How did you become an artist?

Since I was a kid I always knew I wanted to become an artist, and I was a self-taught person for many years. I got my first drawing Tablet when I was 12, which allowed me to start my journey as a digital artist.

After I finished high school I decided to move out from my city of Paraná (Entre Rios, Argentina) to the city of Rosario (Santa Fe, Argentina) to study Fine Arts, where I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree on Technodigital Art at UNR (Universidad Nacional de Rosario).

After finishing college, I started working as a small freelancer for a variety of individuals and clients, starting on commissions and slowly building up my portfolio to show on places like Art Station and Behance, which got me my first freelancing jobs inside the comic book/cover art/illustration environment as well as the animation environment.

As someone who loved to mix in the academic side of art (especially color theory and composition theory) with the freelancing side of working as an artist, one of my biggest passions is teaching and showcasing products related to digital art, which is my favorite field of artistic techniques. The mix between those two areas allowed me to participate in different national and international conventions and events. I did many things, like drawing in front of people as a Wacom Artist, as a featured watercolorist in other analogical-centered events, later doing webinars online for different platforms like Graphixly, and more. Teaching is an experience that also helped me become an artist, but always keeping my mind open to new opportunities to learn new things.

Currently I’m working as a full-time video game artist on environment art and assets/props creation for video games, an on-and-off freelance comic book artist who collaborates with other amazing artists in other countries like Chile and Brasil, and as a Professor Assistant specialized on Advanced Perspective Techniques at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, where I graduated from.

Where do you get inspiration?

I get inspiration from many places. On the fine arts side, I always find inspiration from artists like Alphonse Mucha and William Turner. I grew up with animated Disney movies like Tarzan, Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Studio Ghibli masterpieces like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, or animes like Dragon Ball, Card Captor Sakura and Sailor Moon. I was also (and still am) in love with Gorillaz and virtual band projects like Interstella 5555, which I still follow to this day.

What’s your hardware setup?

Currently I’m working on a desk pc as well as on an HP ENVY i7 laptop, and I own a Wacom Cintiq 16’. I use many softwares to draw but my favorite/main one is Clip Studio Paint, which I mix with other softwares like Rebelle4 and Paint Tool SAI.

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

The main reason why it is my favorite program it’s because it feels really natural to draw in it. Drawing feels very smooth on Clip Studio Paint, and the enhanced pressure engine allows me to work comfortably for many hours without feeling my hand heavy or cramping. Another thing that I enjoy is the clean, simple interface it has which is very easy to customize to my needs, whether I need to do comic books or illustrations. The colorizing masks and other advanced coloring tools it provides are also a huge asset to the program, allowing me to have fun trying out different outcomes in the coloring process.

How long does it take you to make a single illustration?

It really depends on the project, if it is a simple portrait, a sketch commission, a comic book page, or an illustration. Some projects have taken me weeks to finish (between deadlines and feedback), while others only required six to eight hours in total. Others take less, maybe. I think the important detail is to never rush the drawing process, so you should always take small breaks between one drawing and the other so you can go back to your current Project and spot fixes that need to be made.

Would you consider Clip Studio Paint an industry tool?

It is definitely an industry tool as well as a game changer for both beginner and profesional artists from many fields. The amount of effort put into the program’s special features, enhanced brush engine and advanced comic/webtoon/animation features allows the user/artist to find ways to smooth out and accelerate their artistic process, and the level of customization provided always has a high-quality result in the final rendering process of an image.

Where can we follow your work?

You can follow my work on:

https://www.artstation.com/cogitae
https://www.instagram.com/cogitae/
https://twitter.com/cogitaeworks
https://www.facebook.com/cogitaeam

*** Agustina Manso is doing a #Giveaway with us! Reach her post on Instagram, follow her, @graphixly and leave a comment. Winners of Clip Studio Paint Pro will be announced on November 1, good luck! ***