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
Bu hikaye ImagineFX dergisinin August 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye ImagineFX dergisinin August 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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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
