How did you become an artist?

I was always interested in the arts, specifically writing and storytelling. I was constantly coming up with characters and stories in my head but I was a terrible writer so I started drawing instead! I never planned on making a career out of art and was self-taught all through my younger years. While studying for a business degree I decided to take a live drawing class at my university for fun and realized that I loved drawing too much to do anything else. I've learned so much over the years and I'm still learning!

Where do you get inspiration?

I was heavily influenced by movies and animation as a kid. I could write a long list of films that shaped my work growing up, mostly 2D animation. I'm constantly trying to capture an 'animated' look in my art because I feel the most connected with those stories and always dreamed of making one of my own someday. When I wasn't watching a movie, I was reading comics! I'm very dyslexic and struggled with reading and writing while in school, so comics were one of the ways I could consume a story more easily with the help of visuals. I also owe a lot of my inspiration to the online art community. I could spend the rest of this interview listing off influential artists I follow and who constantly inspire me all the time. Seeing good art everywhere on my social media feeds always gets me motivated.

What's your hardware setup?

Most of my digital work is done on my iPad pro with the apple pencil. I just recently got the latest one and I love it! My life is very busy and it makes drawing on the go very easy!

What do you like best about Clip studio Paint?

Clip Studio has always been my go-to, especially for comics! Lettering, formatting, and word balloons are made so much easier with the tools that come with the software. Comics are very time consuming and can be daunting to new artists who are just starting out but Clip Studio's interface is easy to read, easy to use, and the comic tools have been a serious life saver!

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

I often spend 1-3 hours on most things, unless I'm really painting something up. (Which is not often.) I'm very much married to lines and the sketching process is my favorite. Some of my favorite drawings are sketchy and seem somewhat unfinished. Perhaps I will always be stuck in 'work in progress' prison.

Would you consider Clip Studio an industry tool?

Yes! I've used Clip Studio for professional work in the past and I highly recommend it. There are so many tips and tricks that can make your work much more professional and Clip Studio offers all that and more. I've been using it for almost 6 years now!

Would you like to promote some recent projects?

The Kickstarter for my art book has recently wrapped up and I'm super excited to get books out to people and start drawing a comic I've had in my head for a while! I can't say too much about it now but it's spooky and silly!

Where can we follow your work?

Please follow my work on Twitter and Instagram
https://twitter.com/princecanary
https://www.instagram.com/star_bite/

*** Rhett is doing a #Giveaway with us! Reach his post on Instagram, follow him, follow @graphixly and leave a comment. Winners of Clip Studio Paint Pro will be announced on August 17, good luck! ***