Watercolor, oil paint, pastels, charcoal, acrylic and now, procreate; the refined artist’s toolbox of the 21st century. The world of art has become a vast and digital place of the new age. We, digital artists, could not be happier. I along with many people have logged onto the life of digital art as our new galleries. How is this done? Could this be still considered real art? I sat down to talk with a dear friend of mine, whom we will refer to as her pen name, Pandii. Briefly, Pandii is an artist for the online Korean pop fandom conglomerate. Generally, cultures of music and other media texts open avenues for fans of them to create based off the things they love. Korean pop being a massive one. Many people online have created spaces to be a digital artist to this very specific market. What comes along with it is an international scope of potential customers but still filtered through the specific interest. I interviewed Pandii to share what it is like being a pretty known artist in this world of fan culture and also just what it is like being a digital artist in general. 

            I asked Pandii a series of questions based on the article “How NFTs are fueling a digital art boom” from CNN’s journalist, Oscar Holland. Dually, it should be noted the fanart community is niche and a realm of its own under the umbrella of digital art. When asked about if this realm is comparative to that of the art which Holland brings up, she answered “I don't think fanart can be considered as collectible and valuable as traditional, original art. Fanart is specifically created to resonate with a small, niche group of people, and while it can be generally beautiful, the message and meaning usually comes from a mutual understanding of the subject matter. Original art supports its own meaning without any outside context” (Pandii, Personal Interview). However, despite that, she is an acclaimed artist and even has her own shop where she sells items such as pins and washy tap.  

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CNN’s article referenced the activity of making art online and opening it for sale, something of how some artists would offer their works for auction for sale involving NFT’s or “non-fungible tokens” (Hollander, “How NFTs are fueling a digital art boom”). However, as I asked, Pandii admitted to not use them for the use can complicated. She, however, finds more reward in turning art into products, therefore making her a small business owner as well. Commission work is the most comparative thing to this topic in which our highlighted artist involves herself with. Simply, commission art works for the traditional and the digital as customized pieced based off a request of a buyer. In regard to commission work she claims, “If I charge $50 for a commission that takes me five hours, then I have $50 and it's over. But if instead, I drew my own drawing in that five hours, then sold it as a print to my followers for $5 each, I'm confident I could sell it to at least 50-100 people at my current following level. Of course, it's more work to pack and mail the prints, but to me it's more valuable because I got to draw the art I wanted, instead of what someone else wanted me to draw.” So, she rarely does commissions. Thus, she upholds her freedom of expression with more of the payoff is what I learned from her approach.

            Reverting back to NFTs, how does one protect their art online without its usage? Is “scarcity and authenticity” important to our highlighted artist (Hollander, “How NFTs are fueling a digital art boom”).? Pandii says “I don't think digital artists could survive if they made their art scarce. Like I mentioned previously, the algorithm for digital platforms rewards frequent content makers and punishes infrequent makers. If you barely posted art, your reach would fall. However, digital artists can use scarcity to their advantage if they want to sell "limited" work. I think only artists who are already very popular can do this, though. Since digital art is so cheap to purchase, artists selling "limited" art can only raise the price so high before it becomes overpriced and undesirable compared to other digital art” (Pandii, Personal Interview).  So, some artists are not concerned or involved in that conversation Hollander speaks of, not everyone exactly sells expensive pieces for thousands of dollars. However, Pandii does face the hardship of safeguarding her work without NFTs. Like Hollander writes “This digital ledger serves as incorruptible proof of ownership, meaning that "original" artworks and their owners can always be identified via the blockchain, even if an image or video is widely replicated” (Hollander, “How NFTs are fueling a digital art boom”). However, she can still find who has copied her.  Although, what is said in the article contradicts Pandii's point, it is important to define the types of artists in reference here. 

            Likewise, we went into depth about how one goes about being a successful fan artist and Pandii's personal career influencing her stance. Usually for her work and others like it, people pay and request commission work. She answered to how this works. “Since I have a pretty solid base of followers already, I'm able to just announce open commissions through my platforms (Instagram & Twitter) and take commissions from people who are already following me. I set base prices for different styles, and I usually get paid through PayPal for commissions,” was her reply (Pandii, Personal Interview). So, social media becomes the new gallery and the new advertisement for online artists. Are these platforms successful? Yes, social media is an easier way to get noticed than perhaps Etsy, etc. Hashtags and tags all are the importance, where people can find you and the algorithms can give a sort of push.

            This brings the questions in of how does one become successful online? What is key in the success of having an online platform? Pandii and I had a lot to discuss on this. I asked what are three lessons digital artists learn starting out? She gave three words simply: “purpose, style, and grow.” The first being understanding what someone wants from being a digital artist, is it profit or just sharing their art? “A lot of artists start to burn out as their following gets bigger because it's a lot of pressure and work to maintain a large following. You need to decide this before anything else, because if you're trying to market your art, the content you make will be different and geared towards what is popular, not just what you personally like.” Secondly is style, which attracts the following. “in order to stand out and start building a following, you need a recognizable and appealing style. I don't mean the way you draw things; I mean the way your art looks overall. If you look at a successful artist's feed, you'll see that all of their posts are cohesive and have the same "feel" to them, whether it's from their color palette, their line style, or the content they draw. A lot of artists can get really popular with mediocre art if they use a trendy color palette!” (Pandii, Personal Interview).  Lastly, Pandii gives way to always giving an opportunity for growth. Even off the digital platforms, it is important for an artist to be somewhat mutable and practice to improve more and more. This can mean in skill or style, changing and experimenting to add onto how an individual is as an artist. Ultimately, that is what makes one stand out in the end.

            Ultimately, this interview was vast and informative. Pandii shared a deep reverence for her craft. The world of digital art is as big as the vastness of the internet and technology allows it to be. However, the craft has many benefits. This conversation highlighted how digital art has changed art to be more easily shared, transmitted, and more transformative to different forms like Pandii’s pins and stickers. Her art differs from that of Hollander’s discussion for I interpret his argument being more for the community of high-end artists, like that of famous galleries with notable names. However, digital art has also opened up the opportunity for more people to become successful in smaller but still supportive communities. Alas, all defined by the art they make and the purpose Pandii mentioned. A community of diversity in which it’s autonomy can be defined by profit, but not always. That is up to the artist to decide for themself.