AOTW - Viscosity

Heya buns!

Welcome to this week's Artist of the Week!

This is a weekly series where an artist is given the opportunity to tell us a bit about themselves and their art.

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This week we're meeting an artist that describes themselves as:

Curious, Scatterbrained and Sleepy

You can call her:

Arie

(Pronouns: She/Her)

Be sure to them on

@arievaal!

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How do I become AOTW?

First, make an audition post with 7-20 pieces of your art with the tag #aotwaudition

And link your audition post to the AOTW WIKI

It is recommended that you update your audition post as time goes on (ex: every 2 months)!

If you have auditioned before, and you did NOT get AOTW, don’t worry, your entry is still valid!

Just link it in the comments of the AOTW WIKI.

And now on to the interview.

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Interview questions are asked in no particular order and no answers were edited/changed in any way besides formatting.

All art used in this blog belongs to Arie.

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Tell us a little about yourself as an artist... how you got started, and what got you into art?

I got into art because I liked writing stories as a kid, and I wanted to be able to draw my characters and the setting they were in. I’d borrow all the How to Draw Manga books from the library to practise during lunch and after school, then I started branching out into drawing characters from anime, cartoons or video games. At first I filled up my sketchbooks with pencil drawings, but when I felt more confident I started inking my stuff with fine liners and brush pens. I only got into digital art in the beginning of 2021 after being inspired by some artists I ired.

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Do you have a favorite artist or just anything you draw inspiration from to create your work?

I have too many artists that I ire but my favourite artists are Kim Jung Gi, Karl Kopinski, Sinix Design, Josan Gonzalez, Wooma, Anna Pan and Vewn! On top of that my favourite directors are Masaaki Yuasa and Satoshi Kon. My sources of inspiration are from anything fantastical, since my favourite genres are sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Occasionally I draw from real life too especially fashion and architecture.

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How would you describe your art style?

My art style is lineart heavy and (usually) detailed. Sometimes I do very simple shading on a piece almost like a comic book style, and then other times I’d attempt complex rendering. For most of my art I’ll use a really bright, saturated colour palette, and I’m really fond of warm colours!! I guess my style is pretty cartoony and anime - I avoid a lot of detail when I’m drawing faces and I like exaggerating some backgrounds or mech I draw.

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What mediums do you use to create your artworks?

I mostly use digital art (Clip Studio Paint) but like traditional art (ink) for studies. Digital is great to do refined and coloured works especially if I’m rendering. Otherwise, traditional is better for quick sketches, such as coming up with ideas for character designs or props.

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How long did it take to get to this point in your art journey?

It took me a while to get to this point since I do art as a hobby - some weeks I’d be too busy to work on it alongside university or work. I’ve found that studying fundamentals helps me improve quicker.

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Could you walk us through your process when creating your pretty artworks?

I always start with some thumbnail sketches. This helps me choose the best composition I want for a drawing, or it can also help me establish a silhouette for a character drawing that is easy to read. I then do a sketch and then do a cleaner line art layer above it. It the drawing is complex enough, I might use multiple line art layers to clean it up as I go, that way I don’t get overwhelmed with the details. The line art is my favourite part of the process!! I start with a thin line art then vary the width of it to emphasise certain elements of the drawing (such as hair, eyes, mech) and also to establish depth. Then depending on the style I want, I introduce some shading. The last step is then colouring, I don’t really have a solid process for this, I start with really saturated colours and then hue adjust until I find something I like. If I’m rendering I might colour above my line art layer to make it smoother.

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Do you have a favorite OC? If so what can you tell us about them?

Edith is not my oldest oc but definitely one I’ve drawn the most and have developed a lot. Her story is that she’s a high-schooler who can’t stand the mundanity of her life and runs away from home to a cult. The cult promises immortality by granting each member the ability to bind their soul to a mask, which means that so long as the mask is intact, the remains invulnerable. Edith yearns for immortality not from power, but because she wants to see how humanity develops in the years to come. She’s aloof, analytical, a bit gullible, but she’s also very inquisitive and willing to discover what exactly the cult offers.

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Which is your favorite art piece and why?

My favourite art piece is of my time-traveller oc Sachi! The composition has a lot of movement, I also like the shape design I did of the tendrils and how it eats away at her. I also tried a different rendering style which creates the soft glow coming from the briefcase.

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Do you ever deal with art block? How do you usually get past it?

For me, my art block is either due to a. not being happy with anything I’m producing/lacking technical knowledge of a drawing subject, b. not being able to come up with ideas or c. being burnt out. For the first case, I like to do redraws, since they always remind me that it’s good to focus on my own progress, and not to focus on others. If I’m unable to come up with ideas, I get inspiration from media, other artworks, or simply drawing from reference. For the last case, if I get art block because I’m exhausted, I tend take a break entirely to focus on other hobbies, since I know that I won’t produce anything good if I’m burnt out.

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Do you have any art goals/aims?

My short-term art goal is to finish a webcomic!! I’m collaborating with a friend who’s doing the writing, and so far we’ve got the storyline sorted out and we’re currently working through first chapter (out of five). Storytelling and compositions are always something I’ve wanted to improve in and I’m glad to work on a project like this! In the long-term, I would like to work on some more worldbuilding projects and start finalising some designs… I’ve neglected them too much.

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How do you go about deciding on what to draw or which colors to use for your drawings?

For mecha designs or character designs it helps to quickly draw a lot of variations, instead of spending a long time on a design you might not stick with. The best way to come up with a composition or idea is by taking photos of real life, consuming media :tm: , or looking at other artist’s works! As for colour palettes, I like scrolling through Pinterest and seeing something that catches my eye, and I use a lot of colour correction during my drawing process.

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Do you have any advice/tips to share with other artists/new artists?

Fundamentals are your best friend! It might be daunting but don’t be afraid to look at online tutorials for two point or three point perspectives, shading, composition, and so on. Another tip is that if you’re learning anatomy it might not be necessary to study EVERY muscle and vein. You’d want to focus on proportions first, then the silhouette, and then focus on the details. There’s also website like Line of Action which are good for practising poses. Finally, take lots of breaks! Whenever you come back to a drawing after a break, it can help you look at it with fresh eyes and to spot potential improvements. Also it encourages you to drink lots of water.

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Anything you'd like to say to the readers?

Thanks for reading C: