Introduction
Hello, lovely folks!
So, today I bring you a new series of blog posts: Artists & Writing. I want to focus on the artists, to elevate the stunning and inspiring work they do, and to link all kinds of inspiration and art with writing. Because in my own view, writing is art, too.
As for the artists, I welcome all kinds, whether they're illustrators, home interior designers, fashion designers, animators, film producers… I want to expand people's view and understand of art. And to perceive its connection to writing and words and imagination overall.
I hope this series touches you in some way or perhaps inspires you.
My first guest?
Please welcome the amazing illustrator & graphic designer, Valentin Romero! He was kind enough to agree to this interview when I contacted him. I thought he would be a great person and artist to feature on my blog as he seemed to like my idea for this series and he is quite inspiring. His work is just jaw-dropping.
Enjoy the interview, loves!
Mighty Thor / Jane Foster by Valentin Romero, @valentinromeroart, 2021.
Interview with an Artist: Valentin Romero
1- What is your greatest achievement and why?
I remember that my greatest achievement was going to my 1st Convention, it was in 2019. It was in a big city that was about 100 km from my hometown. At the time I was on the other side of the country, due to university, but I was free at the time, so I took a plane there. It was great, I met a lot of my fans, talked to them and more. I had a nice time. Some of my friends came to congratulate me, and family members too. I had many other invitations to other conventions, but due to Covid they were canceled, so it's a shame, but safety comes first so we'll have to wait.
2- How did you come to work on Mortal Kombat, and what exactly was your main task?
It was an incredible opportunity, since I was a kid I played Mortal Kombat so it was a great moment to be able to officially collaborate. Mortal Kombat had collaborated with rapper Megan Thee Stallion, which I adore so it was a great opportunity. Megan was going to do a streaming video playing MK and she had also done a cosplay of the character of Mileena. My task was to design a poster of Megan as Mileena to transmit during streaming. Megan's reaction was so sweet so thanks to Megan and all the Mortal Kombat people who trusted me.
3- When did you start illustrating and graphic design as a hobby, and what attracted you to it?
I started illustrating digitally at the same time that I opened my Instagram account, about 2 years ago. All as a hobby since I recently graduated from high school. What brought me to this world was seeing that there were more possibilities to make art separate from the traditional. Being a cinematographer and artist, the movie posters, the concept art, the effects, the color palettes, etc., caught my attention. So I started using Photoshop from scratch and no one ever taught me anything, it was learning curiosity and investigating each function. Over time I got some digital tablets and that improved my techniques
4- What made you realize art was what you wanted to do as your career?
I was always an artist so more less I always knew that I was going to end up doing something related to art. I am currently studying Graphic Design, they do not teach me things related to programs or Morphology. The market is updating every day so I think the university should do it too. But if I'm honest with you, it would really be a dream come true to be able to play Wiccan in the MCU, I have studied acting apart from design, I am the right age and I am physically perished to the actor Julian who played him in his child version and also in the version adult from comics. Besides being gay, I would love to be able to give an excellent representation in this world of superheroes.
5- What is your professional journey?
My professional career was always based on commissions and these collaborations like Mortal Kombat. My followers ask me to transform them into a character and I love it, it is a good way to get out of the ordinary. I was also in a design studio for a few months learning about machines and it was a good experience.
6- As an illustrator and graphic designer working online as well, do you find it easier to find jobs online or in person, for example via conventions?
In my case, I live in a relatively small city so in person I don't see it as a viable option. The internet has given me more possibilities by having a greater exposure and I am always open to job proposals either in Argentina or abroad. One platform that has served me a lot was LinkedIn and obviously Instagram.
7- What made you choose digital art over traditional art?
I think that what led me to choose digital was the fact of realism. As I told you, I really like posters and photography and being able to combine it with a design software like Photoshop that gives you infinite possibilities is a great advantage. But in the same way I always sketch some ideas before starting a design in photoshop.
8- I watched your videos on your YouTube channel where you transform an actual picture into posters or other versions of the characters. Can you tell us what motivates you to do that and keep improving?
