We had the pleasure of chatting with illustrator TIHARA EZZO all about their work! All Ages of Geek loves giving creators a platform to discuss their journey as a creative. Be sure to read the interview to learn more!
What makes you create? What drives you?
In recent years, my art has become an essential outlet for me to express myself. Whether it’s a story I want to tell or a feeling I want to share, I can do that through my art. It also just feels really good to step away from a drawing once it’s done and say “Hey, I made that!”.
How did you get started in your craft?
I started drawing in elementary school when I discovered anime and manga. I would check out how-to-draw-anime books from the library and practice copying artwork from anime magazines. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I started to take art seriously and decided I wanted it to be my career. I didn’t even know that it was even an option until my art teacher told me I had potential and encouraged me to pursue it.
What’s your favorite part about your craft?
I’ve been able to meet some truly amazing people in the art community, and I hope to meet even more! I also really love recieving nice comments on my artwork. Knowing people enjoyed my work is a really good feeling.
Some struggles along the way?
There’s a lot to juggle as a freelance artist. Finding consistent work, completing projects, marketing myself on multiple social media platforms, uploading a weekly webcomic, all on top of making art for myself, it can be a real struggle.
What would you change about your industry?
More job security and better pay for artists. This past year has been especially rough for many artists (myself included) so I hope that we see a lot more opportunities next year!
Your inspirations and favorite creators?
My biggest inspirations come from my favorite show and comics, such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Steven Universe, Mob Psycho 100, and Ranma ½. Some of my current favorite creators are @miraongchua , @bucketofrobots , and @mewtripled
Any rituals when you create things like drinking tea or breathing exercises?
I’m very particular about my morning routine actually, lol. If I don’t start my day with my favorite coffee I get super groggy for the rest of the day.
What makes your art stand out from the crowd?
I’ve been told I have very nice color palettes, and I tend to agree lol.
Your favorite piece of work from your portfolio?
It changes pretty often, but right now I would have to say it’s the cover to my webcomic, Bottled Up. I think it does a really good job at getting people interested in my story.
Any tips to give about your craft for beginners?
Try not to worry about things looking perfect. You have to get all of the bad drawings out of the way before you start making good drawings. So try to get all of your ideas out onto the page! You can always go back and improve them later.
What do you think about All Ages of Geek? Who do you think we should interview next? Any creators you want to give a special shout out to?
I really appreciate that you give a platform for small creators like myself! I think it would be great to continue interviewing more artists.
Where can people find your work online?’
You can find links to all of my main pages here, including links to my webcomic, Bottled Up
tiharaezzo.carrd.co
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