Today we’d like to introduce you to Inyez Soniat.
Inyez, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Like most artists, at a young age, I was super attracted to art. I love being creative and thinking of characters and then going through the design process; it’s super fun and exciting to see a character you imagined come to life on paper! I even remember being in school and getting a few “commissions” from school mates for a couple of dollars, snacks, or even the occasional Pokemon card. I can say I was definitely inspired by cartoons and anime that aired in the ’90s, such as Toonami and Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney and even my own mother who would get me cartoon VHS’ from other countries such as Mexico, France, and even Russia. Needless to say, if it was a cartoon I wanted to watch it!
As for my art education, I am a self-taught traditional artist. My mother and I never had much in the way of money, so when it was around that time in my life to look at collages, she offered to help me through art college, but I knew it would be very tough on her financially, so I declined and decided that I could further my interests in the art world by studying and practicing art on my own.
So here I am, a self-taught artist creating fun and silly art and sketches, even dabbling with the idea of making mini-comics as well as merchandise. I am also starting to go out to art shows and conventions to sell my art.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I love making colorful, cute, and silly cartoon character designs and illustrations mainly out of watercolor paints, markers, and acrylics.
What I like to do when it comes to merchandise, is turn my art into stickers and prints, and I hope to design a zine as well as some enamel pins or some printed clothing in the future.
I’m not sure if my art really has a message to it, but I can say that if I make you smile or laugh, then I did my job right! It just makes my day if people get uplifted by my art. I think we need more laughter in the world right now and if I provided that to you, then I feel like that’s pretty good!
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
I feel like success as an artist is all dependent of your connections with your audience, such as promoting yourself and letting people know where you’re going to be for art shows, store updates, etc…
As well as connections with art friends that you’ll make along the way, don’t be shy and make friends, it never hurts to have that art support group!
I also feel you need to be ok with being your own boss. It helps if you get good at time management, schedule keeping, and staying focused (my weakness is definitely distractions!) when trying to create an art piece to potentially sell.
Overall, I think it’s very important to keep trying and keep making art no matter what people say or what people think. Even if you do art just for relaxation, in the end,, it should make you feel happy!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I would say the best way to see my art is online on my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook @LuckyOctopusArt. That’s where I promote where I’ll be for conventions, as well as my shop information which I will be opening in April!
As for anyone who would like to support me I also do sketches for people who donate to my Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/luckyoctopusart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tictail.com/luckyoctopusshop
- Email: isoniat20@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luckyoctopusart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luckyoctopusart/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LuckyOctopusArt
- Other: ko-fi.com/luckyoctopusart
Image Credit:
Inyez Soniat
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