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Interview with Sneha Ghildiyal – Putting art and soul into illustrations

Interview with Sneha Ghildiyal – Putting art and soul into illustrations

by | Jul 5, 2019 | Blog, Digital Art, Half asleep doodles, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, Sneha Ghildiyal, Web Comics

Putting art and soul into illustrations

Interview with Sneha Ghildiyal

Sneha Ghildiyal, Illustrator

6th July, 2019

If you’re already not following Half Asleep Doodles, you are missing out! Sneha Ghildiyal, the master mind behind Half-Asleep-doodles and Art-tree8 makes delightful web comics and digital illustrations that can lighten up your mood.

Stoned Santa is grateful to Sneha for taking the time to talk to us about her journey as an artist. Read on more to find out about what she has to say.

When did you start drawing? What made you develop an inclination towards art?

I am naturally inclined towards art and have been drawing ever since I learnt how to hold a pencil.

Are you a self-taught artist? If yes, how has the journey been so far?

I have learnt drawing by myself and continue to learn. I graduated with a B.Com Honours degree and used to pursue CFA. Back then, no one at home saw art as a lucrative career option.

However, after a point I quit my job and decided to pursue art. Although it has been a tough journey, financially or otherwise, the satisfaction that I get by drawing cannot be compared to that of a corporate job.

“Half asleep doodles” is your brainchild. Can you share the story behind it?

Back when I was working for corporate, the only little time I found to doodle was late at night after I was done with my work and studies. Hence, the name “Half Asleep Doodles”. This helped me regain my sanity.

How do you think technology has changed the dynamics of art?

In a world where visuals are given more importance, technology has made it possible for many people who may not be natural artists, to portray their ideas in a creative way.

It has also made art a lot easier compared to the traditional mediums, but not knowing how to use traditional tools can be a major draw-back.

Which are the digital tools that you are grateful for?

Illustrator, Photoshop and Coreldraw.

What’s your thought process behind your abstract paintings?

 If I am having a rough day, the first thing I do is vent out these feelings through art. There is no fixed form or rule. I just draw what comes to my mind. 

Any current projects that you’d like to talk about? What’s your ultimate dream project?

I stay in the present and do not worry much about the future. Currently, I’m learning UI and UX designing. 

What is the misconception that people have about art?

People think that art is easy and it is not a viable career option.

What are the difficulties you faced on your journey of becoming an artist?

There is very less support for artists, outside the artist community. Financial stability is hard, unless you market yourself well. There were times when it became hard to make the ends meet.

If you could learn another form of art, what would it be?

Oil Painting!

If you could give an advice to your younger self, what would it sound like?

“Don’t be scared, nothing is impossible”

Who has been your biggest support?

My mother has always stood by me, even when people have asked me to quit it!

Your thoughts about Stoned Santa?

It’s a nice and quirky initiative! There are some amazing artists and sketches! They also keep experimenting with their art products, so that keeps the feed fresh, innovative, creative and fun!

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Deciphering Doodles with Sumouli Dutta

Deciphering Doodles with Sumouli Dutta

by | Jun 17, 2019 | Blog, Doodles, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, Sumouli Dutta, Visual art, Woodle Doodle Designs

Deciphering Doodles with Sumouli Dutta – Meet the mastermind behind “Woode Doodle Designs”

Sumouli Dutta, Illustrator

20th May,2019

Sumouli Dutta is a self-taught illustrator and a visual artist  based in Kolkata who throws light on the stereotypes prevalent in our society by creating hilarious doodles. What started off as a hobby on the last pages of her books, has now evolved into an amazing Instagram page by the name “WoodleDoodleDesigns”.

Read on more to find out about Sumouli’s creative journey.

Every artist has their own personal definition of art. What is yours?

I see art as an an escape from the daily chaos. It is my passion and I live for it. I don’t make masterpieces everyday, but a simple doodle on the paper makes my day. Art is simple , but we all make it complicated.

What was your childhood like? Who inspired you to take up art?

My childhood was pretty normal. Just like any other middle class parents, my parents were keen on me taking up an extra-curricular activity. I am glad that I enrolled for drawing classes. I enjoyed and continue to enjoy every bit of it.

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“I use art to vent out all the negativity.”

Your comic strips are on everyday life, stereotypes and much more. What inspires you to make these?

Honestly and unfortunately my life is the inspiration. The societal pressure to take up a certain course; get married or have children takes away your peace of mind. I make comics to fight these stereotypes.  I use art to vent out all the negativity.

Has your perspective of looking at things changes after starting to draw?

 I have been drawing since I was a kid. My perspective has been shaped over the years. I have become more outspoken and unapologetic. Art has also helped me to connect to few amazing artists who have helped me gain different perspective towards art and life. 

Which is your favourite comic series of all time?

