did you decide to join Deviantart?

M: I joined Deviantart so long ago that I’ve forgotten! I think I joined solely because I wanted a place to store my art, and also because so many artists I admired were on Deviantart that it made it easier to keep track of their uploads and art.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

M: I actually hope to become a veterinary nurse, so art will always be a hobby to me – although one that I enjoy immensely and put a lot of effort into.

Image Courtesy of   http://maygikal.deviantart.com/

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I first stumbled across oOKeitaOo’s art while browsing  deviantart.com.  He is one of thousands of artists that use this site as a community to view other artists’ work and promote their own.  oOKeitaOo graciously agreed to do an interview, so I could show others the workings of the individual behind the art.

oOKeitaOo is a student in Russia finishing up his last year of high school and has been drawing ever since he could hold a pencil.  When he was in his early teens, he was exposed to an anime show by one of his friends called ‘Naruto’.  It inspired him to draw anime characters, and he eventually moved to digital drawing, which he has been working on for the past two to three years.  It is hard to imagine that he went from just sketching in his notebooks to such detailed linearts, which are the works of which he is most proud.

In the dialogue that follows, ‘Toonari Post’ will be abbrevieated TP, and oOKeitaOo will be K.

TP: I see that you do a lot of linearts and allow others to color them and trace your images as long as they credit you.   Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else took credit for your work?  If so, what did you do to resolve it?  How did this art theft make you feel?

K:  It has never happened with me, but if it ever did happen, I wouldn’t do anything.  If a person stole my art and said it was his, he would never learn to draw well on his own, so I would have less competition.

TP:  What is your favorite subject to draw and why?

K:  I think it would be clothes or something that has lots of details.

TP: When you first started, did you ever hit any bumps in your art process?  How did you overcome them?

K: This has often happened to me.  Usually, I just save it or set it aside. I don’t ever throw it out because, one day, these works may help me.  I just correct it, and it will become good art.

TP: Why did you decide to join deviantart? What is it like to be able to be part of a community that allows you to share your artwork with artists from all over the globe?

K: I joined deviantart because I wanted to show what I can do and see what other people think about it.  Its amazing to be a part of this type of community because I can see what foreign artists think about my art and have them critique it.

TP: What are your goals in life?  Do you plan to continue art as a hobby, or make it a career?

K:  I’m going to become an advertising designer.  I hope to go to the University of Technology and Design of Saint Petersburg (in Russia).

If you would like to check out any of oOKeitaOo’s artwork, go to his deviantart page.

Image Courtesy of   http://ookeitaoo.deviantart.com/

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