Interview with MiyaToriaka
1. Introduce yourself.
Hi, I'm MiyaToriaka, 29years old and this is my 15th year drawing Anime and my 23rd year drawing in general ♥
2. What got you started working on Fan Art?
My first art ever was copying Disney-artworks. When I got into Anime thanks to Pokémon and Sailor Moon in 1999, I started drawing FanArt. Mostly Pokémon, because it's my favorite show. I fell in love with the characters Ash (Satoshi) and Misty (Kasumi) and started drawing them and their Pokémon, later also their friends.
3. What do you enjoy about making and viewing Fan Art?
I love doing sketches. It's something wonderful to see the pictures out of your head coming alive on paper, so you can see it with your own eyes and not imagination only. It's something very special to me. My goal always was to be able to let people feel and see all the emotions I put in every single drawing. Of course, I always try to let this see as "real" as it's possible with a drawing. Mostly, I like to put a lot of scenes in one picture. That's what makes me happy the most.
4. How has Fan Art helped your art improve?
I'm not sure about this. Fact is, with drawing FanArts I could improve my coloration-skills, it also helped me to find a unique drawing-style. That wouldn't have been possible if I had only copied from original pictures. Many people want to draw realisticly, that's why they use references. I didn't care about references at all. My goal always was to be able to draw every scenery and position out of my head. That's why I never used references. I'm still not sure if this was a good or bad decision, since my drawing-style in anatomy isn't perfect at all (i.e.).
5. In your opinion, what makes a work of Fan Art stand out?
An own and unique style. The style is the most important thing a drawer can have. In the internet, where art-thieving is a huge topic, you can't win with only water-marks. You need something unique; something people point on, screaming: "Hey, that's from drawer XYZ!" Your style is your most important weapon. That's what makes you special. ♥
6. What are the pros and cons of being a Fan Artist?
I guess the pros are living a fandom the way you'd like to see it. Not everyone can like the original, but with Fanwork you can change something of the canon-ness or bring some own stories and doings into it. I often see people who don't like a special character find them very interesting in a fanwork suddenly. If a FanArt-Drawer is able to get this, it's something incredible and can make a drawer very happy. For the cons I can only think of one: You'll be known for Fanwork only and not for original art. If you want to start an own drawing-carrier I guess it's not that effective to start with FanArt. Only for practising, but not for publishing. I can be totally wrong with that. I'm only thinking about it.
7. Can you give us some example of your own Fan Art that you're proud of?
I'm mostly proud of my Doujinshis, i. e. "FAITH" (
) and I guess one of my most favorite FanArt would be "Awaken" (
) or "What about now" (
) 
