Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maya Scarpa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maya, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

A lot of people begin their artistic journeys as children shaped by the media that they consume. Whether this be through anime, cartoons, comic books, or something similar… I’ve found that a majority of my peers began with drawing their favorite characters. While I had my fair share of favorite shows, I never really took this route. My mom is a painter, and from the earliest of my childhood memories, I can remember her painting murals around the house and doodling on papers scattered in the kitchen. As an artistically inclined kid, I was obsessed. I tried to copy her drawings, illustrating flowers and people and doing my best to draw representationally. As I continued to get older and art became even deeper of an interest, I ended up creating a social media for my art when I was in middle school. With the support from the internet in my rudimentary “realistic” drawings of people, eyes, backs of heads, I thought to myself, “Woah, people really like my art. I could do this.”

Maya, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an Asian American illustrator based in Detroit with a BFA from College for Creative Studies. When I’m not drawing, you can find me napping, hanging out with my cat, or working through a crossword. I take pleasure in the simple things. My comics, and my illustrations in general, have always been grounded in the human experience. Through my work, I aim to remind people of the joy in the mundane; to sit with all the big feelings behind the small moments. My figurative illustrations capture the small moments we share with ourselves and others, and all the feelings that come along with those experiences.
As a young artist myself taking her first steps into the real world, I definitely have a lot of big feelings to spare.
My services include editorial illustration, illustration for publishing, comics/sequential story telling, cover art, poster art, and more. My style can be described as cute, soft, clean, and round. Minimal shading and detail are paired with textured line work, gradients, and shapes, creating a fun, illustrative style that sparks warmth in its viewers. You can find value in my work through my inviting colors, compositions, and a sense of warmth and personality.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think what is most misunderstood about artists and illustrators is that our services are easy or unnecessary. People constantly want to undervalue us because they believe illustration or design is easy to pull off… but I would like to ask those people, if it’s so easy, why don’t you do it yourself for free? Or ask AI to do it, and receive an image with lopsided eyes, six fingers, devoid of emotion and human touch? The reality is that art is everywhere. It’s on street signs, guiding people to where they need to go and what they need to do. It uplifts companies, brands, and corporations, making them recognizable and successful. It’s in the movies and the TV shows that we all watch in order to unwind from a stressful day. It’s on the posters and the decor you hang up in your room to express yourself. I could go on indefinitely. Art has always been deeply intertwined with our day to day lives; it adds meaning and joy into what would otherwise be devoid of human touch. Illustrators, designers, and artists (those who make their entire living in this field) spend years and years learning this skill. They dedicate their lives to the craft, and they deserve to be compensated by those who want to benefit from this dedication.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My journey on social media is a bit unique, honestly. I joined instagram in 2012, when I was 11 years old. I began posting my art shortly after, and strangely, this was an era on Instagram that was amazing for young artists. Especially in the early days of Instagram, when all it was focused on was still pictures, it was a great community for artists, because it was so easy to support each other. The algorithm was not yet a huge concern in getting our content art. I easily climbed in followers, exceeding about 1k, which was a huge deal to me at the time. Unfortunately, I ended up taking a long break from instagram upon entering high school. I was, as the kids call it, burnt out. This inactivity drew a lot of attention away from my page, and the updates to come (including the finicky algorithm and the new focus on video content) made it harder on me when I tried to return in college. I’ve been on a steady increase in the last couple of years. I think the best advice I can give about social media now is to just post consistently (which I know is SO hard, and I even struggle to follow this advice.) You will gain dedicated followers who connect with your art and show up for you every time, and those people will become the backbone of your following. I also created a TikTok solely for my art, which means mingling in video content too. Try and make friends and connections, because those people will boost and support you. Consistency is key!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mayscarpa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvsarts/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-scarpa-069387197
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mayabluecheck
• Other: http://linktr.ee/mvsarts