Interview with @lunaisanartist - 2D Animator & Symbolism Enthusiast

Y: Tell us a little about yourself and your work, your artistic style and chosen medium: anything about your art that you feel is important. 

L: Nice to meet you! My name is Luna, I am 22 years old and I live in Sondrio, Valtellina. Although it's a stage name, I've been signing this way for years now, I must say that over time I've become very fond of it! I am a 2D animator and storyboard artist, I am currently collaborating with the Zecchino d'Oro for the production of a music video! Also, I recently finished a music video for a video game by a Peruvian studio; it should be released soon!

As for my artistic style, I have to admit that it has changed a lot over the course of my life, although now there are some established elements that make it recognisable. For example, I take a lot of inspiration from Renaissance paintings, often using typical anatomy and a painting-like style of colouring. I consider it essential for the expressions of the characters depicted to convey the emotions they are experiencing. Another typical feature of my style is the use of warm, earthy colours, always accompanied by the addition of floral elements and deep symbolism in every corner of the work. Unfortunately, having such a precise style often makes it a target for imitations and blatant copying.

 

Y: What prompted you to enter the world of digital art? How did you start your artistic journey? Also, how is the art scene in the area where you live, or where you come from?

L: As complex as the transition was, the shift from traditional to digital happened almost naturally. I didn't have access to social media until I was around 16, I only used YouTube, and I wasn't even aware of the existence of tools like drawing tablets. I had the opportunity to discover this magical device thanks to a school friend of mine, and about a month after this discovery I managed to buy a wacom tablet. A world opened up for me, considering that I originally drew directly with a mouse. I don't deny that, as mentioned earlier, this transition was rather complicated: to be honest, I drew my first artworks without even studying the functionality of the device. 

As for the art scene in Sondrio, I can say that it is practically non-existent. Most people are very old and young people are scarce, which means that art is not seen as a real job; according to those from older generations, I spend all day on the computer and that's it. Having said that, my latest collaboration with Lo Zecchino D'oro seems to be making my work more 'real', even for those who are not versed in the field.

In Italy, animation is still seen as a field exclusively dedicated to children, which is why animation studios are completely unknown. From what I know, the situation in France is completely different: a lot of short films for adults are produced and the work of the animator is not sidelined or belittled.  We boast a lot about the artistic tradition in our country, but unfortunately it seems to have stopped in the past: only what was created in ancient times is considered 'true art'. The art of the present is not even considered, as if it were not possible to reach the level of the old masters.

 

Y: Tell us about your course of study. Did you study anything specifically related to art or did your interest stem from something else? 

L: I attended an Art High School, specialising in Figurative Arts, and during the five years of this course, I realised how the way certain laboratory subjects were taught held back the students' imagination; professors taught how to do certain things but left no room for expressing the style and imagination of each student. It's only fair to teach anatomy when it comes to basic studies, but to restrain the student by limiting the choice and use of techniques risks taking them away from the artistic field altogether. Fortunately, I have always drawn for myself at home, so the limitations of high school did not have much of a profound impact on my style and the development of my skills.

In June last year, I finished the Animation Filmmaking Course at the Nemo Academy in Florence, and subsequently participated in a masterclass dedicated to the production of an animated short film. Accompanying the teachers were two famous animators from Disney, who were also available to collaborate with the students! I must say that it was a really satisfying and positive experience, relating with animators in the field for 30/40 years helped me a lot, and I even had the opportunity to work as an Animation Supervisor. Let's say that the desire to work as a full-time animator has been further consolidated. 

Years ago I would never have thought I would be able to practise in the artistic environment full-time, I didn't even hope for it, whereas now I can say I am already doing it. I work as a freelance artist, I take part in projects with third parties, I accept commissions and go to fairs as a stand holder, meeting more and more people who are genuinely interested in what I do.

 

Y: Art is a challenging, yet extremely satisfying field. What impact has it had on your life so far?

L: I have always seen art as a means to communicate, whether online or offline. Relating to people is something I struggle with quite a bit, and I have found in art the perfect method to be able to convey my thoughts, my intentions, and most importantly, my desire to make connections. Seeing the impact my art has on people is an extra motivation to draw and continue with my work, it pushes me to keep going and to always try harder.

Having said that, in the world of the internet I can obviously receive both positive and negative feedback and, being that my account has quite a few followers, quite absurd situations often happen; it's a bit of a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, I often get very upset when I come across negative asks on Tumblr, because they are comments in complete anonymity that are simply intended to spread hate; what's more, they escalate following a viral post, which makes them even more evil, as those who write have no idea of the real person behind the artwork that provoked them so much. 

My intention is to convey a certain emotion, or to share  very personal feelings; but I realise how, for some people, the importance behind an artwork is not even close to what I feel.

 

Y: Does your art allow you to support yourself economically? If not, is that a goal you have or not?

L: It depends. 

