- Hey Minna, glad to have you. For a start please introduce yourself.
Well, I’m a 23 years old Finnish-Swedish lady, I recently got my bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Aalto University in Finland and I’m currently working on my own comic projects.
- What drew you to art?
Frankly I believe the initial reason was that since little bit better than the children in my age group as a young child I was always praised for my drawing skills, and that made me want to show off by drawing even more which led me to keep improving until I was ready to grow a real passion for art.
- When did you first start making art?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I started to really work on improving myself when I was around 14 or 15 years old.
- How did you begin your artistic journey?
When I was 14 my dad bought me my first drawing tablet for digital art, and it came with a free, very basic digital drawing software. My dad also let me use the website hosting space that came with our internet and I taught myself to build a basic website where I would post my drawings and later first silly little comics. I only did it for fun, I had no plans on ever becoming a professional artist at that point.
- Did you have art education before college?
I attended an upper secondary school (I think that’s comparable to the US high school level) with an extended art program, which baically meant I had six mandatory art classess and six optional art classes added to my three-year curriculum instead of the two that normal programs require. Before that my mom made me attend 1-2 hour after school art classes once a week.
- Why did you choose the art school you attended?
My art teacher at my upper secondary school said I should apply there so I did, I had no ideas where to go myself. I didn’t even get through the first portfolio round the first year that I applied, but the second time I got in.
- What inspires you to create?
I have stories that I want to tell with more than just words, and I love making other people happy, which I know I can do with my artwork and stories.
- Digital vs traditional, what is you take on both of these mediums. Which do you prefer to work with?
I prefer to use digital because it’s faster and more streamlined. Traditional medums will always have a special place in my heart though, there’s just something much more personal in the way non-digital artwork usually turns out.
- If traditional what is your favorite medium?
Ink for linearts and colors with watercolors, that’s how I tend to work when I do it the traditional way.
-What made you want to make your own web comic?
I’m not sure. I think I just saw so many cool webcomics and the great communities around them, I wanted to get into that game too and I believed I could do it.
- Do you experience creative blocks or periods with less inspiration? If so_ how do you counteract them?
I do, and I counteract them by forcing myself to work even harder when I’m getting through them. When I don’t get things done I become anxious and lose even more inspiration. I know that if I just view my art as pure work that has to be done for a while my inspiration will eventually come back and I’ll be a happy artist again, and I won’t be stalling in productivity during that time. Getting work done is what lifts my spirits the most.
- What is your work day like?
I wake up around 8 or 9, eat breakfast while I post my comic page and short blog post of the day, answer emails and comments. This takes about an hour, sometimes two. After that I just want to draw from around ten-o-clock in the morning to usually after midninght (I typically go to bed around 1). I take a 15 minute break to stretches and stuff every two hours, a one-hour lunch break around 4 and a half an hour evening snack break around 9.
- Studio set up preference or rituals?
I just have a table with my small 12 inch cintiq screen on it and table space to draw my traditional art on, that’s it. Oh, and a scanner to my right. I usually have a movie or some tv show running in the background when I’m drawing to make the long work hours feel a bit less frustrating.
- What type of process do you take with your comics, and art in general?
Ehh... I don’t really have specific processess... I sketch, I draw, I color, that’s it I guess.
- Since the time that you have started college and now how do you think your process has evolved?
I’ve become more focused and faster, and I’ve also become less aversed to trying to draw the things that I’m not very used to drawing.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
I want to be able to make a steady income from my webcomic so that I can draw all days long without having to worry about paying my bills, and I think I can get there-
-What type or art do you prefer?
I love all kinds of art except really high-concept modern art that’s hard to get or appreciate on purpose. I find it pretentious. I like art that’s
genuine, easy to digest and nice to look at even without some crazy backstory.
- How did you establish contact with your clients?
I’m not working with any clients since I only focus on my own comic project right now.
- What industry areas are your clients from?
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- What helped you to achieve success at a young age?
My parent provided me the support I needed to focus all my energy into my art from very early on.
- How did the creation for the story A Red Tails Dream tale place?
I needed a one-off, “short” story that I could draw as a practice comic during my years in University, and I wanted it to be a story that I’d have an easy time drawing without becoming too frustrating. And I really like Finnish mythology, landscapes and fairytale-ish stories, so my idea for the story sprung up from that without much thought.
- How did you organize the book drive? any suggestions or discoveries?
I had a large pre-existing fanbase after having the comic online for almost two years, that’s really all that was needed. I didn’t do much promoting for the campaign itself at all. So my suggestion is: get people interested in the thing you’re doing before launching a crwdfunding campaign, then it’s pretty easy to get funded and get even more people interested.
- What have you learned/ discovered out side of the classroom (in your professional work)?
Ehhh... work really, really, really hard and good things are more likely to come.
- Name and tell us about people that have greatly influenced you as an artist.
I love Akseli Gallen Kallela’s Finnish mythology paintings and drawings, and on the comic side I admire the great central European masters (I grew up rading mostly Asterix and Tintin) and Don Rosa’s and Carl Bark’s Donal’s Duck comic works.
- To come to an end, would you like to give aspiring artist any sort of message or advise?
Well.... apart from making nice work and working hard you have to actively promote yourself to get known, you can’t just wait around for people to discover you. Sometimes it happens, but don’t count on it.
That’s it! Sorry for any typo’s, my spellchecker has gone grazy, heheh.
Cheers~
Minna