Dreamers Interview Series – Tania Mignacca : Answers and Giveaway winner!

You've been waiting for it!  I'm pleased to announce that Tania's giveaway winner is...

 But first, the answers to your questions!

Meg Hanna asked

Tania, I have got to commend you on your original and optimistic take on the city that we call home. Vibrant colours, hard hitting issues, a promising message and cute characters - you most certainly have the winning recipe! I've been following Ponto for a while now and as a municipal employee starting out, I can relate to this universe that you have created. You have no idea! That being said, I'd be curious to know where you hope your art will take you in the next year. You mentioned getting your work out there and really diving into the artistic community through conventions and the web. During this process, what kind of subjects and themes do you hope to explore along the way?

Thanks Meg, it's always a pleasure to hear what municipal employees think about Ponto and I'm happy that you can relate to the comic. I have a lot of readers who work on the municipal level and they all seem to enjoy Ponto's adventures which is a huge compliment. To answer your question, I'm not really sure where my art will take me but I hope it will get people interested in what I do and maybe it will lead to possible contracts or collaborations. I also have a lot of ideas for Ponto but not enough time and resources so there's a potential for collaboration there as well. I'm also looking into going back to making bigger scale artwork like paintings which I didn't have much time to do in the last year because starting Ponto required a lot of time. As for subjects I'd like to explore, I feel what's missing in Montreal is a feeling of belonging. My sense of belonging to the city is something that I like to portray in my art. Now that Ponto's getting settled in Montreal, I hope to talk about this issue more in depth at one point in the story. I want to inspire people to appreciate how awesome Montreal is even with all the problems. If we start to feel proud about our city things wil surely start to change in a positive way. 

Mathieu asked

In upcoming issues of Ponto, will we see Mr. Turcot with the famous woolen stockings of Les Ville-Laines? Will it be something that helps Ponto to warm Mr. Turcot during our rough winter? 

When I saw this art manifestation done by the collective the « Ville-Laines » on the Turcot interchange, I thought it was the coolest thing ever! So yes, I'm thinking of drawing it. I'm not sure it will be in the comic but maybe in a special comic strip for winter.I think Mr. Turcot needs one on every leg! I wonder if this would help shield the concrete against temperature variations. 

Dave asked

I spent a couple years in Montreal, and when I first moved I remember seeing the Turcot and feeling a strange sense of pride as a Vancouverite (since all the new infrastructure in Vancouver that was built for the 2010 Olympics stood in stark contrast). Maintenant, je suis retourné à Vancouver, mais le Turcot est un bon souvenir de Montréal... d'après moi, il fait partie du personnage de la ville. J'aime bien lire des BDs de Montréal pis j'aime reconnaître mes lieus -- comme ca: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpoon/11899396445/. Quel est le lieu favori de Montréal de Ponto? What's Ponto's favourite place in Montreal?

Hi Dave! First of all thanks a lot for this photo. I think it's awesome that your girlfriend took the time to take it. Now I know my illustration was pretty accurate! I'm also happy to learn that reading the comic helps you remember good memories of Montreal. Je pense aussi que l'échangeur Turcot fait partie du paysage Montréalais. Some people suggested turning it into an elevated park like the High Line in New York instead of tearing it down. In response to your question, Ponto has many different favorite places in Montreal since he's too marvelled with the city. He does enjoy the main landmarks but he prefers those that we sometimes forget about like the Guaranteed milk bottle, the Farine Five Roses sign or the Turcot.

 Odrie asked

J'ai vu Ponto pour la première fois à Comic Con et je suis ses aventures depuis. Bravo! Je me demandais : où est-ce que Ponto rêve de travailler à Montréal? 

Merci Odrie de suivre les aventures de Ponto! Pour répondre à ta question, je crois que Ponto rêve de travailler sur les gros chantiers comme celui de l'échangeur Turcot ou du Pont Champlain. Il espère aussi travailler dans différents quartiers pour apprécier la richesse culturelle montréalaise. Et peut-être aussi au centre-ville car il y a beaucoup d'action! English translation: Thanks Odrie for following Ponto's adventures! To answer your question, I think Ponto dreams to work on the big construction sites like the Turcot interchange or the Champlain bridge. He also hopes to work in different boroughs to appreciate all the cultural diversity Montreal has to offer. And, maybe downtown as well because there's a lot of action there! 

GIVEAWAY

And the giveaway winner is... MEG! Congratulations!  Please send me an email at stephanie.noel.writer(at)gmail.com to claim your prize!

