An Interview with Sciamano240

By Kasaix • 4 years ago

Kasaix: Hello Doujin Army! I’ve been speaking to another terrific artist and managed to get an interview with them. Their art style is incredible, mixing almost realistic with their own native style, and I like it. I hope you will like it as well. The girls are varied, so no matter what sort of waifu you like, you’ll likely find her.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Thanks for hanging out, Sciamano. How’s it going?

Sciamano: Hey everyone and hi Kasaix! Thank you for having me here. I'm doing fine!

Kasaix: Nice. Let's start at the top then, how did you first get into art?

Sciamano: Nothing exceptional. Like many others, I started as a kid and kept going 'til high school. After that I tried to switch into studying architecture, but it was a big mistake. I now still regret wasting those 3 years at the wrong university. During that time tho I ultimately started doing what I'm doing right now, which is drawing ladies.

Kasaix: Architecture? I did not expect that. I'm glad you switched back to art. Did you go to another university to take professional art classes, or are you all self taught?

Sciamano: Thank you! Mostly self taught, with some traditional leftovers from high school. I also recently made a small concept art course, where I learned some more things. It wasn't professional, but at least it forced me drawing stuff I'm not used to.

Kasaix: Nice. What are your favorite characters and themes to draw?

Sciamano: I have a weakness for girls with white hair, but I try to avoid drawing only them. That explains why my favorite character is 2B from Nier: Automata (didn’t play yet). When it comes to themes, I like drawing girls in bikini or lingerie. More in general, what I like to draw changes depending on which videogame I'm playing or what other artists have drawn that I liked. I rarely follow trends when a new female character comes out, but, if I do, it's because I like the character. Bowsette would be an example. In the end I try to draw only what I'd like to draw.

Kasaix: You like to go your own way and not follow trends, I respect that. White hair girls are great too. 2B and Booette are shining examples, but I feel like Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere doesn't get a lot of love today.

What do you feel is your best picture yet, and why?

Sciamano: Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere might look a bit too young for my style, but I get ya. It's hard when a character you like doesn't get much love.

As for my best picture...mmmh. It's hard to choose, but I'll go with Alice from Shokugeki no Soma. It's not perfect, but I really like the overall feel of the picture. The face and the skin look great and, even if I tried to copy that style multiple times after, it never really worked out. It's kinda sad that I don't even know how to replicate one of my own artworks.

Kasaix: How do you first tackle a project, and how long does a project typically take to finish?

Sciamano: First I open PureRef and add all the pictures of the character I'm gonna draw. I search for useful pictures, but also pictures or artworks that I like. After getting a good amount of pictures, I start sketching. I try with different moods, until I find a good one. If I'm having difficulties with the pose, which happens often, I search for some good references in my gallery. If I'm also having hard time with hands or arms, I make a photo of my hands with the phone.

Finishing a project usually takes around 20-25 hours. I never work from start to finish on a picture: I always take some breaks in between and go do something else, like videogames, stretching or YouTube.

Kasaix: What's PureRef?

Sciamano: It's an useful software to collect all the references you need for a picture in one place. It's really easy to use and all you have to do is move the pictures inside its window and place them however you want. You can scale, rotate and flip. If you have dual monitors setup, PureRef is the best software for references and it’s also free (not sponsored).

Kasaix: Besides PureRef, what sort of setup do you use for your projects? A special tablet, pen, etc?

Sciamano: I recently - 8 months ago - switched to a Cintiq and, since then, my neckpain got worse. I'm still working on my setup since everything is new for me (dual monitor plus cintiq). Wacom's stand costs too much and, since I've been busy with the concept art course in the first 6 months of 2019, I didn't have much time to spend on my studio. Before this new setup, I had one monitor and a wacom intuos pro to work with. It's all you need really to make digital art. I use photoshop CC for all my pictures.

Kasaix: Where do you get your inspiration for all your projects from?

Sciamano: Mostly stuff I see online, like other people's art or photos. I scroll my Instagram/Twitter feed when I'm stuck on a project.

Kasaix: Nice. I do that sometimes too. I write lewd stories, and something I see will trigger an idea. I procrastinate like hell, so 9 times out of 10 I'll never get around to it.

Do you have a project you really want to work on down the line? A comic series, or perhaps dabbling with animation?

Sciamano: Procrastination is my worst enemy. Too often I get distracted multiple times while working on photoshop.

Dabbling with animation might be really fun. I'd also like to learn 3d, since it will be the future of digital art (or at least that's what I think). Something I've been thinking for a while now is to make an artbook with all my original pictures and characters. No story, just a collection of artworks.

Kasaix: An artbook would be interesting. Are you going to kickstart it?

Sciamano: I don't know yet, It's still just an idea. I should give my OCs a backstory first...

Kasaix: Nice. Let’s wrap it up here for now. Do you have any final words to all your fans?

Sciamano: Sure! I'm grateful to all of you for the support you give me picture after picture. Your kind comments are what really makes me keep going. If it wasn't for you all, I would be still studying architecture! Thank you again for this occasion and I hope I did good with the interview!