Hello everybody and welcome to the first official interview of 2023! This time I’m joined by a very special guest. You may have seen his artwork prominently displayed around both the Satsunami42 and Chatsunami channels as early as 2020 as well as his fantastic chibi art. Joining me today is none other than the amazing artist Arozkarlo from the Philippines! Welcome to Chatsunami how are you doing today?
Oh Hi man, I'm doing kinda great now. Thanks for this opportunity by the way.
Anytime! So before we begin our main discussion I have to ask, how long have you been drawing for? Was it something you have always enjoyed or was it a recent hobby?
Hmm, my like of art started when I was in 1st grade. I remembered when I saw one of my classmates drawing and it looked amazing. I was instantly hooked and interested about art. But before that, when I was in kindergarten, I always hated drawing. I remember crying and my father (who is a really great artist) was always scolding me to just try and draw whatever was on the board. So to answer your question, I started liking and drawing since I was in elementary and kinda stopped when I was in College. It has been a part of me growing up and it was always associated with my name back in high school. And then recently when the pandemic hit the world I started trying again and I'm surprised at how much I missed and enjoyed this hobby of mine . I hope I answered your question correctly hahaha.
Well funny you should mention the pandemic because it seemed as if everyone was trying to promote their hobbies whether it be content creation or especially artists. What inspired your particular style of drawing?
Yeah I remember people were trying to make their hobbies as a way to earn back then. As for the style, I think I'm heavily influenced by different artists that also use these chibi aesthetics. I can't name some because some might say that my art style is not close or not reminiscent of their style, but yeah, I like to believe that my style is a mixture of every artist that posted a chibi style.
To be fair it is a very iconic style! Which brings me onto my next point about how you and I met haha. As you know I started streaming around 2020 and I was desperate to try and stand out from the crowd. So when I saw your work I just had to commission you but I’ve got to ask, what did you think when I asked for you to draw a red panda with headphones?
Thank you! Yeah back then I was thrilled and honestly I was happy to work on something that I haven't really tried before. The red panda was actually my first animal commission and looking back then I was both scared and excited to produce a unique looking character for a client. The headphone part really got me giggling when I drew it for the first time, its a cute silly idea to imagine a red panda wearing one.
I’m not going to lie I was so nervous to go around asking people for such a strange commission! But I must admit you really did transform the panda into your own style. Here’s the original design versus the new one:
Did you feel more comfortable drawing the character more over time or are there any difficulties with drawing it?
Not to brag but I feel like drawing the red panda is so much easier now. Considering I've been drawing him for 2 Years hahaha but I think it's one of the characters I never get tired of drawing. Sometimes I am looking forward to you commissioning me just so I can draw him again. I really enjoy drawing him and I'm glad you really like him so much.
It’s incredible to think that it has always been 2 years since we started talking. You do an absolutely fantastic job especially with some of the cosplay and podcast themed month commissions. But seeing as you have done a wide range of commissions, are there any strange ones over the years that have stood out to you?
I mean also give credit to yourself man. An artist can really put extra effort and produce quality art when we are serving a really nice client like you. Also thank you for your kind words I'm flattered hahaha. That question reminds me of another streamer who was really hard to work with. I'm not gonna drop his name. The idea and art itself was not that hard but it's hard to please him. I remember pulling an all-nighter doing several revisions just for him to cancel it. That really stuck with me and left a bad taste.
Strange commissions though, I think I don't really mind how weird other commissions can get, so nothing really stood out. And I'm not drawing lewds so I feel like every commission I did is tolerable and fine except for that one streamer haha
That’s completely understandable. I’ve heard from a lot of artists that one of the hardest parts of commissions is difficult customers that either don’t pay for their work or are notoriously difficult. Would you say that’s the greatest difficulty being a freelance artist?
Yes. You never get used to clients. You encounter different kinds of clients. Each with their different attitudes and way of like stuff. It's really hard to always adjust to please clients. You're lucky if some clients who you worked with before come back and order again hahaha.
That is true! I guess the same applies to clients trying to find reliable artists but it just astonishes me that so many artists are for lack of a better word “scammed” into making art pieces and then not getting paid for it. Do you have any recommendations to any future artists wanting to put their work out there?
Right? Hahaha. Hmm I think one of the mistakes I've observed is these artists rushing in and trying to sell their art even if they're not ready yet. It's like they're rushing to earn. It's not bad to want to earn using art, but at least make sure you can satisfy clients with your product. Also don't annoy possible clients by constantly doing them. If you feel confident and satisfied with your art, just share it out there. Don't be afraid to showcase your skills and upload your drawings. One of these days a client will reach out to you.
I think that’s great advice. Visibility on social media is so difficult and it’s definitely harder to get favourable attention when you are knocking on their DMs. Would you say that after the lockdowns it has been harder to find clients?
Yes. A lot of competition showed up after they realized that artists are thriving during the pandemic. A lot of beginner artists are out there and some are annoying people with their continuous asking to be commissioned. But if you have loyal clients and established names and a good portfolio, you're good.
So something I’ve seen a lot of being a content creator is the rise of “GFX artists” who I’m convinced are bots that use the exact same “style” in their promotional art. Would you say there’s been an increase in that?
Yes. I've noticed them too, also AI art is being prominent now.
Funny enough I was going to ask you about AI art. I’ve been noticing a significant rise in the use of AI art and it has divided the art community. What are your thoughts on it?
I feel divided somehow. Like some people only use it for memes and fun but on the other hand it's scary to think that someday artists will be replaced by AI. But I am also confident that the majority of people will still choose people to draw stuff for them because artists can add emotions and interpret clients ideas and put their own twist on it, as opposed to AI, which I feel is an emotionless piece. I also feel like people should let people who enjoy AI use them because we can't beg people to commission us if their taste is AI made art.
I totally agree there. I think for fun AI is harmless but a machine can’t add their own style or flare to the piece. Besides from what I’ve heard even AI can’t draw hands.
Just like me and every other artist out there, I struggle with hands hahaha but yeah we just need to let people enjoy what they want. We can't tell people how to like certain stuff like art.
Good point. Well I’m sure AI hasn’t perfected a red panda with earphones quite yet. As a final question, what are your hopes for 2023? Are you going to be working on any particular projects?
Im gonna fear that day hahaha. I hope I can make content again, specifically drawing videos just like in DrawFee. I'm gonna try and make a name here locally hahaha hope it works. One thing for sure though, I'm gonna be drawing all year long.
That sound amazing to be fair! Can’t wait to see that once it comes out. And honestly I think you’re going to go on to do some amazing things!
Thanks man! I also wished 2023 will be a good year not just for artists, but streamers as well.
And on that note thank you so much for taking part in this interview. Before we wrap up, where can the awesome people reading this find your content?
I mostly post on Instagram. The same name as here on Twitter. They can find my very few artworks there, I hope they enjoy what they see.
