We’re back with another installment of our fandom artist spotlight series! This time, we interviewed Mint, from MintMintDoodles. Mint creates art inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has also drawn art inspired by X-Men, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Disney and Supernatural.
She was kind enough to answer a few questions, so read our interview with her below:
How did you start working on fandom art?
I have always posted my non-fandom doodles (mostly based on things I’ve experienced in life) on my personal social media accounts and my friends would tell me that I should set up a Facebook page to share my art. So I did.
Then, I realized I needed something non-personal to post on my public account that people who can relate to. Before I set up my page, I was already drawing fandom art (my college lecture notes were filled with Lord of the Rings doodles) so it was like a natural progression of things to just share them and see how it goes. And here I am.
Do you have a favorite piece or project that you’ve created?
I like most, if not all, of the art I’ve created but I think what I enjoyed the most in terms of the process of creating the art was the Buzzfeed Answer Time doodles. During the Captain American Civil War press tour, the cast answered some questions that fans submitted via Buzzfeed’s Tumblr. When I saw some of the answers, I thought that I could turn them into doodles and I did. I spent the whole evening drawing and posting them almost as soon as I finished them.
What does your creative process look like?
For most pieces, I start with drawing on paper with a pencil and then I take a photo of the drawing on one of my tablet. Next, I do line art and coloring of the artwork digitally either in Procreate (on iPad) or in ArtFlow (on Samsung Note). Depending on the characters that I draw, it could take from 15 minutes to a couple of hours to finish one artwork.
What’s one of your favorite episodes of Supernatural?
Heart (season 2, episode 17).
Do you have any projects that you haven’t yet been able to tackle but that you hope to work on one day?
More fandoms, more new characters. Perhaps some original characters too.
Is there anything challenging about being a fandom artist?
I’m only speaking for myself but it’s about not making everything about creating fan art. Whenever I see a movie or a movie trailer for the first time, my brain now works along the line of “OK how can I turn this into a doodle.”
Are there any fandom artists that you especially admire?
Oh, I have so many favorite artists: Derlaine (Tumblr) did this amazing Loki scrapbook, which is one of my favorite fandom items to own. Kuro-lee-nest (Tumblr) and Sevenmileorz (Tumblr) draw the most adorable Bucky and Steve. I’m also in love with Kumawind’s (Tumblr) Bucky. My favorite Tom Hiddleston fan art are those by mayo_scribbles (Twitter) and momo_ginga (Twitter). I can go on and on about fandom artists that I like. They are all amazing.
Is there a particular cast member or performer that inspires you?
Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans, seriously.
I’ve seen the way Sebastian interacts with his fans both in person and online and I’m just blown away by how nice he is and how much he cares about his fans. And Chris. Well, Chris is Chris and he radiates happiness. He makes me happy just looking at him being happy. His support for Christopher’s Haven has also inspired me to get involved in charities and giving back whenever and however I can.
In short, they both just inspire me to strive to be nice, be happy and be a better person.
What’s one tip you would give to anyone who is considering creating fandom art that they can market and sell?
Just do it. You never know what might happen. I never thought that my art would be seen and liked by so many people.
Is there anything else you want to share with our readers?
For those of you who have just read about my art for the first time, I hope they make you smile or at least make your day a little happier 🙂 For those of you who are already familiar with my art, thank you for the love for my art, for sending me messages to let me know how much they mean to you, for your feedback that have helped me get better at what at do and for making all this a fun experience for me to be able to connect with so many people in the fandoms.
You can find MintMintDoodles here: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – Tumblr – Pinterest