How’d you get into digital illustrations?

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I've been drawing my whole life, but it was really back in high school when I got this iPad Mini that came out at the time, and I would take pictures of like what I was drawing and I'd scan it to my iPad and just go from there. But it wasn't until 2018 and I got the iPad Pro and you know, it comes with the Apple Pencil. Cause I was using like, some like knockoff stylus for the iPad at the time since high school. So with the Apple Pencil, I just spent a lot of time on the iPad and ended up finessing it.

Before I started doing the digital illustrations, back in like middle school and early high school days, I was really into editing videos, kinda like music videos and little short skits and shit. So I already had knowledge with computers and Photoshop and all kinds of programs. It wasn't until either my junior year or senior year, I was getting more into fine art, the more traditional paints and shit. So senior year was when I was really like, Well, I fuck with both of these things. Can I put it together?

Can you talk about drawing on an iPad?

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Yeah, I did everything on the iPad. That's a thing that everyone would always ask me. When I first started it was mostly I'd draw physical and then I'd scan it and people would be like, "Whoa, do you have a tablet?" Eventually, you know, I got the iPad and then people would be like, "Did you do this on a tablet?" And I'd be like, "Yeah, sorta." It was kinda funny because it was almost like people would tell me that I skipped a step.

I'm an acrylic painter too. I paint clothes and I still do traditional shit. But the reason I think the iPad is so revolutionary, and I really feel like it's gonna be the future and more accepted in the art community, is that I feel like it really speeds up the process. I can throw everything down immediately, you know? When I get an idea I can go to my iPad and I have all the tools ready to go. I have all the colors, multiple types of brushes. It's so portable.

You worked at a comic book shop for a while too. How'd that influence you?

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That's another thing that really inspired me with illustrations and my style now, just the little figures and characters. My first job ever was at this comic book slash video game slash music store we'd always be buying new stuff from people selling, so we'd get rare comics and shit. Just me working there, seeing a bunch of comic culture. We sold like manga and shit too.

I feel like just being around all those characters and all these movies and shit always kept me inspired, just seeing a bunch of colorful shit. I feel like that's another thing that keeps my art so colorful. That was my first and last job so it was a really colorful job and I was surrounded by that shit all the time.

Wait, so you haven't had any other jobs?

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No, that's also what made me take this art shit more seriously because I started working all the time at my job, so I ended up failing my junior year of high school. My parents were pissed about that so I had to, you know, quit my job. I obviously had no money. So, shit, I had to make something shake. And I was already kinda doing this art shit for a little bit and I was making cover art for a couple people here and there, so I was like, Well shit, I wonder if I can make a little bread off this shit. I went on Twitter and said, "If anyone wants cover art, 20 bucks." Literally 20. I had like two people give me $40. For me to get $40 during school was like mind-blowing for me and I was like, "Holy shit, I can really, like, do something with this."