How did you become an artist?

I think like most artists, we have a similar story of growing up drawing in class in our notebooks, doodling eyes, maybe anime characters etc. and one day I just committed to making it a primary goal in my life! I studied art with aspirations to become a concept artist, but I found that illustration was my ‘true’ passion if you can call it that! I managed to set myself up on social media and build a lovely community who now support me on my journey to ‘become’/’continue’ being an artist!

Where do you get inspiration?

Honestly, Pinterest is my favourite place to find actual references, but I’m also very much inspired by life! The way I do my makeup on a certain day can inspire how I approach drawing a face, or a cool outfit I see someone wearing on the street can end up on one of my OCs, or a movie I watched can inspire my colour palette or a design! My art style (which is not at all consistent, but that’s okay haha) changes so much because I get inspired by a lot of little things that just happen to be present in my life! For references again, a lot of the times I will also use a mirror or take pictures of myself posing too! These photos will never see the light of day though ahahaha!

What’s your hardware setup?

I have a dual monitor PC which is a personal build and use a Huion Inspiroy 2 M pen tablet. I will usually have my references on my vertical monitor whilst drawing on my main! I also stream my art on Twitch, so I have a decent PC and also a good mic for that!

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

I personally always felt that CSP was very intuitive and really made for digital artists and illustrators, with various tools that can aid our process significantly. It feels like it’s a program made by artists for artists if that makes sense. Like anything I could think of that could make my process better or more efficient, CSP already has it. My most recent favourite is the ‘Fill Bucket Tool’ whilst ‘Referring to other Layers’ – the fact that it takes into consideration that most digital artist will separate their lineart layer and painting layer and streamlines this process is really a life saver. The timelapse feature is also really good for an artist like me who relies on making content for their social media, and also the 3D assets have so much potential for both beginner and advanced artists! I could browse the asset store for ages, and I love the artist community on there too, sharing brushes and assets for everyone to try! The updates also really feel like there’s a lot of consideration that goes into new features to help artists achieve their vision in an efficient way!

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

It really depends! Depends on if its just a portrait or a full body, or even if I’m having a ‘good’ art day or a bad one hahaha sometimes I have to redraw the entire drawing 3 – 4 times until I’m satisfied, but sometimes I can magically do it in one! The latter is less common though ahaha, so I would say on average, a single illustration would at least take me 4 hours minimum. Some illustrations can take more than 40 hours though! I also sometimes work on VTuber models with clients and those can take up an entire month! So it really depends.

How has Clip Studio Paint improved your workflow?

Like I mentioned previously, the Fill Bucket Tool whilst referring to other layers has been a real time saver, and I also really like the ‘Artistic’ Effect Filter which can allow me to photobash some props and items quickly and easily! The new update which allows you to liquify an entire folder is also a GODSEND I truly mean it, because a lot of the times I want to liquify the entire drawing, not just the lineart layer or the colours- so now I pretty much always work with all my layers in one big folder and have subfolders in them! That was a huge plus for my workflow!

Would you like to promote some recent project?

I don’t know if this can count as project so to say hahah but I’m really close to hitting Twitch Partner which has been a goal for me ever since I started streaming 2 years ago! So if I could promote my Twitch @pixzelesart consider coming by to work on some art together! I also plan on opening a store for digital assets and also prints/merch in the coming years but that’s still under construction!

Where can we follow your work?

I use most social media platforms like Twitter (@PixzelesArt), Instagram (@pixzeles.art), Twitch (@PixzelesArt) and TikTok (@Pixzeles.Art)! I’m also working on a YouTube Channel which should come some time this year to make more educational and tutorial content! I already have some educational content on my IG reels and TikTok and I really hope to expand to YouTube soon! For those interested I also run an Artist Community Server on Discord with over 1300+ members who share art, feedback, with occasional workshops and study sessions in groups!