I recently interviewed the artist Alex Maenor on Instagram via DM text. Her account username name is alexmaenor, she currently has 1,593 followers which isn’t a lot considering the fact of how good her art is. The genre of art she normally does is fantasy art and as a self-taught illustrator, she gave me a lot of amazing answers during the interview. 

Introduction

                “My name is Alex. I was born and raised in Romania. I studied for a year in art school, but I had to drop out because it was very expensive. I started drawing again in 2021 10 years after I initially dropped out and quit art. I was always drawing I come from poverty raised by a single mom, so we didn’t have toys. We used to draw dolls and plushies on paper and cut them out with scissors and we played with them. It’s kind of sad, but it worked out and my sister and I are both artists. “

Question 1: What makes art so important to you? And why is art so important as a whole?

                      “I’ve been drawing since I was little, and I’ve enjoyed drawing random comic books as a child. Creating unique stories and characters always came naturally to me and art. Drawing has always been the best way for me to let my creativity loose and have some fun with concepts that I couldn’t explore in any other way.“

Question 2: When do you find inspiration in your art? And what do you think makes your type of art so unique compared to other artists?

                            “I find most inspiration in watching cartoons and animated movies. I love the idea of creating a story or a narrative rather than just drawings and images. When it comes to the uniqueness of my art compared to other artists, I don’t necessarily see it. Everything I create is inspired by shows and artists I look up to such as Dana Terrace, Alex Hirsch, Charles Dalmau, Daniele Turturici, and Alessandro Barbucci. I look up to them and hope that one day my art will mean as much to an audience as theirs means to me after years of following their stories and experiences. “

Question 3: What are the purpose and goals behind your art? What do you want it to mean and symbolize?

                              “I’ve always wanted to create stories like comic books or animated shows. I wanted to express my creativity into something that can mean as much to people as some cartoons meant to me growing up.” 

Question 4: What type of key factors influence your art? And how do those factors make you improve your art? 

                            “Animated shows I watch do great in inspiring me to improve and also helping me with references in terms of expression, lighting, and storytelling. “ 

Question 5: What are some of your techniques to get through creative blocks? And does it help refresh your ideas/mind to create new characters? 

                             “Creative blocks are the worst things I have to deal with when it comes to what I do. I find that creative blocks usually come as I improve, and I try to go to the next steps. As in I overestimate myself and then get disappointed when I can’t draw the things, I thought I could. I find that studying basic fundamentals such as anatomy, basic shapes and perspective, color theory, and character design helps me get through the blocks I’m currently having as it gives me the answers of how I should be approaching the basic sketch step. To make it shorter, when I can’t find a way to express what I want to, I go back and study the basics of what I’m struggling with. “

Question 6: What advice would you give young girls and boys who want to make art but feel like they’re not good enough?

                                   “The first advice that comes to my mind is to enjoy the process of drawing what you like and how you like without comparing yourself to others. Studying the basics is very important but nowhere near as important as enjoying what you’re doing. One session of studying a week and all the rest of the days drawing as a hobby can be more motivating and helpful than 7 days of studying. Enjoy the process and create exactly what you like creating. “

Additional question: How long does it take for each of your art pieces to finish?

                                “Anywhere between 1 hour to maybe 16 hours depending on how complex the piece is.”

Last Additional question: How important is Art to you?

                                “Art has always been the one thing that makes me look forward to my future thinking there is a place for me to express myself. It’s pretty much the only thing I’m passionate about and that makes me think I can be good at something so very important. “