What always motivates me is to continue creating everything I imagine and to be able to give life to projects or ideas that I have in my mind and I would like to see them realized. Also give my followers constant content. But whenever I have a good idea and it motivates me, I put all my attention on making it as perfect as possible. I always practice new techniques "off camera" so I can apply them later. I have to buy better equipment, I always wanted to be a youtuber and have my content, but I don't have to have time to edit. Also as I mentioned I do a lot of practice outside the camera but I would also like to do something more of the lifestyle channel or something like that but I am locked up a lot so I do not know. There are days that I want to do everything and other days I just want to be with myself. But I would really like to do it, really.
9- What does a typical day look like for you as an artist?
Well, as we are in a pandemic there is not much to do, but I live in a relatively small city so we have a little more freedom. I am studying my first year in a virtual way at the university. I do not like it very much since I miss meeting new people or going to campus, so now I take classes 3 times a week via webcam but that alone so the process is quite boring and slow. But since I have most of my free time, I like to draw sketches all day. It is always good to practice. I also play Valorant online, it is a game that I discovered in this pandemic and I love it so I always play. I live 5 minutes away from the Atlantic ocean so I always go by bike for some long walks, on the other side of the city is full of mountains so it is also good to go for a walk. I also take my time every day to respond to comments or messages and check my networks a bit.
10- What advice would you give artists to break into the art world?
Artists who are just starting out in the networks always ask me what advice I could give them, or how I learned, etc. I think the best I can tell you is not to be ashamed to upload your art, out there they think that it is not so good to publish it but not all of us are born learning so there is no need to be ashamed of anything. After consistency is something important, always be practicing to improve and in the long run you will see the results .. And finally, publish what you want, do not pigeonhole into a single topic because otherwise you will get bored quickly.
11- Do you have specific study methods to improve your skills?
I think not, basically I am drawing all day, perfecting anatomy, postures, expressions etc. As for photoshop, I'm always trying new techniques or seeing how I combine my images and bringing my ideas to life. I always keep in mind details like lights, color palettes. The key for me is consistency and daily practice. That's it.
12- What are your favorite learning resources?
I love Pinterest, there are many ideas out there. I took some online courses at Domestika but they were mostly to perfect little things. YouTube always has some advice to implement but I don't like to copy the tutorials exactly as I like to develop my style. My last design class was one given by the designer Gina DeDomenico, she is a conceptual artist and did work for "Titans" "Stargirl" "The Boys" among others
13- Has any book inspired you, or is there any book you found helpful, whether fiction or non-fiction?
I have always read a lot since I was a kid. My dad was always giving me books, some were "Pride and Prejudice" "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" "Martin Fierro" "The Little Prince" "To Kill a Mockingbird" among others. These books always gave me a lot of imagination and opened my mind. Then I started reading the comics and one of the ones I read recently and I liked a lot was "young avengers by gillen & mckelvie" the truth is that I loved that style of illustration too much, along with the colors and the characters so it is one of my marvel favorites.
14- What are your thoughts on the different types of art? Do you feel inspired by movies, tv shows, books, crafting…?
Yes, of course. I find a lot of inspiration in movies, series, music videos, comics, etc. I really like to experiment with textures or colors that I see for example in music videos. Doja Cat is one of the artists who puts the most style in her videos in terms of art, so I really like talking about her videos, for example. I really like "Avengers Assemble" , the animation I liked a lot when I saw it. I also like the simple sketches, I think that not everything has to be complex to be beautiful. I love crafting, I used to make bracelets when I was 14 I remember with some rubber bands in school.
15- Do you think an art type can feed the other art types and vice versa? How does this affect you?
I think so. For example, I'm a lot of sketching poses, faces, costumes all day, and then I like to use markers to finish that drawing. I do this many times before starting a piece in digital. Since I don't like doing sketches in digital so much, I got used to pencil and paper. So I am always combining these techniques in my creative process. I also took painting classes for 3 years and I really like it, so it helped me a lot with environments and painting techniques, some of them I apply in digital with some digital brushes, maybe for environment, clothes, skin texture, etc.
Valentin Romero
As a final word, I really hope you enjoyed this exclusive interview with this incredible and friendly artist. He was a joy to work with! If you'd like to be featured on my blog as an artist, please do reach me at catherinegv.writertranslator@gmail.com with an example and description of what you do! If you're not an artist in a "traditionally known way" (such as architects, and so on) but think it might count as art, I highly encourage you to contact me as well so we can discuss your idea! I think the more art types are known, the better we'll be for it.
Let's spread art, woohoo!
Thank you for being with me on this adventure, darlings, and see you next post!
Ad Librum Aeternam 