Mom and daughter comic series are my favourite. Trust me, they all are based on true stories!

How do you think technology has changed the dynamics of art?

Most of my drawings are done digitally. The advanced software and applications have helped artists like us to take art to the next level. Nonetheless, the joy of sketching on a paper remains incomparable.

What are the projects you are working on currently?

I am currently making illustrations for two story books for children. I also plan on launching a Diwali gift box.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

I would love to see what the future holds for me, because I have tremendous anxiety issues!

 

What advice would you give to those artists who are interested in pursuing a career in string art?

Please Start! Don’t think about the consequences. Hustle hard, and you will reach your goal one day. Hard work pays off.

When I started my social media page, I never knew it would turn out to be what it is today. All I know is that I was passionate and dedicated. Eventually, it all turned out fine.

Lastly, they say that art can reduce stress and promote relaxation. Do you agree with this? How has being an artist affected your personal growth?

I strongly believe that art can induce mindfulness. I work for an organization from 9 to 5, like any other commoner. Art gives me a break from the boring routine. I cannot sleep without sketching.

Being an artist is no different. I believe we all are capable of doing something or the other, and I am grateful that I can draw. But, being an artist has helped me see things differently. I transcend into a totally different world the moment I sit with a pen and a paper.

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Good vibes only – Meet Swarnima Telang who spreads positivity through art

Good vibes only – Meet Swarnima Telang who spreads positivity through art

by | Jun 5, 2019 | Swarnima Telang, Blog, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, itsahappyworld

Interview with Swarnima Telang

Good vibes only – Meet Swarnima, who spreads positivity through art

Swarnima Telang, Illustrator

20th May,2019

Swarnima Telang, a software engineer and an illustrator is spreading good vibes through delightful posts on her Instagram page“itsahappyworld”. She believes that “less is more”, and aims to put a smile on the faces of viewers.

Inspired by Ruskin Bond, her posts ask us to recognize that the real happiness isn’t something large and looming on the horizon, but something small, like having a cup of coffee with someone you love; baking the perfect cake; a warm sunset or a walk through nature.

Caught up with the busyness of our life, we often forget to appreciate the beauty in simplicity. Read on more to find Swarnima’s take on art, simplicity, life and more

 

Art can be perceived differently by everyone. What is “Art” to you?

For someone like me who’s not very good with words, my artwork reflects my thoughts. It is a way to transit myself to a different world, my place of imagination. Art helps me calm myself and gives me happiness.

How did Ruskin Bond inspire your art style?

I have always loved reading books and read my first Ruskin Bond’s story as a kid in my textbook. But at that time, it was just another English lesson. A few years back I picked up one of his books and started reading and I couldn’t stop.

The simplicity of his words and expressions; the flow and the way he describes the little things instantly made me feel good. His take on simple pleasures of life made me realize how we unnecessarily complicate things. I want to convey the same message to my audience through art.  

I believe that ‘Less is more’

You believe in finding beauty in simplicity. Could you tell us more about this?

I believe that ‘Less is more’, and the pleasure that lies in simple things and little gestures cannot be found in the fanciest of things. We live in a very competitive world where we are constantly comparing our lives on social media, which at times make us feel less about ourselves.

No matter where we go or what we do, there’s always someone better. So we must learn to be content and focus on what truly makes us happy. 

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How important do you think traveling is, for artists?

I am a wanderlust and believe that travelling is like a therapy. The vibes of a new place; talking to strangers; sitting in a roadside cafe help to look at things from a different perspective. It gives fresh ideas, and can certainly break the artists’ block.

Any current projects that you’d like to talk about? Do you have an ultimate dream project?

Currently, I am focusing on my website and my Instagram page ‘itsahappyworld’, to create happy content for my viewers.

My dream project is to design a cover or illustrate a Ruskin Bond’s book.

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If you could learn another art form, what would it be?

Dance! I love dancing as much as I love drawing. Being a hard-core fan of Madhuri, I’ve always wanted to learn Kathak. Trust me, in my head I’ve choreographed few amazing pieces.

Have you ever hit rock bottom? If yes, how did you get back on your feet?

Fortunately, I’ve never experienced it.

If you could go back in time and change one decision that you made, what would it be?

Absolutely Nothing. I am here today because of all the decisions that I’ve made, right or wrong. I firmly believe that whatever happens, happens for the good. So, I wouldn’t change a thing as I’m absolutely grateful for what I have.

Many people look up to your work. Do you plan on conducting workshops?

Yes, I do wish to have workshops in future. Whenever I get a chance I will.

Who has been your greatest support throughout your journey?

From the start, my family and friends have been my biggest support. They’ve encourages and appreciated every artwork of mine. My mom is the first one to comment and share my posts, even today.

