How did you become an artist?

Ever since I was a kid I've always felt that art was my path. My room used to be a mess of papers, pencil colors, markers, and just overall any sort of art supply I could get my hands on. I loved watching cartoons and reading comics (still do!), you'd always find me redrawing my favorite characters or making comics of my own stories, I just couldn't live without creating. It was fairly easy for me to decide that this was what I wanted to do in my life, and I was lucky enough to have understanding parents that allowed me to study art as I grew older.

Where do you get inspiration?

I remember watching the Slayers anime when I was a kid and I was just fascinated by the art style. Those big eyes, the vibrant colors, the dynamism in the lines... All the anime I could watch on TV was my main inspiration around that time; Sailormoon, Ojamajo Doremi, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Card Captor Sakura, and a long list.

Nowadays my inspiration comes a bit from everywhere; music, movies, books, daily life, and the hundreds of amazing artists that I follow and I love to learn from their works, I'm especially in love with Hyanna-Natsu, Rosuuri, Inma R, and Yamio's works.

What’s your hardware setup?

A fairly decent computer and monitor, and a Wacom Cintiq 13HD, simple as that. I would love to upgrade to a bigger pen display but my desk is rather small... Ha, ha! *cries*

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

I'm relatively new to Clip Studio Paint yet, but one of the things I like the most about it is that I can very much finish all my art there without the need to switch programs whenever I want to do certain effects or use some pattern brushes. It has so many options and tools (which I'll admit is a bit overwhelming at first) but once you get the hang of it you realize it's very comfortable to work on there.

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

It depends on the nature of the image. I usually spend about 3 hours on simpler things such as chibis or portraits, but bigger illustrations usually take me +6 hours.

Would you consider Clip Studio Paint an industry tool?

Yes, absolutely! You can tell it's a program specifically thought for illustrators to cover all their artistic needs, from dozens of brushes that allow you to recreate traditional textures, to handy perspective and 3D tools to speed up your workflow.

Where can we follow your work?

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NekoRina
DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/neko-rina
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NekoRina
Twitter: https://twitter.com/7NekoRina7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/7nekorina7/

*** Rina is doing a #Giveaway with us! Reach her post on Instagram, follow her, follow @graphixly and leave a comment. Winners of Clip Studio Paint Pro will be announced on November 2, good luck! ***