How did you become an artist?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember! As a little child, I’d spend hours filling pages with stencils my grandparents gave me. Drawing quickly became my personal language, especially as the quiet one in a big family. 

The environment I grew up in shaped a lot of my sensibility: near the ocean,  pine tree forests and vineyards, in a both sunny and rainy French region. I moved later around the country and became fascinated by how rich and diverse the microclimates were. That taught me to pay attention to shifting moods and atmospheres. I’m sure it definitely shaped my sense of color in illustration!
I’ve always seen myself as an artist. For me, the moment you create for yourself, simply to express something, you already are one. 

In middle school, Naruto and DeviantArt helped solidify that feeling. Naruto inspired me to dream big through storytelling, and DeviantArt showed me that I wasn’t alone, there were entire communities of young artists sharing their work. That gave me the courage to keep going.

In high school, I specialized in visual arts. The classes were both theoretical and hands-on. We studied art history while experimenting with many techniques. That’s when I started stepping outside my manga comfort zone, slowly learning to love drawing backgrounds and realizing that art isn’t just about style, but perspective. Still, most of what I know came from drawing obsessively and learning online, which became my real school.

After high school, I worked on my first finished comic project, Share, with a friend. It follows a girl who keeps drawing simply because it brings her joy, not for recognition, but for self-expression. 

Today, I mostly work digitally, though I still have a soft spot for G-pens and fluorescent highlighters, oddly enough. I don’t have a fixed routine; ideas often come on impulse, and I follow them instinctively. I like to create freely, without pressure.  I want my illustrations to offer a breath of calm. If my art can provide even a bit of comfort in this harsh world, then my job here is done!

I don’t really have a big long-term plan. I prefer to take things one project at a time, without putting too much pressure on myself. What matters most to me is to keep creating sincerely, and to stay true to the love that’s always been at the heart of it.

Where do you get inspiration?

My inspiration comes from a blend of art history and pop culture. Visually, I draw a lot from the “organism” of Art Nouveau (especially the work of Alphonse Mucha) and the geometry of Art Deco! I’m also deeply influenced by Kamome Shirahama’s wonderful art, and by the poetic worlds of Miyazaki, especially Castle in the Sky. I also draw a lot from Touhou's musical and visual creativity, the sharp character writing in Ace Attorney, and the charisma and group dynamics of Lupin III. Visually, I’m inspired by HoYoverse’s strong art direction, where every character has its own distinct aesthetic and emotional tone.

Story-wise, I’m shaped by the series that marked my childhood and teens. W.I.T.C.H. was huge for me, the emotional depth, the evolving friendships, the sense of growing up with the characters. I also loved DN Angel for its layered relationships and surreal tone. Games like Golden Sun, Fire Emblem: Awakening/Fates, and especially Pokémon (both the games and the manga by Kusaka, Mato, and Yamamoto) taught me that even familiar worlds can carry powerful, dramatic stories. Naruto, discovered in middle school, gave me the push to start dreaming seriously through art!
At the heart of it, I love universes where creators clearly enjoy shaping characters, feelings, and visuals in harmony, where storytelling through images is just as meaningful as words!

What’s your hardware setup?

I work on a Windows desktop PC, equipped with an Intel Core i7-10700K CPU and 32GB of RAM. It’s definitely more powerful than I need for illustration alone!
For digital art, I switch between two main tools:

●    a XP-Pen Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2), which I love for color adjustments and 3D work,
●    and an iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd gen), which I’ve been using daily since 2018, it’s light, responsive, and perfect for sketching anywhere.

My workspace is very much an extension of my creative process. I always make sure my desktop background always brightens my mood, and that I’m surrounded with things that inspire me: art prints, standees, plushies, keychains, figures, books, etc. 

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

Definitely the Assets store! It’s such a rich ecosystem, you can find almost anything you need, and the fact that it’s built around user contributions gives it a really unique energy. I love how it creates a kind of circular economy where creators support each other by sharing brushes, tools, and resources.

I’m also a big fan of how CSP handles 3D, and how refined the interface feels overall. There are so many features that make working in it smoother, and I really appreciate how the software evolves over time! 

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

It really depends. Sometimes I’ll spend 30 minutes on a spontaneous sketch, and other times I’ll pour over 50 hours into a complex piece full of details and characters. 
I tend to alternate depending on my mood. Some days, I just want to clear my head and create something simple. Other times, I feel the urge to aim big and challenge myself, to see how far I can push an idea!

How has Clip Studio Paint improved your workflow?

The auto-actions are a game-changer, especially for quickly applying finishing touches, like post-processing filters, on illustrations or comic pages. 

I also rely heavily on the 3D models, which are incredibly helpful, especially now that we can attach objects to body parts or even paint directly on the mannequins. That’s been a lifesaver when working on characters with highly detailed outfits (looking at you, Genshin designs...).

For comics, the multi-page manager is amazing. Having built-in margin displays, bleed settings, text and page management tools makes layout work so much smoother from the start.

And beyond that, it’s all the little things: stabilization, brush control, easy perspective tools, asset integration, interface customization... It’s a collection of small features that, together, create a workspace that feels intuitive and complete.