Fan Art Focus on Kamidiox
As an ongoing column for TNWU, I have been introducing/interviewing fan artists and helping them gain recognition for their work. Kamidiox is popular over at deviantart.net and graciously offered to sit down and answer my myriad questions. If you have additional questions for Kami go ahead and leave them in the comments attached to this post.
Kami is Mexican and lives in Mexico City. She works as an accountant for a company that sells shoes among other things. Kami is a popular artist who is well-known to the Supernatural fandom. She is a cartoonist and despite the fact that English is her second language her cartoon panels are always very clever as well as funny.
When did you realize you had a talent for drawing? Have you always worked with animations?
I started drawing when I was 5 or so. I used to do my family and schoolmates art homework, like “hey, draw this map” or “please draw the face of this historical guy”… that kind of stuff. About the animations, yes. I’ve always loved animations: The Smurfs, Thundercats, Disney, Candy Candy, Remi, you name it. I used to memorize the TV schedule and knew every opening and ending by heart and made a real drama when I missed one episode of ANY cartoon!
Did you attend art school or are you self-taught?
I am completely self-taught! My art style was fully influenced by late 80’s anime that arrived here in the 90’s -2000’s; the first time I saw Saint Seiya, I was all “HEY, I WANT TO DO THAT!” so I recorded the episodes on a VCR, and then paused the tape at any image I wanted to try to draw and copy what was on-screen. I did this over and over again, for years. Then the internet and art magazines became popular and I met some friends that taught me other stuff. I’m still learning, thanks to the awesome tutorials you can find on pages like Deviantart or Tumblr.
One of your styles is Chibi – can you explain to our readers what exactly that styles entails and why it appeals to you? It seems like it’s a perfect fit for Weechesters.
Awe, thank you! Chibi means “Little” or “small” in Japanese. It is also known as SuperDeformed! In chibi you start by drawing big heads and then add tiny bodies, so that your characters resemble a baby or small child. When anime and comics conventions came to Mexico for the first time, I bought a Spanish fanzine (it was a parody of Saint Seiya and it was on chibi style) and fell in love with the style right there! Then I tried to do my own comics and discovered it was a lot easier because I didn’t have to care about proportions and it didn’t take as much time as “normal” style, which was perfect for me!
What medium(s) do you use? Do you have a favorite?
I started with the usual: Paper, pencils, etc. But digital stole my heart. Art supplies are too expensive, but with digital, you can do almost anything, it is easier, more simple, and limitless. How could I not love it? I use a bamboo Wacom Tablet, Pen Tool Sai and Photoshop when I work on my PC or laptop, and when I can’t or don’t want to use them I work on a Samsung Galaxy 2014 tablet using Sketchbook pro and Pixlr.
Is art your main source of income or is it something you do for relaxation or as a hobby?
Originally it was just a hobby, but nowadays it represents almost 20% of my income. My ultimate goal is to make it 100% of my income.
Where do you find your inspiration? Your work is really clever. Do you work with any other characters (Marvel, DC, Vampire Diaries, etc.)?
Aww thank you very much! Actually, I have no idea where the inspiration will come from. Sometimes it is a song, a clever comment I overheard, other’s fans ideas, internet jokes, or even toys. I never know what’s gonna be next! And yes, I work with many other characters. I love the cinematic Marvel Universe (Iron Man, Captain America), the new cartoons (Steven Universe, Adventure Time, We Bare Bears, etc.) and I do art of them whenever I can.
There have been a couple of online Supernatural Art Shows over the past year, what do you think of them? Did you exhibit? Would you do so in the future if they have other shows?
The sad part of having a day job with no internet is that you miss a lot of stuff. I didn’t know about Supernatural art shows until this year, and yes, I participated. I’d love to do it in the future with any other shows!
Do you take commissions? How would someone reach you if they wanted to hire you for a commission?
Yes, I do take commissions! If somebody want a commission they can send me an email to kamidiox@gmail.com with their petition. The rules and FAQ are outlined at Kamidiox.deviantart.com and Kamidiox.tumblr.com.
Have you participated in the Live Journal Big Bangs and Reverse Big Bangs? Will you provide a link to one of the stories?
I’ve never participated I barely have free time as it is so probably I wouldn’t be able to deliver. That’s why I don’t take requests anymore, I just have no time!
I can totally understand not having enough time to do everything you want to do! Where can people see more of your work if they’re interested?
My main page is www.kamidiox.deviantart.com.
We call ourselves Talk Nerdy With Us and all of us like to fly our nerd flags high and proud. I think everyone has a little bit of nerd in them, so what about you qualifies you to Talk Nerdy With Us?
I consider myself a walking Wikipedia. Except for math and cars, I can say I have a respectable knowledge of a lot of things, especially history (just don’t ask the exact date), biology, medicine, geography, pop culture, etc.
I adore gadgets and things that look like one thing but actually is another (like the burger phones or cactus-shaped pencils)… I don’t know if that’s nerdy, but my friends and family think I’m weird because I love to learn about ANYTHING (except math and cars). Also, I’m an accountant… that’s pretty nerdy… (*’-‘*) Thank you very much for considering me for this! Please receive a bear hug!
You can see Kami’s art and follow her on social media at the following sites: