How did you become an artist?

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember! My mom once told me I would doodle at the edge of my crib before I could even walk (haha) ! I grew up drawing a lot of animals and creatures and then eventually branched out to human characters from watching cartoons.

I remember scanning through the TV channels one morning when I was young and stumbling upon this show with bright cute characters with big eyes and superpowers! It was a show called Mew Mew Power (Tokyo Mew Mew) and it was my first true introduction to Anime! Since finding it, I would make it my mission to wake up at 7:00 am every Saturday to watch the show, pencil in hand, trying to draw the cute characters on the screen.

A lot has changed since then of course, but I do still get that rush of excitement to create whenever I get a burst of inspiration!

Where do you get inspiration?

I mostly get inspiration from all of the art I see on social media! There's no better feeling than finding another incredible artist and scrolling through and admiring their work! Oftentimes I'll want to switch up my style because I really like a certain vibe or artwork which can be a little dangerous at times (if I'm worried about consistency) but more often than not, it's a fun way to keep drawing fresh and fun!

I also get a lot of inspiration from the shows I'm watching or games I'm currently playing!

I'm a huge fan of Pokemon games and the Fire Emblem series so whenever I play a new game (or replay older games) I always feel the need to draw the characters again!

What’s your hardware setup?

I'm using a PC a friend helped me build with a Wacom Cintiq 22 HD Touch tablet!

I also have an IPad Pro 12.9" with the Gen 2 Apple Pencil for when I want to draw on the go (or just on my couch haha!)

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

What I like about Clip Studio Paint the most is that it has a lot of features that help make my process a lot more streamlined! Things like filling in flat colors and adjusting selection sizes are fast and simple, and with Quick Access Tools, most of the actions I use are condensed into a neat row of buttons right in front of me!

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

It depends on the scale of the Illustration. It can range from 2 hours for a quick character drawing to 30+ hours for a big scene that incorporates background, lighting and characters.

Would you consider Clip Studio Paint an industry tool?

Absolutely! CSP is a powerful software that gives artists an almost endless amount of tools to create their art. I personally use CSP for the majority of both my contract and personal work!

Would you like to promote some recent project?

Currently I'm in the process of creating my very own class about Digital Illustration with Class101!
I'm very excited about it :)

Where can we follow your work?

You can follow me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Syertse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syertse/
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/syertse

*** Sasha is doing a #Giveaway with us! Reach her post on Instagram, follow them follow @graphixly and leave a comment. Winners of Clip Studio Paint Pro will be announced on July 12, good luck! ***