Interview with Miri

Published    4th September, 2017

Could you tell us something about yourself?

Hi there, I’m Miri. I’ve been drawing ever since I could pick up a pencil and switched to digital in the past 3 or so years, currently enrolled in college to grind out credits and hopefully become an animator.

Do you paint professionally, as a hobby artist, or both?

At this moment in time I’m just a hobbyist who does volunteer work for the Smite Community Magazine, but I’d love to be a professional someday.

What genre(s) do you work in?

Mainly fantasy and mythology gods and gaming fanart, I really love drawing characters.

Whose work inspires you most — who are your role models as an artist?

Oh man, I really love Araki Hirohiko’s figure style, the way he draws poses is just fascinating and what really kickstarted my interest in drawing people. Jaguddada on DeviantArt is absolutely hands down my favorite digital painter, the way he handles colors and how his digital paint strokes look like oil on canvas just fascinates me, I’d love to learn color theory and his painting skills one day. Baby steps!

How and when did you get to try digital painting for the first time?

I think it was in 2014 with Paint Tool Sai, I had interest in making fanart of some band I was into, it was rough and blocky and simple, but really fun.

What makes you choose digital over traditional painting?

The ability to just erase mistakes like they never even happened, and being able to redline things without it smudging, just having so many ways to fix mistakes like they weren’t even there to begin with, and the non-messy cleanup when you’re finished drawing. No pencils littered everywhere or shavings, no drying out markers to replace, etc.

How did you find out about Krita?

I made the switch to Linux in early 2016, finding out that Sai and CS6 wouldn’t be available unless I used WINE to emulate them, I just started looking for a free software that fit my taste. GIMP was okay, but it had a few quirks I couldn’t really iron out, and it was a bit simple for me. I think I found out about Krita through an art thread on some imageboard for taking requests, tried it out, it ran like a smoother SAI and I haven’t looked back.

What was your first impression?

I was like “Wow, this is a lot to take in and learn.” I’m still trying to figure out everything! There’s so many buttons I’m still unsure on what they do, I am just a simpleton!

What do you love about Krita?

I really love how it’s Linux friendly, and how it’s like a great replacement for Sai, like, I can actually make cool things in it without too much effort, and then there’s even levels further that I haven’t even explored yet that will probably even improve my stuff even more in the future. Also the opacity slider right above layers? Found that the first time I opened it, and it’s been my best friend ever since, took me a while on other programs to figure out what that bar did.

What do you think needs improvement in Krita? Is there anything that really annoys you?

There was one bug in the past when I used my left handed script that it would reset the pen size and opacity and brush type once you flipped it over from using the eraser, and it was my burden. Also the unexpected crashes. But the bug got fixed so I finally got to update my Krita again and that was a very good day. Also, not sure if it exists and I just haven’t found it yet, but Sai had a clipping tool that made it so you could clip layers to other layers so if you colored out of one of the layers it wouldn’t bleed to the rest of the drawing, that’s something I’ve googled but haven’t found the answer to yet, but it would
be a godsend to find.

What sets Krita apart from the other tools that you use?

Free Software and Linux compatible. Cannot stress it enough. Linux support is a dealmaker and the fact I don’t have to pay out of pocket for a program that works just as good if not even better than the paid ones is really awesome.

If you had to pick one favourite of all your work done in Krita so far, what would it be, and why?

Every new piece beomes my favorite for a certain time, until I start pointing out flaws in it, and then go back to an older piece. I’m really into my Ra + Thoth piece, though, just because of the details and shading coming out so nice, not to mention a background I was really pleased with.

What techniques and brushes did you use in it?

Oh god it’s been so long, I believe I used the paint settings marker brush with it’s slight opacity for shading, one of the square brushes under blending for lighting, and the pencil tool from Deevad’s set for outlining. I’m really obsessed with the paint set of default pens for the basics.

Where can people see more of your work?

Deviantart: Pluuck
Twitter: Hikkikomiri
(Or if you like MOBAs, check out the latest SMITE community gaming magazine!)

Anything else you’d like to share?

Honestly, never give up. Accept critique but don’t let it eat you away
to make you fear picking up a pen again. What may be something you find
a struggle, may be even harder for someone else. Be unique, be creative,
and always keep improving.