We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amani Hoskin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Amani, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
When I’m having issues with my artwork whether it be having troubles coming up with ideas, becoming frustrated with how something as simple as eyes aren’t coming out the way I want them to, or just in general hating everything I draw. I find that stepping away and pivoting to something else is often the best solution. For me, trying to force creativity can at times only frustrate me more. I think having separate hobby’s outside of your main craft is important for workflow and clearing your mind. Personally, I love to read and engage in handicrafts like sewing when I’m struggling with my artwork. These activities help me in different ways: sewing allows me to focus on something simple, like fixing a hole in a shirt, while reading lets me get lost in another world, which can spark new ideas.
That is not to say I think its a bad thing to force yourself through a block, especially when there are deadlines to meet. Simply put if you don’t need to force yourself why should you.
Truthfully I think pivoting to other tasks or hobbies is a great way to grow creatively. I don’t think I would have realized how much I loved working with linoleum blocks until I was so painfully frustrated with digital that I decided to try again in a completely different medium.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a printmaker and illustrator from the U S of A. I have a passion for book illustration and visual novels. I spent most of my life in Virginia and have moved to Atlanta to pursue my MFA in illustration. My artwork is a blend of traditional and digital; I start my illustrations as linoleum relief prints and then color and correct them digitally. I love doing it this way simply because I get to do the heavy lifting traditionally like the sketching and the printing and then the end results can be beautifully deep blacks with colors helping uplift the image. My style is categorized by its use of dramatic shadows and fluid linework. The texture I keep in my work gives it a beautiful nostalgic and handcrafted feel.
A lot of my work mixes whimsical elements within the mundane and other silly little things such as turning a tree into a cake topper.
I’ve recently gotten into game design and have been learning Ren’py and Unreal Engine since I want to make my own games!
I’m am focusing on finishing my masters but am looking for work in the art field for editorial, publishing and advertisement!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think when I started to take things a little less seriously I started having more fun in life. Like just vibing has helped me a lot in this life and in my art journey in general. Skills wise I think figure drawing is a really important skill that I don’t think young artist take as seriously since it looks so hard. Saying this as someone who only starting feeling good about my art after I started drawing people as close to how they look in real life as I can get it. I think communication is another big thing that I think people need to get over and I don’t just mean talking to one or two people. I mean taking center stage and talking as confidently as possible in front of gathering of people. To anyone who has stage fright I recommend karaoke it has helped me a lot in life and it is fun!
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
There is a lot of merit in someone who has mastered a craft you can see it and their work is beautiful. But for me I fear this can cause stagnation. Right now I’m working on my hands and feet, I don’t draw them as well as I wish I did and i know that as I get better at drawing them so will my art. I fear that if I let something within my work stay at a level below my best abilities it will drag everything else down. I will likely keep working on them till I grow bored and move on to something else or it becomes what I want it to be.
I’m the type of person who will zero in on areas in my own work and at times other peoples works if I notice something that looks off and it will bother me until I am able to fix it or if asked by the other artist point it out to them so that they can see it as well. I want the best for my work and I truly do feel if I don’t work on my sloppier areas I will fall behind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amanihoskin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tired.bunni/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amani-hoskin-527a38263/
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