Linnea Kataja is a manga artist in the USA whose work enjoys a faithful and ever-growing online audience. In 2019, her project A Maid Story won recognition in Japan via Ribon magazine's Comic Grand Prix. Linnea talks us through her influences and her creative processes.
"I saw the anime Tokyo Mew Mew on TV as a child and started collecting the manga shortly after. There was something different' about it compared to American comics and cartoons. The cuteness of the characters, the highly detailed illustrations and captivating stories, all of it enchanted me. I couldn’t stop trying to replicate the style, it became my passion and I made it my goal to become a manga artist. I want to create the same type of captivating work I’ve grown to love,” Linnea explains. “My main influences are shoujo manga artists and ‘moe’ style illustrators, especially the manga series published in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi magazine such as Shugo Chara!, Tokyo Mew Mew and Cardcaptor Sakura to name a few. On the horror side, series like Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni and Madoka Magica have been my biggest influences. I love the contrast between the cute characters and the horrifying situations they have to experience. Compared to normal horror media, this contrast makes the darker elements stand out in a captivating and disturbing way, since such cute characters shouldn’t be experiencing such terrifying situations.”
THE ARTISTIC PROCESS
Denne historien er fra August 2022-utgaven av ImagineFX.
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Denne historien er fra August 2022-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow
First Impressions
The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world
CREATIVE STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY
Co-founder and creative force André Luís talks about the ethos and evolution of Trojan Horse Was A Unicorn
Gigi Murakami
Shock and terror! Step into the world of the American horror manga artist, where her tastes are on full display
The path to the top at a video games company
No cheat codes required Tanya Combrinck finds out exactly what it takes to make the leap from burgeoning student to game-shaping art director