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Dreamers Interview Series – Tania Mignacca

 Today I have the immense pleasure of hosting visual artist extraordinaire Tania Mignacca.  I've known Tania for a few years now and I've had the chance to see her goregous art soar to impressive levels.  I'm very grateful that she accepted to be featured on ATUA for she is a source of inspiration for me.

Giveaway information will follow the interview.

Tell us a bit more about what you do.

 I'm a freelance illustrator, graphic designer and comic artist based in Montreal. I work with clients and do my own personal projects as well. My inspiration mainly comes from two very different influences: Japanese manga and Montreal's abandoned architectural heritage. Through my work, I hope people will learn to see the beauty in unusual things such as in a decaying building for example and try to look for it in their own surroundings. I'm also the author of Ponto, a weekly webcomic about the adventures of a young signalization cone who comes to work in Montreal. 

When did you start drawing? 

I started drawing at a very young age. Like many kids from the 80's I grew up with Japanese anime and video games. There was something in the traits of the characters and colours that had a huge impression on me so even though I was just a child I decided that I would draw like this one day. I practiced really hard by copying illustrations and drawing my favourite characters from memory. After a short while, I got fed up and I started creating my own characters and stories. It was important for me to be original and creative. 

What medium do you enjoy working with the most?

I usually like to mix different mediums together. I make all my sketches by hand and use different tools such as crayons, acrylic paints, markers and Photoshop to add in colour and textures. I also do photography as a hobby and I often use my photos as part of the coloration process. I find that combining different media helps me give depth and warmth to my artwork. 

What was the main difficulty you had to face when you decided to make a living out of your art? 

The main difficulty I found is that it requires a lot of discipline and a certain amount of sacrifice. Since I work from home, I get to make my own schedule but I often lose track of time and end up working crazy amounts of hours especially when it comes to personal projects.The sacrifice part is mostly financial. I can't travel as much as I wish and I have to be careful about my spendings even if I have a part-time job that provides me with a basic survival revenue. However, the satisfaction I get from my work is way more gratifying. 

What is your next step as an entrepreneur? 

It'll sonn be a year since I  started publishing my webcomic Ponto. I'm currently thinking about self-publishing a print and ebook version of it later this year. I also want to create more products featuring my art and make them available on my Etsy store. Lastly, I hope to attend more art fairs and conventions because it's always great to be able to meet my readers and fans and meet new people. 

Ponto the signalization cone is the hero of your comic strip about Montreal. How did you come up with the idea? 

I was going to exhibit my work at an art fair and I was looking for ideas of products to sell. Since Montreal plays such a big part in my artistic process, I thought it would be a great idea to create button designs for people to show off their pride for our city. The orange signalization cone has a special and negative meaning for Montrealers: they're all over the city and they constantly remind us of the aging state of our infrastructures and, let's not forget, the corruption scandals. This gave me the idea to create an adorable cone character that would be too cute to hate. That's how Ponto was born. When I started selling the buttons, the reaction was instant smiles. Montrealers really loved the idea and it triggered their feeling of belonging to their city. Getting so much positive feedback, I started building a whole universe around Ponto. I chose to publish his adventures as a weekly webcomic. I've always dreamed of writing comics and I felt this was the right opportunity to start. Through the story we follow Ponto who decides to leave his hometown to live his dream of working in the big city of Montreal. Optimistic and a bit naive he will do his best to bring the glory back to the city. 

Our previous guest, Canadian author Kenneth Radu, would like to ask you: Looking through your online portfolio, I would ask what elements or aspects of Japanese art, traditional or modern, most influence your own work? 

Most of the Japanese influences in my work come from Japanese pop culture such as manga an anime. This can mostly be seen in my character designs. As I built Ponto's character, I looked into the Japanese phenomenon of Yurukyara which are cute mascot characters that are designed to promote cities. 

Our next will be YA author T.B. Markinson; what would you like to ask her?

 I read on your blog that you have self-published your first novel. What advice would you give to writers or comic artists who are looking to self-publish for the first time? 

Tania's portfolio http://www.minyaka.com 
Ponto http://www.pontomontreal.com 
Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/minyaka

GIVEAWAY

For a chance to win two autographed 8"X10" prints of Tania's illutrations of you choice, leave her a question in the comment section.  Giveaway ends on Tuesday January 14th 11:49 ET.  The name of the winner as well as the answers will be posted on January 16th.

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