Being a freelance artist is really exciting, but it's a job that has to be managed very carefully: not having a fixed occupation means that you are always looking for another project, without ever having a secure compensation. You are never sure how much you could earn in a month, so there is always the doubt of not being able to fully support yourself; that is why I tend to do several jobs at the same time, in order to put enough money aside and earn enough to sustain myself. 

Right now I consider myself very lucky, as I am able to meet all the necessary expenses without any problems, but this may not always be the case in the future. I would very much like to open an account on Patreon, through potential memberships and commissions I can build up a sort of buffer in case I can't find work for a while. Also, by the end of the year I would like to move in with my girlfriend, so I know that I will need to earn a certain amount of money to be able to meet all the expenses.

 

Y: What platforms do you use to promote your work? Do you think they need to be fixed and improved in any way? Do you think a new platform concerning only digital art could be useful?

L: Regarding the platforms I use most, I can say that there is not one that can be saved. Mainly I post on Instagram and Twitter, but they are both really disappointing, the algorithms keep changing and users are forced to run after them to get the remotest chance of a minimum of visibility.

On Instagram I use Stories to chat and interact with people, while on Twitter I occasionally post small informal tweets to distract myself and have a chance to interact with others, but I don't see it as a platform where I can promote myself. As deeply flawed as it is, Twitter is, unfortunately, the social media on which I have the most followers, so I am not going to stop using it for now; I often promote myself through initiatives such as 'Portfolio Day' or 'Artshare'. As for other platforms, I have to say that I use Tumblr as a very basic art blog, I interact very little even though the community is always very present, I receive technical questions very often; I recently opened a YouTube channel, we'll see how it goes. Honestly I have a hard enough time maintaining too many accounts all at once, I get lost often and can't remember to post and interact on all of them.

What's more, it's undeniable that platforms now go very much against Creators in the artistic sphere (whether they are artists, cosplayers, photographers or the like), only random posts like memes or updates go viral. The algorithm does not value anything that is produced, and honestly it is extremely demoralising to live in this situation.

 

Y: Have you ever had problems with copyright and its management? Have you ever had any experience with stolen art? How did you deal with the situation? 

L: Having a certain number of followers, unfortunately it's inevitable that many illustrations are stolen and reposted, be it on Pinterest, in an edit on TikTok, or on popular fanart accounts on Instagram. As I have no alternative, each time I take the trouble to contact those concerned and request the removal of the works in question.

As if that were not enough, it often happens that many users post artworks of mine and pass it off as their own;  usually my fan base alerts me about any artwork accidentally found around. After that, the process is always the same: I try to communicate in private, often get blocked, report the profile and hope for a positive outcome.

In addition, more than once I have come across some of my designs being used as designs for T-shirts and similar gadgets. For instance, I recently had a very unpleasant experience with a user on Vinted. This person was creating custom cards for the One Piece card game, then selling them through the service mentioned. I was warned that an illustration of mine, along with two other works by two artists I know, had been used as the background of these cards, so I decided to contact the person concerned. This person then removed the products for sale, but unfortunately the card with my stolen illustration had already been sold.

Fortunately, as far as tattoo designs are concerned, most people ask my permission. In exchange for a symbolic sum, a kind of Tattoo Ticket, I provide the original lineart to ensure the highest quality of the chosen illustration. 

 

Y: What is your opinion on NFT and its impact on the digital art world? Do you support the use of your art by Artificial Intelligences to enrich their database?

L: I have come across a lot of people asking to buy my art in the form of NFTs, needless to say I have always refused. I think it's a quite horrible and useless practice, buying an artwork from an artist through NFT is not the best way to support them; I'd rather commission something and support the artist directly.

As far as AI is concerned, I want to specify that I am absolutely not in favour of using my works as training material. Needless to say, I am extremely against the fact that a lot of people are using them to produce artwork that, in essence, is constructed from pieces of other artists' styles. Twitter, for example, is a minefield when it comes to accounts dedicated to AI-generated artwork, obviously churned out at lightning speed.

Having said that, I think if AI was used as a reference or inspiration, it would be perfect. The problem to be solved now is to make their use actually ethical, since right now they take the work of others and pass it off as their own. If there were tools to facilitate users' work, I don't deny that I would gladly use them, the important thing is that they do not replace someone else's task and that they are 'trained' legally, without infringing the artists' copyright.

 

Y: What would you change about the current art scene if you could? What do you expect from the future of art?

L: I know that you cannot change people's mindsets, but I confess that I would really like a more open mindset from those of past generations, as fortunately today's young people already understand the artist's work well. Ideally, people should also realise that it is time to stop stealing other people's works and passing them off as their own, if only as a matter of respect for another human being.

Furthermore, I think that facilitating artists from a platform perspective is the basis. The companies behind social media need to make an effort to support users and allow them to get noticed; fixing the algorithm should be the priority, at the moment it just seems to be going backwards and regressing. 

 

 

We would like to immensely  thank Luna for agreeing to this interview with us, we hope it was an enjoyable experience! And for you readers: always remember to support your favourite creators, fight the algorithm and bring a smile to those you admire.

For any questions regarding Copyright and its management, we are at your disposal!

 

Yako