Samantha Karen Juanita Wade

December 29, 2011 0

Your Full Name
Samantha Karen Juanita Wade

Tell us about you.
I work towards my education and peace of mind and in the midst of it all, creativity is thrown in.

After taking a string of graphic designer jobs, all of that creativity kind of relinquished. I found that the reason for that was that being constantly given a set of guidelines and acceptability didn’t belong in creativity. A persons creativity should be boundless, feel good and set you free.

When was the first time you fell in love with the digital art world? And why?
It was simple really, I fell inlove with making cute buttons for my crappy website that was hosted on some second hand server. Having technology at my finger tips from such a young age enabled me to have a broad horizon of opportunities and learning, only if I were willing. And I was.

Where are you now?
Finishing my degree…in something not art related! I strive to work in the medical field. After working as a graphic designer, I knew how easily I could become exhausted with something that I should find fun and love and I wasn’t going to continue to feel that way if my whole life and career were based on it.

What makes your works stand-out or different from other digital artist?
I don’t think my work particularly stands out, as there are various artist that I envy and covet all the time. I do make a point to take a concept and try to push it beyond. It takes practice, and I guess I’ve practiced a lot.

What motivates you?
What motivates me is the way people react to my work. I know from experience when something really gets to you. Maybe it’s a superfluous piece of work, but the way the color reminds you of a specific time in your life, or maybe how you wish you could be inside the work, in another universe…it is a great feeling. Any reaction from my work is considered an accomplishment and that is what motivates me to create something that does so.

How does working professionally differ from being an amateur in your opinion?
There are many instances where working professional is a good and bad experience. Some people can work professionally with no boundaries set upon them, whereas if you work for a company per say, those boundaries can kind of dwindle your creativity and make it arduous. It’s always important that no matter if you’re professional, or an armature, that you never let it get to that point. Never feel tired about what you love to do.

If you could meet w/ any artist (one) past or present, whom would it be?
Salvador Dali was always someone that I found very intriguing. Although his artwork and philosophy don’t necessarily coincide with mine, you cannot deny he was an interesting specimen that would have brought some interesting conversation to dinner.

Who (or what) is your biggest influence?
I wish I could say something really profound, but there wasn’t anyone, or anything, that I considered a huge influence besides my craving to make something beautiful.

What is your life moto?
You should always be easy on yourself.

Tell us several good online resources for digital artist you recommend visiting?
I always enjoyed worth1000.com for some inspiration as well as some challenges. They offer great tutorials that only add onto your skills to make you a better artist no matter how you use it. Of course www.deviantart.com is a great resource in itself. You get the advice, tools and resources you need directly from the artists mouth. And there are a millions of artists to choose from to do so.

Do you have a style that you relate to the most?
No, not really.

Can you offer any advice on how to build-up a portfolio / ‘getting your foot in the door’ for our readers wishing to start a career in this line of digital artist ?
That’s a hard one. I still find myself wondering if I could ever consider myself “professional” in the regard to being an artist. But, for starters, a portfolio is extremely important. Many people looking to hire artist love when you bring a hard-copy of your work, like in a binder. Others say a CD with a few samples is sufficient. I say, always go with both. Additionally, there are many great websites out there to get you started on an online portfolio, for free. Such as issuu.com.

It’s very easy and looks great. If you want to really venture on your own website where you can create your own space for your portfolio, I say that is your best bet above else. This takes some skills, however, but don’t be shy to ask for help. It is a great investment.

Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
I don’t really look through any art books or magazines.

Do you have anyone/company you would like to collaborate/work together?
I always was interested in making movie posters for movies. I thought that would be really great. Working in the movie industry would be pretty rad!

What are the digital artist equipment(s) do you currently own?
I have an Intuos4 from Wacom that I would kill anyone to protect.

Name 3 softwares that you use the most, and tell us the function of each them.
I work with all of the Adobe programs, such as Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator. Photoshop is such a powerful tool, that I’m not even sure that I utilize it to it’s fullest potential. It is incredible for a lot of my work that is a combination of photo manipulation and original painting. As I found myself trying to market myself and become a freelance graphic artist, I found that Illustrator was a very powerful tool as well. It excelled in making original logos and t-shirt designs. Vector images are vital if you’re working as a professional, as it allows you to manipulate the piece without ever losing a bit of quality.

If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
www.itssupersam.deviantart.com. Deviant art has given me wonderful opportunities to show my talents and allowed me to rise above what I originally thought about my abilities.

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