How did you become an artist?

By watching an anime! When I was young, around 4-5 years old, I was watching an anime on TV. At that moment, something inside me just clicked. I thought to myself "I really wish I could draw like that". I remembered taking a kindergarten notebook (lol), opening an empty page, and starting drawing on it. Ever since then, I've become obsessed with drawing, and whenever someone asked me what I wanna become when I grew up, I would answer "a manga artist". The rest is history.

It wasn't all smooth and easy, however. I abandoned this dream after graduating from university to pursue a more 'practical' graphic design job. I decided a few years back to leave my stable career as an art director and rekindle my passion for drawing! It has been a fantastic journey, forging my way back to reunite with my roots! That's what brought me here with you today!

Where do you get inspiration?

It's hard to pinpoint. Inspiration is everywhere and can come from anything, in any shape and form. It can come from a particular emotion, artworks I've seen; things I've experienced; people I've met; sights I've seen; and things I've touched. It's a little bit of everything in my stream of consciousness condensed and distilled into a drawing. Sorry for sounding weird (lol!), but that's pretty much my honest answer.

What’s your hardware setup?

I use an Aftershock desktop and a Wacom Cintiq Pro 32 in my studio. And I travel with my Aftershock laptop and an iPad Pro.

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

How powerful it is! And yet so affordable! It's the best software for drawing. I always recommend this for any young artist who's just starting out. Can't say how much I love this software. And since I'm coming up with a new original manga, it's so far the best, industry-standard software for drawing manga, hands down.

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

That depends on the complexity of the illustration. A small commission piece will take a lot shorter than a masterpiece-tier quality illustration. It can range from half an hour to a week or more. It really depends!

How has Clip Studio Paint improved your workflow?

It improves workflow because of how powerful it is as software. For me, improvement is the most obvious when it comes to creating manga. Clip Studio has everything that I need to create a manga project. It just helps simplify the whole process. There are a lot of specialized tools not found in other software that makes creating manga much easier and more streamlined.

Would you like to promote some recent projects?

I have always harbored a desire to create my own manga since young. In fact, this dream of mine is what makes me who I am today. And I managed to realize that recently with my manga 'The Wonderverse Saga'. It's been an epic journey getting my story to where it is currently and I hope to share it with you later this year!

Where can we follow your work?

Facebook: @rachtalin

Instagram: @rachtalin

Twitter: @rachta_lin

*** Rachta 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 22, good luck! ***