Nijikon 2009 – Bucharest

The 3rd edition of Nijikon took place at Bucharest on 24 October at “The Kids Palace” and lasted for two days. It was a festival where people showed off all sorts of things, from hand-drawn posters, manga books, to cosplay and much more. I only attended during the first day, but frankly, I saw almost all I had to see. During my time there I managed to interview some artists, and get some neat statistics regarding the tools they used.

Our first interview was with “Cristiana”, a young girl from the first ‘shop’, whose charm and joyful spirit caught my attention.

Dpx Mag: Hi, my name is Ciprian and I am an editor for DPX Magazine (dpxmag [dot] com). Mind if we interview you for a second?

Cristiana: Yes, no problem.

Dpx Mag: Cristiana, what’s your role here at Nijikon 2009?

Cristiana: Well I’m here to present my hand-drawn posters, key ring, trinkets and other merchandise I made.

Dpx Mag: What software did you use in order to conceive this posters and drawings?

Cristiana: Well I used Photoshop CS2 together with my digital tablet. For the ‘chibi drawings’ I used some special “Manga Markers” that I got from a store nearby.

Dpx Mag: May I ask what kind of digital tablet do you own?

Cristiana: I own a Genius Pensketch tablet for professional graphic designers.

Dpx Mag: Thank you for your time. Mind if we take some photos for the article?

Cristiana: No problem, go on.

Next I stopped to talk with Andrei Botosaru, a cosplayer and “wanna-be” manga artist that gave me some neat tips on how to draw anime.

Dpx Mag: Hi Andrei, do you have some time to spare, for a short interview for DPX Magazine?

Andrei: Yes, no problem, I’m glad too.

Dpx Mag: Andrei, I just saw your fast sketch of an anime character, and I’m eager to say that your skill and attention to details has amazed me, and left me ‘utterly’ shocked. Where did you learn all of this?

Andrei: Most of the things I learned was in high school, hence I took some art drawing classes and attended an anime club. I also learned allot from other people I met on the Internet, and from communities like Concept Art dot Org. My passion for drawing anime characters came to me after attending a workshop right here in Bucharest 4 years ago.

Dpx Mag: Andrei, mind if I ask you what tools do you use?

Andrei: Besides Adobe Photoshop CS3 and my lovely graphics tablet(a Wacom Intuos3), I also use special Manga Markers, Linere, GIMP(an open source alternative to photoshop for Linux).

Dpx Mag: And how much time do you spend daily on a drawing? And what’s the longest time you spent working on an anime character?

Andrei: Well, I usually spend 7-8 hours daily trying to improve my skills. I like to tackle allot of types of drawings, not just anime characters. I also love doing Pixel Graphics and characters concept art from games like World of Warcraft.

Dpx Mag: I have one more question before I let you off the hook: Do you have a favorite artist that inspires you?

Andrei: I have allot of artists which I respect, but my favorite one yet is Akira Toryama, author of the well known Dragon Ball series, and designer for my favorite RPG, “Chrono Trigger”. When I first started drawing, I tried to copy allot from him, and most of my characters where DBZ-like, with spiky hair and all, but now I’m trying to ‘grow’ and perfect my own style. I still have a long way to go, but I’ll get there.

Dpx Mag: Ok, thank you for your time. It was a pleasure talking to you.

Andrei: It was a pleasure for me too. Good luck with your blog, I’ll definitely check it out as soon as I can.

My last interview was with Diana Coman, your usual anime fan by day, and concept artist by night. I met her while trying to get a ‘chiby’ drawing of myself. She saw me looking at some manga, and tried to convince me that she had just what I was looking for. One thing led to another, and I got to interview her.

Dpx Mag: Diana, besides my usual job as a ‘professional slacker’ I also write articles for Digital Pixel Magazine, a blog for graphic enthusiasts. Mind if I ask you a few, short questions?

Diana: No problem, but you have to promise me you will show me your manga collection.

Dpx Mag: All right then. Diana, why are you here today? Are you selling something, are you hosting a presentation, or are you here just to check things out?

Diana: Well, at first I came to watch the cosplay show, I’ve always been a big fan of guys in kimonos. But Daniel, a friend of mine, asked me to watch his stand for a moment, and well, here I am, two hours later, doing his job, selling some manga, and giving interviews.

Dpx Mag: Diana, are you also interested in computer graphics, or drawing?

Diana: Off course. I love to draw, especially chibi characters, which I’m very good at. I also do some concept art for some friends of mine who are currently working on a small indie RPG. I could show you some of my drawings later on, if you stick arround.

Dpx Mag: That would be neat. From what I saw from your quick sketches, you are really good at drawing sword-wielding characters with big muscles, and funny-looking mustaches.

Diana: Yeah well, that’s exactly what I’m focusing on right now. I’m trying to ‘tell a story’ using my drawings. Everything I drew until now, besides chiby characters and concept art for my friends, is nothing more then drawings of my character from when he first stepped into ‘this world’ till nowadays. I’m planning on releasing a small book very soon, and I’m hopping that people will like it.

Dpx Mag: Do you have any plans for the future? Like working as a concept artist for a well-known Game Development company, or are you planing to freelance?

Diana: Never thought of that too much. For now, I’m staying indie, but who knows what the future will have in store for me.

Dpx Mag: Well, I wish you the best of luck, and I’m looking forward to buying your book. Thank you for your time.

Diana: No problem. Now, are you sure I can’t pursue you to buy one of this mangas…?

Even tough Nijikon is still at an early stage, I must say that everything went quite well. All I have to say is that I’m looking forward to the next edition. Well, time to show some pictures, and hope that in the future I’ll get to see more people there. Till next time, Bye-Bye.