Meet VantiAvi

We were lucky to catch up with VantiAvi recently and have shared our conversation below.

VantiAvi, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

A lot of what keeps my creativity alive is seeing the people around me create. I’m extremely lucky that I live in a city that values the arts and that I’ve cultivated a community of people who also love to create. It’s helped not only keep my creativity alive, but has inspired me to keep on creating even when I’ve felt pretty down. Especially after COVID, it was quite hard for me to create because I felt like I was in a solitary little bubble, but after coming to uni and having lived where I currently do, it’s really helped me stay creative and continue to do what I love

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Hello! I’m VantiAvi, but I go by Avi online! I’m an Indian American artist and musician who’s had the wonderful opportunity to get to live all over the world. I’m currently at university studying for my degree in the sequential arts, as well as a minor in music production. I absolutely love to create and talk about art, and I absolutely love to yap about whatever I’m into at any given time! In the future, I would love to create my own comic books and stories for people to enjoy, as well as make music that people can vibe to. I currently write mostly slice of life and romance stories, but I’ve been working on a few sci-fi adventure stories in the background with years old characters. On most of my social media (@vantiavi on most if not all sites) I like to talk about the pieces of media that I’m interested in, and I will also post my illustrations and sequential work onto my socials. I’ve been working on quite a few projects behind the scenes, some with my fellow creatives and some on my own that I can’t wait to be able to show people. Some of these projects are super action packed, while others are more slice of life and comedic stories. I’ve always loved being able to tell stories, and one of my main mottos has always been “Stories are meant to be told”, so if you don’t see me gushing about Satoru Gojo, Nightwing, or interacting with or loving on any of my many fellow artist’s artworks, you can count on the fact that I’ve been cooking up a storm in the background.

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?

One of the most important qualities in my ongoing journey to become the artist I’ve always wanted to be has been perseverance. A lot of the time I feel like people don’t understand that art is a skill that requires constant practice and has to be maintained. The best way to put it is that creativity and art are like a muscle. Just like how you won’t immediately get a six-pack from working out once in the gym, you won’t get an absolute masterpiece the first time you draw something. It’s a skill that has to be consistently practiced to get better at, and it’s a process that can be extremely exciting, but also extremely depressing. I’ve had times where I’ve doubted my abilities and had times where I felt it might even be better to quit completely. Despite this, I’ve persevered and will continue to persevere through thsse times when they come up in the future. Art is meant to be fun and enjoyable, and while we live in a society that tends to value the product more than the process, I’ve gotten so much fulfillment in the process. Every year, I’ve watched my art grow more and more into something that feels exactly like me. I’ve watched myself go from someone who had almost no confidence in my artistic abilities to someone who trusts their creative intuition and continues to grow despite my anxiety and doubts. Once I started understanding that art is a process rather than just the final product, it allowed me to see things more realistically, and has overall made me a much better creative.

Additionally, being friendly and affable to the people around you is so important. I’m currently at uni for art, and one thing that my professors always tell us is that, “The people around you are going to be your future coworkers, so don’t be a dick!” I’ve always agreed with this sentiment but in a more broad sense. The people around you, whether they create or not are a part of your community, and that’s where I’ve found most of the support that I’ve been given over the past few years. I’ve always been someone who’s kept to myself, but when I got into uni, I realized how important community is. Humans are social creatures, and we need human interaction to feel human ourselves. When I talk to people, I feel alive, and that’s a really important aspect in creating art. Art has always felt uniquely human to me, and to create good art, I think you need to be in touch with your humanity, and that’s where community comes in. Some of my favorite pieces of art involve people within the communities that I’ve cultivated, and many of the projects I’m currently working on involve collaboration with people I’m in community with. I’ve also connected with people who I previously would have never thought to even interact with just by being nice and friendly. It all starts with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, complimenting someone for the Jerma pin they have on their backpack, or saying “Hey, do you want to become friends?” As childish as that sounds, those two instances are real things I did to become friends with people who I now cherish quite a bit. Just by being kind and friendly to those around me, I’ve learned so much and created friendships that I believe will last me a lifetime.

Lastly, I think that something that has helped me quite a bit in my growth not only as an artist but overall as a person is trying to be realistic and present in the moment. As someone who has big dreams and a lot of anxiety, I can find this to be incredibly hard at points, especially since I will do absolutely anything to achieve my dreams. While having big dreams and wanting to achieve them is important, it doesn’t always help being so anxious. Trying to rush to a finish line when you don’t even know where it is doesn’t help in the slightest, so I always try my best when I’m feeling overwhelmingly anxious is the take a breath, sit down, and take things slowly and steadily. I always have to remind myself that none of this is a race, and that despite my worries, I have time and that if I work at a steady pace that allows me to live and continue to be myself, that I’ll make it to where I want to be in absolutely no time.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Unironically, I go touch grass. It sounds silly, but being outside in the sun where nature is has helped calm my nerves so many times. I look at my screen a lot, whether that be for my art, music, or my own entertainment, and it can overwhelm me quite a bit. I’m pretty bad about being kind to myself. I’m somehow my own biggest lover, but also my own biggest hater, and sometimes I end up being overwhelmed by how critical I am of myself, so separating myself from my art and going outside is in essence an act of kindness. Sometimes, I wander around my city by myself. I’ll go to my local comic shop and pick up a new comic that my friends have been raving about, get myself a sweet treat, or just walk around and enjoy nature. Sometimes I go touch grass with my friends, which always proves to be a healing and fun experience, even if it’s only for about an hour. Separating myself from my work always allows me to ground myself, and come back to my work with a more sensible and calm mindset. It also gives me time to remind myself that it truly never is that serious. Creating should be fun! If I’m getting stressed to the point of being upset, I’m doing something wrong and should separate myself from my work so that I can recenter myself and come back happier and more energized.

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