This would’ve been impossible without my husband’s cooperation. When I’m busy completing orders, he’s the one who manages everything at home, and when I launched my merchandise, he solely managed the logistics and other requirements.

What advice would you give for budding artists?

Keep practising. Don’t rush into anything. Use multiple references and create the artwork in your own style. Most importantly, draw for yourself and you will always find people who will relate to them.

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Meet Shesh Kiran – An artist who communicates through art.

Meet Shesh Kiran – An artist who communicates through art.

by | May 30, 2019 | Blog, Animator, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, Shesh Kiran

Interview with Shesh Kiran

Meet Shesh Kiran, who communicates through art

Shesh Kiran, Animator and illustrator

20th May,2019

Shesh kiran is a professional animator and a self-taught caricature artist, from Bangalore, who lost his hearing ability in his early childhood. Over the years, he developed an interest in art. He never saw his disability as a shortcoming, instead focused on what he does the best – Art.

Here is an inspiring snippet about his journey as an artist.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it”.

~Helen Keller

When Shesh Kiran was born, he did not cry. This made the doctors put him in a special care unit. The heavy dose of antibiotics given affected the micro strands of hair in his ears, due to which he lost his hearing ability. This was undetected until they observed that he was not getting terrified by loud noises.

When he turned 2, his family’s attempt to get him to use hearing aids failed as he was reluctant to wear them. But this did not stop him from learning new things. He started comprehending things in his own way.  

He started sketching at a very young age.  Eventually, he also learnt writing from his elder sister. “It was easy to teach him about tangible things, but we didn’t know how to make him understand what intangible things were. For example, he would ask what a ‘week’ is. But, he somehow figured it out”, says his family.

Being a huge fan of comic books such as Tin-Tin; Jughead; Asterix and Archies, he used to imitate the comics in his own drawing style. In his schooldays, the other kids used to ask him to draw for them. Tired of the requests, he started charging five rupees for each. He even conducted drawing classes for few neighbourhood kids.

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Drawings done by Shesh in UKG

His family recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue art seriously after his 12th grade. He joined animation classes and learnt Flash; 2D & 3D animation and specialized in character design. “His animation always stood out from the rest”, says his father. He recalls how his first digital art was executed in MS Paint.

He has worked for various design and animation companies such as Parampadham; Media Genie; Stump Vision; Foresee and ZVKY Design studio until now, on various projects such as children Magazines, animations for live scoreboards, making characters for games such as Farmville, advertisements and so on.

He’s also a freelance caricature artist, on the weekends.

“People get offended when I exaggerate their features, which defeats the whole purpose of caricatures”, he says. He makes caricatures of couples, pets and famous personalities.

His work has been featured in many magazines. He says that he was on cloud nine when his caricature of Bal Thackeray got published in the official magazine of RSS.

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at”.

Shesh Kiran believes that our brain is wired in such a way that if one of our five senses is weak, the others become stronger. His advice for aspiring artists is to keep sketching; practice drawing imaginary characters and keep it simple.

 

Click on the links below to see more of his artworks

http://sheshkiran.blogspot.com/

https://sheshkiran.tumblr.com/

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Life in a metro – Meet Samar Khan, the guy behind quirky doodles of The Delhi Metro

Life in a metro – Meet Samar Khan, the guy behind quirky doodles of The Delhi Metro

by | May 28, 2019 | Metrodoodle, Blog, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, Samar Khan

Interview with Samar Khan

Life in a metro – Meet Samar Khan, the guy behind quirky doodles of the Delhi Metro

Samar Khan, Freelance Illustrator

27th May,2019

Commuting through metro has become an indispensable part of our lives. While most of us spend time listening to music, reading books, looking into others’ phones or just fussing about the crowd, Samar Khan, a software developer and a freelance illustrator, is creating insane doodles on his way back from work. He brings life on the tired faces of unsuspecting metro commuters, through his doodles.

Here’s what Samar has to say to Stoned Santa about his journey. (Quite literally)

Tired of spending countless hours on metro trains, everyday for about 6 years, Samar decided to productively utilise the time by capturing pictures and making interesting doodles on them. He says that artists like Subwaydoodles, Lucas Leviton and Donna Adi inspired him to introduce this concept in India.

Started off as  a hobby, today he has 33k followers who adore his doodles. “I’ve always loved drawing since I was a kid. It all started on the last pages of my notebooks. I would scribble to kill my time in classes, but I never knew that this would lead to something this big”, he says.

He views drawing as an escape from the weariness of work life. Never being able to draw well traditionally, he’s ever grateful to his phone, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and his iPad for introducing him to limitless possibilities. Most of his characters are imaginary, while he draws inspiration for few from TV shows and movies.

