Who is the comic book author and illustrator Makena?

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Like Obelix, she fell into trouble when she was little. Except that in his, no magic potion (whatever…), but rather drawing. Lots of drawing.

Originally from Lognes (Seine-et-Marne), Magna is today a illustrator and accomplished comic book author. She tells herself.

Love of comics

Since kindergarten, Makena has been passionate about drawing: it’s just in her nature. In elementary school, her heart turned to comics. His fate is sealed: she won’t come out anymore. As proof, after graduating, young Makena enrolled in college, but that didn’t really appeal to her. “I didn’t really like it, apart from sociology, which helped me question the world around me,” she remembers today.

Question the world…this is precisely what she tries to do, through her work. And this requires work on oneself: Makena addresses in particular the question of self-confidencein the adventures of Doomtober. “Doom, it’s a stuffed animal that I brought to life. It’s a little vampire, the voice of the inner judge. I heard this voice, which irritated me. JI started drawing it to get betterand I realized that other people were hearing this voice,” she notes.

But its first publication, in 2017, is good Rodham Willowswhere we follow the adventures of a student who dreams of becoming a journalist. “I put pressure on myself, I wanted it to be absolutely perfect », says Makena. To achieve it, she benefited from many supportsthrough an online prize pool that she had launched.

In her work, Makena addresses subjects that particularly affect artists, such as more personal topics. This is precisely the case with blockages when it comes to work. “I’m talking about deep themes, like depression, the feeling of not being legitimate… but I do it with humor. I like it derision », Explains the one who makes a point of being accessible to all generations.

But, generally speaking, life in its most global sense inspires him. “When I go out, and When I see a decor that I like, it can inspire me. I can start a drawing right away. Other times, I start by writing… But anything can inspire me,” she smiles.

One artist, a thousand lives

Through her work, Makena explores the reality of a wide range of professions. Colors, script, drawing… she does everything herself. “I’m alone from A to Z, right up to the salons. We don’t realize all the work that goes into creating a comic,” she says.

All this work also requires a lot of time. It must be clarified again, a comic strip is… drawing, and it can be very time-consuming. “I draw on leaves A3. I do the sketching and inking by hand. For the color, I then go to the computer, using an A3 scanner,” she explains.

And if it refused to give in to the sirens of all-digital, it is not for nothing.

With paper, I feel what I draw. It also gives me more pleasure. I usually also write on paper.

Self-taught, she always refused to enroll in an art school, for fear of being disgusted. This does not mean that she has closed doors. On the contrary. ” I I paint, I write, I also play music. As I like to say, I have a lot of strings on my harp! », she smiles.

In the coming months, Makena should release the sequel to Rodham Willows. Perhaps the opportunity for you to discover his work…

Buy them: urlr.me/Vd6Xms.

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