Hello everyone! Now that the Autumn Art Contest is over, it's time to start interviewing the winners again. =)
First up is
HanaKuragari. She's relatively new to MH and pretty promising artist around here if I may say so. She won the
Coloring Contest! Lets see what she has to say! :)
Her winning piece: Hallow's Eve
1.Please introduce yourself to us!Hello~ My name's Hana and I'm actually pretty new to MH. I joined a few months ago to find a job as an illustrator for a writer here.
2.Have you participated in any Arts Contests before? I haven't been in any contests before, so this was really a great surprise to me!
3. Tell us something about your winning piece. What inspired you to draw it?This piece wasn't created for the contest, but I feel as if it is one of my most distinct digital works. I have received much praise on this piece by teachers, family and friends alike. Before the application of tone, the piece seemed a bit dull, since most of the large spaces were filled with one color. I decided to sort of run wild with my strokes and erased certain areas frantically to add interest. I initially wanted to emulate another piece I saw, but instead decided to play around with screentone more, since I aspire to work as a Manga-ka in the future.
4. Any tips for our aspiring artists?If I were to say anything to anyone who wants to become an artist, I'd say that no one can really teach you how to draw or paint or whatever. We all have influence from somewhere, but we shouldn't be intimidated by what we can and can't do. If creating is your passion, you will create and no matter what anyone says, you will know that you've done a fantastic job.
5. Which is the mangaka that inspires you most? Why?I actually have a few inspirations, but I suppose the most influential is Takeshi Obata, artist of the series Death Note. I've always loved how precise their work is and how clean and perfect the manga panels look. I hope to be able to create pages as beautiful as those.
6. Where did you learn and how did you begin to draw/color/write manga?I started off drawing manga using one of those "How to Draw Manga" books, and now I can't stand to look at my old drawings. It's not that I hate them, it's just that the quality between the two is so far apart that unless I knew that I did them, I wouldn't believe it. I still have them, though, my very first drawings. They allow me to look back and say, "Well, at least I've made some progress".
7. Are you satisified with your artwork? What are you trying to accomplish/improve?I am very satisfied with this piece! I adore it! It's one of the few pieces I am not afraid to show to my professors and friends. Digital works used to be a bit discouraging to me, especially since I had no idea how to create them. Still, I wouldn't say I'm amazing at CGing. I still want to learn how to create more 3-dimensional pieces. I love my style, but I want to be able to retain my traditional skills within the digital world.
8. How do you like the MH community so far?The community is very friendly and easy to understand. I'm so glad that I managed to find it and I hope that someone can employ me (soon) so that I can create more art.
9. Leave a message for the fellow users!Thank you all for your votes. I didn't know what to submit at first and I was sure I'd lose to the other amazing pieces! But thank you, thank you and I hope that you keep me in mind the next time I enter a contest!
Thank you so much for the wonderful interview, Hana. We look forward to seeing more of your stuff!
P.S. The Winter Art Contests will officially start next week... so stay tuned for further information.
Wonderful interview. You thoroughly deserved the victory. I can't wait to see more of your work(s) on MH in the near future! =)