Alida Pintus is an Italian freelance idea artist and character designer. She studied artwork in a number of colleges in Italy, together with Mimaster in Milan and the IDEA Academy in Rome, after which sharpened her expertise overseas on the Quentin Blake Middle in London and Anomalia Artwork Labs within the Czech Republic. She says her work is strongly impressed by all these totally different locations she has been to and the folks she has met alongside the best way.
Right now she works in each conventional supplies and in Procreate on among the finest iPads for drawing. We caught up along with her to get a glimpse inside her sketchbook and study extra about her work.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“After I was a baby I used to spend so much of time alone, I had the privilege of being so bored,” Alida recollects smiling. “To fill that hole, I grew to become desirous about books, notably previous illustrated fairy tales. I believed: After I develop up, I might love to attract my very own characters and tales! However actually, I did not know what it was wish to be an illustrator, not to mention an idea artist.”
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She provides: “Right now, I discover myself illustrating very totally different books and tasks: from the friendship story between a baby and a rhinoceros in Sixteenth-century Liguria to a gothic kids’s collection curated by Edizioni Piuma.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
Alida says she began drawing persistently in a sketchbook throughout her freshman yr of highschool. “Everybody had a sketchbook and shared their work on Instagram, so I began doing the identical,” she recollects. “Because of social media, I found much more artists sharing their Moleskine flip-throughs. Their sketches appeared so interesting to me! From that second on, I began carrying an A6 sketchbook and a black ballpoint pen with me all over the place.”
“I used the methods they taught us at school, and actually I used to be not at all times glad with my drawings. Truly I’d at all times cease after finishing half of the sketchbook after which begin a brand new one.”
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(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
Alida says she that like lots of her friends, she was a fan of Loish at the moment. “I copied her means of stylizing characters. However I additionally admired cartoonists like Cyril Pedrosa and Ken Niimura, and all of the behind-the-scenes content material from massive studios like Pixar and Dreamworks,” she says.
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(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“Then I bought into kids’s illustrations. I noticed that I at all times most well-liked the color stage to the drawing stage. So I began experimenting with collage and texture and being extra spontaneous with my brushstrokes. I used to be fascinated by the work of Gek Tessaro, Narges Mohammadi, Laura Carlin, Suzy Lee and Isabelle Arsenault.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
I am curious how a lot Alida’s method has modified from the primary sketchbooks to the newest ones. “At first I used the sketchbook extra as a proof of being an artist. One thing I might present to individuals who needed to see my work. That generated a whole lot of stress and insecurity. You would see it in my drawings, they had been small and took up each inch of the web page,” she says.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“Now I do not take into consideration displaying my sketchbook to anybody. I can do what I really feel: I can keep in my consolation zone or experiment with new methods. I can be disenchanted with the consequence and have unhealthy pages. That is okay,” she continues. “These days I have been attempting to attract open air. As a substitute of simply taking footage, I additionally take visible notes of the locations I see.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
Talking of method, Alida has some recommendation for younger artists who wrestle eager to create super-curated pages and find yourself not drawing in any respect. “All the time attempt to keep in mind that on social media you solely see what folks wish to present,” she says. “Everybody desires to look ok. However nobody creates solely masterpieces,” she says.
“We at all times are inclined to hate errors, however in artwork there aren’t any errors, solely completely satisfied accidents, to cite Bob Ross. When the clean web page intimidates you, strive gluing a bit of colored paper or making some ink stains and begin drawing from there.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
As you possibly can see on Alida’s Instagram, she participates in lots of challenges similar to Inktober and Birbfest. I requested her how she managed to attract on daily basis and what advantages she has observed. “It wasn’t at all times as simple as it might appear,” Alida says.
“The primary time I did Inktober, I ended after the primary immediate. I did not really feel ok to attract one thing stunning for each single theme. The second yr I made a decision to make my very own listing. Being very captivated with folklore, I selected a Grimm’s fairy story for every day. I had a lot enjoyable and accomplished the problem!” she provides.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“Wanting again, I do not like several of the drawings I did throughout the problem. However they helped me work sooner and really feel extra assured in relation to composition and character design.
“For me, these challenges are a stimulus for after I really feel caught. You do not have to finish them to really feel glad. Take them as a chance to spend a while in your private artwork and experiment with new methods and types as an alternative,” Alida suggests.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
I ask Alida what are her favorite sketchbook pages to date. “Mockingly, those that I did not like at first look, that I’ve left unfinished and picked up at a later time,” she says smiling.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“I additionally actually like those the place I pasted some notes or some receipts as a result of they remind me of a spot I have been that I preferred,” she provides.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
What about her favorite instruments for fast sketching? “In my bag there’s at all times a 12b pencil, an ink-filled brush pen, markers that I exploit to shortly draw the silhouette of my topics and colored pencils (currently I choose orange, blue and rainbow ones),” says Alida. “I additionally carry a glue stick and cut-outs from magazines or leftover papers with textures I created for different work.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
“After I’m at residence, I choose to make use of calligraphy inks as a result of they create good results on moist paper. I truly use a bit little bit of all the pieces, from wax crayons to grease paints.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
How does she mix conventional with digital instruments? “I began utilizing digital instruments afterward, however I do know I can not do with out them now. It’s extremely sensible after I transfer from one metropolis to a different. I simply put my iPad in my suitcase and I can work on Procreate all over the place,” Alida says.
“However I need to admit that I get pleasure from it extra after I use conventional instruments. Additionally, some textures are simpler and sooner to make on paper. So I normally put together backgrounds on paper, scan them and incorporate them into my digital illustrations. This provides extra heat and character to my digital work.”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
What do you suppose are the advantages of conventional drawing that you just would not in any other case get from working solely digitally? “Oh, I believe there are various!,” Alida solutions. “Initially, the truth that you possibly can really feel the consistency of the instruments you might be utilizing and you may grasp the distinction between holding a pencil and a wax crayon.
“Then the truth that you possibly can’t use ctrl z. It’s a must to take care of that improper spot or line. That stimulates you and trains you to take care of errors and remodel them or work round them. Perhaps that is a bit bit too emotional, however I believe some sensitivity is at all times wanted in relation to drawing,” she provides.
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
I ask Alida easy methods to discover motivation on unhealthy days. “I do not depend on motivation,” Alida replies. “I imagine in getting used to doing one thing on daily basis, accepting that there will likely be extra productive days and days when that one thing is simply sharpening a pencil.
“I normally depend on my curiosity. I wish to go round locations and draw all the pieces that catches my eye. I like to look at folks and catch potential characters and tales all over the place. Why did that man select that outfit, how lengthy has that previous woman had that canine, why is that lady in a rush? I at all times attempt to ask myself these questions when I’ve to attract a personality from scratch. My recommendation is to by no means cease being curious!”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
Ending our dialog, I ask Alida about her future objectives concerning her private artwork. “These days I have been having fun with nature illustrations loads: I’d like to make a nonfiction guide about foxes, my favorite animals.
“I’d additionally wish to get higher at backgrounds and take a look at to attract extra objects, making use of the identical guidelines as for characters. And finally I goal to attract and illustrate my very own tales. Truly I have been engaged on a couple of pitches this yr that I hope will come to fruition!”
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
(Picture credit score: Alida Pintus)
If you happen to’re impressed, see our roundup of Procreate tutorials and our information to the most effective drawing apps for iPad. For extra concepts for approach, see our latest piece by an artist on how he does determine drawing on an iPad.