Why only metro?  “I spend most of my time commuting in it, and I think people can relate to it better because of the familiarity. Nonetheless, I would love to experiment on different places”, says Samar who has posted over 150 doodles on his page.

He has worked for many major clients, which includes Adidas, and hopes to work for some super cool clients.

Metro Doodles by Samar Khan

When asked if he would like to travel to the future or past, “Future, for sure. I am always curious about the mankind’s future”, he says. He jokes that delay in payments is his biggest pet peeve.

The famous saying, “Journey is often more beautiful than the destination”, is indeed true for Samar Khan.

Next time, when you’re on a metro aimlessly staring into the oblivion, grab your phone and check out Samar Khan’s mind-blowing doodles on his Instagram page @metrodoodle.

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Whatever it takes – Yadvender Singh on Digital Illustrations and Superheroes

Whatever it takes – Yadvender Singh on Digital Illustrations and Superheroes

by | May 24, 2019 | Blog, Graphic designs, Illustrations, Illustrator, interview, Yadvender Singh

Interview with Yadvender Singh Rana

Whatever it takes! – Yadvender Singh on Digital illustrations and Superheroes

Yadvender Singh Rana, Illustrator

24th May,2019

Don’t you often marvel as to what is the one thing that makes people successful? There may be some stark changes that you might want to bring about in your life. Read on to find out how the very talented Yadvender Singh Rana, an illustrator from Punjab achieved success through his brilliant renditions of DC and Marvel characters. He has done it all, and whatever it takes.

What made you to start drawing superheroes?

When I was about five years old, Shaktimaan was aired on Doordarshan. My mother used to draw Shaktimaan in her own style and show them to me. I was fascinated by this and started tracing comics using carbon sheets.

DC and Marvel comics were not being sold in Punjab as they thought it had inappropriate content for kids. So, I used to save up money in order to google these images, in an internet café and draw them at home. This was the start and I haven’t stopped drawing ever since.

When did you get your first big break? How was the journey Until then?

In 2018, three days after ‘The Infinity War’ was released, the Spidey-Iron man scene was so heart touching that I posted an art work on it. This post broke the internet. That was my first big break!

“I was so overwhelmed by it that I could hardly feel my body”.

JOSH BROLIN (Thanos) shared your art work. What was your reaction to that?

On the night of May 26th, I was sleeplessly working to complete an art work.  I posted it at 2 am and went to sleep. I woke up, disturbed by the incessant buzzing of my phone. I had over a hundred messages and notifications on Instagram, congratulating me.Coincidentally, it was my birthday and I thought that my inbox was being flooded with wishes.

I opened Instagram and saw that Josh had shared my post. I was so overwhelmed by it that I could hardly feel my body. Anyway, I didn’t let success get into my head because the show must go on. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

 

Coincidence or spoilers?

I hadn’t watched the Endgame until a week after it released. I started to gain a lot of followers suddenly, and many started accused me of posting the spoilers. I had no idea what they were talking about.

After I watched the movie, I realized that three of the drawings that I had done over a year ago came to life in the movie. 

I had made paintings of hypothetical situations, like – Thor holding pieces of Thanos’ head; Cap holding Thor’s Hammer, and Iron man wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. It’s so astonishing that these actually came true.

Marvel or DC?

I’m a fan of both. I started off by drawing DC characters. I was so excited for “Justice League”, but when the movie came out, it broke my heart. As an artist, I should be unbiased and work on whatever is trending. Marvel has been in the trend lately, that’s why I post about them.

 DC movies are for a much more mature audience, but the current generation is young, they want optimism, punch lines and sarcasm. Marvel has all of these and they have executed their universe so well. I could say that when it comes to comics, DC is better and when it comes to movies, Marvel is better.

If you could be a superhero for one day, who would you be?

Superman, anyday! That guy has got it all- speed, flight and he’s not vulnerable to anything.

 Do you wish to diversify your artwork?

I want to work on whatever is trending in the pop culture. I plan on getting into games, TV shows and music bands.

Is there any dream project that you’d like to talk about?

I want to officially work for Marvel. Currently, the same pattern is being used for all Marvel posters. I wish to break that rhythm and make interesting posters.

Do you have any advice for budding artists?

I have one advice – PLEASE SKETCH EVERYDAY.  I think it is extremely important for an artist to sketch everyday. It need not be perfect, it can be a rough outline. One must practise sketching the complete human anatomy, I cannot stress enough on this point. You should give your brain a rough idea before starting any drawing.

Famous artists like M F Hussain, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci made abstract paintings. Many of them take that as an inspiration and forget that they need to master shapes and patterns before getting to the stage where you’ve moved past them.

Nobody is born with talent. No one is born with anything except flesh and blood. We are what we choose to do, and do repeatedly. Or, as Bruce Wayne says, “It’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us”.

 

 

 

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