"I was one of those kids who would record a Saturday morning cartoon so that I could later squint past a warped VHS image and sketch out the characters"
Thanks to the internet, the dynamic between creator and audience is the least one-sided it's ever been. Sites like Tumblr, DeviantArt and Instagram give a potentially vast amount of exposure, but the ideal isn't always the norm. There is a cyclic affirmation loop where only images that ‘go viral’ are really interacted with, making the bid to break out a game of chance in some respects. I got my start in my teens on a brilliant, but now-closed, website called Manga Revolution - a site that had methods to counter this systemic imbalance.
I did a digital arts based degree at Uni of Huddersfield, and work in a variety of programs, but I also work with traditional mediums, I see them as complementary rather than competitive. Nothing quite beats a tangible piece of art though, so I plan on setting up a Redbubble account for that purpose. These days I'm a bit older than the child with the VHS recorder, but that's essentially the only difference.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
