How did you get into the world of illustration / comics?
Like many people, I started to draw from a very young age characters from series that I liked as Inuyasha or Sakura. It wasn't until I opened my Instagram account, back in 2016, that I began to take the subject of drawing more seriously. I met a lot of new artists thanks to this platform from which I learned a lot, it made me be more retrospective regarding my own drawings and I wanted each drawing to be better than the previous one, I worked things that I had not taken into account until then and I started creating my own characters. I also became a bit competitive.
Your first contact with Planeta Manga was …
I had heard about the magazine before, but my first contact was not until I started talking to the editor to participate in it, who considered that I fit this project because of my manga drawing style.
How did the plot of Meadow Queen come about?
The truth is that the plot of Meadow Queen It was made specifically for Planeta Manga, it is not a project I have been working on for a long time. What's more, I brought it up the night before I met with the editor.
Meadow Queen It started inspired by a manga I bought in Japan made by an artist friend of my friend: Mayu, Matou in Japanese, later known as Cocoon entwined In the English translations, it is a school yuri manga where the artist, Yuriko Hara, devotes a lot of attention to drawing, especially hair. Driven by this aesthetic, I drew the character of Violate and looking for a certain contrast with her, the protagonist Lia.
Once I decided that the project I would start working on would be Meadow Queen, was when I started working on the plot. The editor had told me that there were quite a few yuri works in the magazine already, but none with this fantastic tone, so I decided to make the work less calm and work a little more on the adventure so that there would be more variety.
What did you do first: character creation or the script? How is your usual work circuit?
Whenever I think of a project, not only with Meadow Queen, the first thing I do is design the characters. I don't know if it will be the correct procedure, but it is what I like to do the most so it is the first thing I do. It helps me to have a clearer image of the idea and while drawing the character I keep thinking about new things for the story, so they are processes that go a bit hand in hand for me. When the drawings are to my liking, I start writing the script.
Regarding how I organize myself when working, the process is quite simple. The first thing I did with Meadow Queen It was to leave a script done, so that in the other chapters everything was already decided and I could focus as much as possible on the drawing, which is my thing. For each chapter I make very small storyboards, about 1 – 2cm, where I ask myself how many pages it will last and where each part of the story will be, a page composition and basic movements. Then, a larger storyboard, 7 – 8cm in which everything is seen more clearly but which is still incomprehensible to someone other than me. This second story serves as a reference for the final storyboard, which is real size (A4). Then I make a cleaner pencil drawing, ink it and finally scan it to digitally add the grays and patterns.
How do you rate the reception that the magazine has had and what would you highlight about it?
When I saw the amount of people who were at the Planeta Manga booth in the 2019 Hall, it seemed amazing to me, the magazine has had a much greater reception than I expected and the truth is that, as someone who is starting, I It is very encouraging to know that the community is so busy with national artists.
Your favorite Planet Manga series is …
Let's see this question is complicated. I loved it Mangaka by Ana Oncina, it seemed like a very sweet story told in a few pages. I also really liked Mr. Light Feet by Marta Salmons, both are short series so if I had to say a long series it would be Midoriboshi by Akira Pantsu.
Next projects.
Now that it's over Meadow Queen, My participation in the magazine will continue with illustrations, which you can see in the magazine as well as on YouTube as a speedpaint when it is published.
I do not rule out in the future doing shorter series like one shot or working purely as a cartoonist adapting a script.
Your social networks:
Instagram: @ risu.risu.risu
Thank you! ☺
