We got the chance to interview Daniella Prado, an artist whose figure drawings capture the human form with such confidence and determination. Daniella spoke to Renouveau Media about her artistic path, her major inspirations, her latest projects and much more.
Iuliana: Hey Daniella! How are you? Thanks for granting us this interview! Let’s start off by introducing yourself.
Daniella: Hello there! I’m so happy to be speaking with you. I’m doing alright, thankful to be healthy :-). My name’s Daniella and I go under the handle @ella.doodles on instagram. I love to draw anything and everything.
Iuliana: How did you start on this artistic path, and what are some of your major inspirations?
Daniella: It sounds very cliche, but it all kicked off at the moment I could hold a pencil. Beloved characters like those in Winnie The Pooh or Monster’s Inc charmed and gripped me and it was always through the artwork. I wanted to be able to do that in my own way, and as I grew up I began retrieving inspiration from anything I was fond of, and oftentimes it came from people I adored like musicians and celebrities.
Iuliana: What inspires you about the human form and why?
Daniella: The variety in every single one of the people I draw is what excites me to draw more shapes, sizes, races, any and everyone. What’s cute about humans is that no one person is the same as another. That’s a very beautiful thing to be able to inspect so closely, and at some point you begin to notice the specific eccentricities of an individual that makes them pop out from everyone else. That’s adorable.
Iuliana: Your figure drawings possess a tremendous sense of gesture. What is the importance of the gesture, and how do you capture it in a drawing?
Daniella: Thank you! Getting that kind of flow into my art has only come about in the past two or three years and I owe it to gaining more confidence and to breaking up everything into simple shapes. Breaking up the subjects into their most basic forms puts everything to such ease. I try not to focus on one part of a drawing too intensely or tense up about the end result of a drawing.
Iuliana: What is your preferred medium and why?
Daniella: I’m a sucker for a sketchbook with crisp and textured pages and a 0.5mm lead mechanical pencil. It gets to the knitty gritty of details. I’m actually trying to break away from plain pencil and paper to explore more colorful mediums. I’m getting more comfortable with watercolor as well. I adore watercolor, it either terrifies me or works in my favor to create something really cool. A very thrilling medium.
Iuliana: Do you ever feel stuck? What do you do (or not do) when that happens?
Daniella: I definitely do have my bouts of art block, and I struggle most with not really knowing what I want to draw. When it’s awful and I have no idea what I want to make, I’ll retreat to another passtime or watch a show to maybe brew up some motivation. It’s criminally underrated for someone to just not draw when they don’t want to draw.
Iuliana: What kind of projects have you worked on recently? What was the most challenging? The most rewarding?
Daniella: Lately I’ve been working on completing the sketchbook I’m on to upload a flip through to youtube, as well as new ideas for larger paintings that could serve as some cool prints. I’m focused on university and pursuing something in visual communications, and it’s a happy medium between hustle and hobby, because some of what I’ve learned has already helped me with my personal endeavours.
Iuliana: How much attention do you pay to the feedback of others on your work?
Daniella: Tons. I love responding to others and seeing what fancies people the most online. So far I’ve hit my stride with traditional art. I turn to closer friends and family as well, although sometimes my drawings can confuse them a bit. Bless their hearts.
Iuliana: If you could own one drawing, what would it be?
Daniella: As a wish solely based on self-indulgence, I would want a drawing from Jim Carrey. Something that screams Jim Carrey, maybe a self-portrait of himself eating a bagel. I love him.
Iuliana: If any, what are the five biggest tips you would give to an aspiring artist or illustrator who wants to create expressive character art?
Daniella: Five lil tips, alright :-).
- Have fondness for your subject. If you have affection for the subject you’re drawing, it’ll show and it’ll shine.
- Look into the anatomy and perspective. Even if it sounds restrictive, mastering these skills will enable you to draw anyone.
- Loosen up. Don’t cramp up into a single area of your drawing and instead take someone as a whole. Start big and then trickle down into details.
- Take advantage of platforms like Pinterest and Tumblr. You will find gems of references. Try choosing really interesting poses and people and make yourself uncomfortable.
- GRIND!!! Developing artistic skill is a guaranteed endgame if you consistently draw every single day. Just like any other skill, you have to nurture and care for it in order to grow <3
Follow Daniella on Instagram here.
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