FAQ
The following questions are ones I get mailed a lot of asked on my DA blog, so hopefully they will be of some interest or use! In regards to student interviews, I am usually swamped with mail and work so I do not have much time to answer questions as I did in the past~ however you are welcomed to compile an interview using this FAQ right here for your class if you can!
If you have a question that is not answered here feel free to drop me a mail and I will add it to the list.
More interviews HERE , HERE, and my DA FAQ HERE
Where did you go to school?
I went to Ringling College of Art and Design for a 4 year BFA in Illustration and graduated class of 2006
What made you want to study art/illustration
As long as I can remember I have always loved drawing and art, I even held on to old toy packaging sometimes if it had a pretty illustration on it. Thanks to my mother I was always very involved in crafts and art clubs growing up, but it was more of a casual hobby for me till I hit high school. I decided to study in Japan my 11th year of school and thats when I started seeing modern fashion illustration on packaging a lot! It was pretty and cute, but for adults on things like makeup and hair products...everything over there almost always had an illustration on it (over here it seems like only children's products have art on the packaging) and I felt very inspired. I began drawing a whole lot, and eventually it was all I wanted to do with my spare time. When I came back to the usa I decided I wanted to study further and enrolled at Ringling to try and make a career out of what I loved doing.
What medium do you work in?
I work mainly in Adobe illustrator with a wacom tablet. For non digital mediums I prefer acrylic paint and silk screen, anything that will give me nice clean and crisp lines!
What do you do for a living?
for the past three years I have been a full-time freelance illustrator out of my home office here in San Francisco. Lately I have also been selling my own personal art and products, as well as participating in gallery shows. Gallery work is a lot of fun because its total freedom, but I also enjoy the challenges of freelance...especially when its related to the girly style I like to work in.
How long does it take you to finish something?
Depends on the medium and if Im "feeling" the piece or not. Generally I work on a digital piece from 2-7 days and acrylic paintings 7-14 days... this varies of course, but that's the general idea!
What is your style?
I like to think of my style as a weird mix of fashion illustration,1980's girls cartoons, Japanese shojo & pop. I just kind of draw what I like jumbled into one~
What inspires you and gets you working?
Images, I have a whole folder of random photos of art, candy, patterns, clothing, flowers, you name it! I like just flipping through my folder or my art books/magazines and getting inspired. Once I get started on a piece I will usually pick out a song and work to it, so the art comes first and the tunes come next to keep me going....I think that's the opposite of what most people do....hehe. I also love watching animation or movies on my pink tv while I work...most people must think a little girl lives in this room!
Where does the name "Miss Kika" come from?
When I started doing gallery work I wanted to make a painting alias because its easy for people to remember and kind of fun! When I went to Japan to study and fell in love with art again, my dear pet cat Kika who had been in my family since I was born passed away before I came home... I always thought her name was so cute, so I decided to use it when I began working on my own.
Do you have any advice for someone starting out in art/illustration?
Keep doing what you love and always look for a way to make a project fun and "you". Working as a freelance illustrator take a bit of time and lots of work to get started, so having support from your loved ones helps so much.
Can we use your art on PSP tubes? Will you join our PSP tube site?
No.
Can I use your art on my myspace, wallpaper, etc?
Online use is fine, as long at the JPG you use has my url watermarked on it in some way! I ask this because when pieces are used they tend to float around and the source is lost, so as long as you put a url on the image so the new people that like it know where to go to find more art its fine with me (^_^) Nothing for profit or shared download of course though, just for your own use!
Can I draw you a fan art, make something inspired by your art, replica of a piece, etc?
Sure! If its on Deviantart I will add it to my fanart folder, so just let me know! If its for school that's fine too, but ask your teacher and be sure to give me some credit if you are turning it is as a project. This goes even more so for younger students who redraw pieces I have made, its fine for school~ but just make sure people know its based off another art piece
The only thing I have to ask, is if you are going to do a piece based on my work or a fanart (that clearly is or has been noted as such) that you do the polite thing and not sell it as prints or as a piece....at least without asking me first. I just find it kind of rude to make money off of my work when its obvious you used them as the basis for your piece or eyeballed off it :/ it's really just is poor manners to look off of a piece of mine, change the colors a bit, and sell it on etsy or whatever.
sooo for fun or school with credit= awesome
for profit, portfolio use, shows = not awesome
Will you draw something for me?
Sorry, I don't draw unless its for a commission or a friend because I feel like it~ Sometimes I will open up for sketch commissions on deviantart, but it depends on my free time, so just keep an eye out if you are interested. If you wish to commission me at my normal freelance rate for a private piece please drop me an e-mail and I would love to hear your ideas.
Will you draw something for me for FREE or as a TRADE?
For free- Heck no. Do you work for free? These things take time and I need to pay my own bills and feed myself, if you like my art enough to ask, RESPECT it enough to not ask for something for nothing....its really rude. Also, "credit" is not as good as getting paid. I dont need your promo as payment, I need PAYMENT so I can pay my bills and keep on drawing the art you enjoy.
For a trade- I only trade with my close friends or artists I really enjoy and watch. Right now I am too busy to even trade with my friends though.