art interviews

Maxine Vee is an artist and designer from Toronto, Canada. She runs her own online store and enjoys drawing whimsical illustrations, environments, and characters inspired by the likes of Disney. Today she’s here to talk to you about how she grew her brand on social media and translated that success into a thriving business. Hey Maxine! Why don’t we start by talking about your journey so far? We’re all curious about your work, the influences behind it, and any past experiences that helped you become the person you are today....

Kevin Hong is a Korean-American illustrator working on editorial art, publishing, and animation. You might recognize his work from magazines like Wired, Entertainment Weekly, and Tor.com. In this interview, we talk about his love for the Iyashikei (or healing anime) genre and how it became the primary influence on his projects. Hey Kevin! Why don’t we start by talking about your journey so far? We’re all curious about your work, the influences behind it, and any past experiences that helped you become the person you are today....

Zi Xu is a Chinese-American poster and cover artist living in New Jersey, USA. After graduating from MICA, she started working on official and officially licensed work for films, games, and comics. Some of Zi’s biggest clients include Adobe, DC Comics, and Marvel, with the highlight this year being her work on Disney’s Star Wars day mural . Zi and I will discuss how to best deal with criticism, highlight a couple of great movies, and walk you through some of her favorite digital art techniques....

Aliya Chen is a young up-and-coming illustrator based in Los Angeles. After winning the grand prize in the Illustrators of the Future contest, she joined Netflix Animation as a visual development artist. In other words, Aliya ensures each scene has the right colors and mood for the emotion it needs to communicate. Together with her sister, Felicia Chen, they inspired one another, and both entered the industry at a young age....

We spoke with Djamila Knopf about her beginnings as an artist, building a sustainable art career, and her love of Studio Ghibli. Hey Djamila! Why don’t we start by talking about your journey so far? We’re all curious about your work, the influences behind it, and any past experiences that helped you become the person you are today. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I was basically the definition of “the artsy kid in class....