Serine is a 20 years old , illustrator/designer who creates impressive works which you can see on her instagram page @serine.zaa .Her designs depicts random people with refined silhouttes and precise strokes, the stunning colors and intricate style of Serine’s portfolio of works allows her to express her deep feelings and emotions by reaching a large audience.We reached out to SERINE.ZAA for a little Q&A and were lucky to Nab some of her time, in this interview Serine shares how she got into illustration, her favorite type of work and inspirational tips for aspiring illustrators .
L’aubade : Hello Serine , could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in digital art?
Serine.Zaa : I think I identify myself first and foremost as an artist , because art is what takes up most of my life . But in a more formal way , I’m a 20 year old management student from Algiers . I can say also with confidence that I’m a person who chose a craft and decided to dedicate her life to it . Whether its a good or bad thing , this attachment to my passion ; drawing gives me a sense of purpose and allows me to have a certain structure and ambition in my life and whether or not I will stick to this passion , for the time being It’s the thing I have most faith in .
I’m also told that I was born ” with a pen in my hand ” as in Art has always been an integral part of my life . Being an introverted and shy kid , I found the most comfort and peace in creative endeavors because I could express myself the most easily through them . I often used drawing as an escape when getting too overwhelmed by the external noise and with the validation and encouragement from adults around me , this craft stuck to me and I never let it go since . I still have vivid memories of sitting alone at the shcoolbreak doodling or pausing my favorite cartoons on TV to try to reproduce the image to the best of my abilities . I was the ” Picasso ” of the class so , in a way , whether I liked it or not , it’s how I was labelled and I sometimes felt like I had to live by that title . I started taking art more seriously around the end of middle shcool and I first started drawing digitally with my finger on a smartphone , starting that way allowed me to slowly progress and upgarde my drawing tools over the years .
“I really enjoy the learning process and embrace whatever my artsyle ends up looking like “
illustration : @serine.zaa
L’aubade : What is the secret of a powerful communication ?
Serine.Zaa : I believe the ability to communicate is what makes us stand out among our peers . As an artist or draftsmen ,you can have the best technical skills , but if your audience can’t find a part of your soul in it , they’ll’ll easily forget about it the second the next shiny thing comes by . Powerful communication lays in vulnerability , showing our true self to the world means allowing ourselves to be hurt or to be loved so being authentic requires a certain level of strenght and self-awareness . We often try to silence our instincts in order to fit into a certain mold and protect ourselves from judgment , which is normal . Nevertheless not fearing coming off as too eager or emotional and not holding ourselves back can lead to the most intense experiences and connections we can ever have , or in parallel to the best pieces an artist can ever come up with . In order to do that though , we must first detach from the outcome and live unapologetically , always acting through love instead of fear , because it’s what makes us human . As an artist I’ll admit that I’m still in the early learning phases , which means I’m more focused on tailoring my technical skills and creating something aesthetically pleasing to the eye by capturing a certain mood and feeling using lines shapes and color palettes . Social media can easily get overwhelming because comparing myself to other artists is so easy and measuring the value of my art by numbers is encouraged ,thus I don’t feel fully comfortable sharing more personal work yet ( which might seem hypocritical considering what I just said about vulnerability ? ) . That said I am forever working on bettering my skills wheter they’re human or technical , It’s a long journey but small steps go a long way.
L’aubade : What are your goals now ?
Serine.Zaa : My ultimate goal is to be the best artist I can be and find my place in the art industry ! Whether that means having art as a side-job , selling paintings or working at a studio , all I know for now is that I’ll just continue drawing everyday . I am very welcoming of any opportunity that comes my way and believe that life is way too unpredictable to stick to one specific objective which can make us lose sight of other options that are unfolding as we move forward .
“Drawing gives me a sense of purpose and allows me to have a certain structure and ambition in my life”
L’aubade : Which artists have influenced your art along the years ?
Serine.Zaa : At ” the beginning ” of my art journey I was mostly motivated by cartoons and animated movies , I have always been captivated by Disney and Ghibli animation so I would try to emulate the artstyle and research artists that worked on those movies .The day I found out that there where actual people ( such as Glen Keane , Milt kahl or Jin Kim ) designing those characters and bringing them to life , I started viewing those films as actual pieces of art and really admired the work and passion put into them . Like most kids I also had an ” Otaku ” phase and was inspired by japanese media for a while. I was inspired by Yana toboso and Sui Ishida or even south asian artists on social media such as twitter . Fast forward a few years and I began discovering new artists through the internet , I got really fond of early 20th century American illustrators such as J.C Leyendecker , Norman Rockwell or Dean cornwell and was fascinated by their complete mastery of all the elements that constitue a painting , especially their ability to tell a story through a still image . I also would like to pay tribute to fashion illustrators such as David Downton or Renée Gruau that teach us how to keep the essential and focus on line weight and the strenght of minimal shape and color use in an illustration . There’s so many more artists that I would like to mention such as Gustav Klimt , Michael Carson or Annette marnat but it would end up taking pages , all I can add is that There’s a part of each of the artists I like in me and for that reason my drawings might seem inconsistent but I really enjoy the learning process and embrace whatever my artsyle ends up looking like . I often go back to my favorite artists or artworks for inspiration
L’aubade : How would you describe your art in 3 words ?
Serine.Zaa : Figurative , soothing , fluid.
L’aubade : What is your illustration that makes you feel most proud ?
Serine.Zaa : If I have to choose then it would be this portrait of indigocave . I’m happy that I could capture her gentle expression and translate the lighting and warm mood surrouding her .
“Powerful communication lays in vulnerability , showing our true self to the world means allowing ourselves to be hurt or to be loved “
illustration : @serine.zaa
L’aubade : Any final thoughts ?
Serine.Zaa : As a final thought , I would simply like to advise everyone , but specifically young people , to find something they’re passionate about , that heals them and to invest their free time doing it . The ” sleep-work-eat-repeat ” cycle can result in a lot of unhappiness , wasted time , and a feeling of Emptiness . Therefore I strongly suggest all of us , to pick up hobbies , try out new things and experiment with all of amazing activities , art forms or sports there are out there . There’s no need to overthink it or expect perfection , focus on learning and have fun doing it ! Finding your passion means finding your authentic self and getting to know who you are and the world around you better . ” Spend your precious hours what will bring out the real you , the brilliant , passionate you , that’s ready to contribute something meaningful into this world . ” – Pixar
L’aubade 