"Art is a process — so treat it like one." @nastithemonarch

Dear Diary,

Hi! My name is Nasti, I’m 19 and I’m from Germany.

How did I first get into digital art? It’s a pretty simple answer: I started drawi

ng as a kid and it just clicked with me. I was especially fascinated by dragons—they were the main thing I used to draw.

Credit: Nasti (Instagram @nastithemonarch)

I got into digital media fairly early on. My current Insta account was opened in October 2017, and that’s where I started posting my first artworks. At that point, it was just a private account, and I was sharing my art with my friends. 2020 was when I really started out; I learned about digital art, tried it, and loved it. From there on, I made the decision to make my account public and share my art with whoever might like it.

What sparks my creativity lately? My fursona! Since 2018, I’ve had my fursona — an anthropomorphic character that

I created, which is quite personal to me, by my side. Over the years, they’ve grown and changed with me and are still the main thing I enjoy drawing. Whenever I feel like I’m in an art block, not knowing what to draw,

I always find a way to get creative with them! Generally, I can express myself best through them.

Credit: Nasti (Instagram @nastithemonarch)

Supporting my amazing art mutuals is what keeps me showing up online! Seeing their work, cheering them on, and helping them gain traction makes me happy. And of course, I myself also enjoy when people enjoy the art I create. Also, just seeing what amazing things other artists I may not know yet are up to. Generally, you could say the enjoyment I get from admiring and sharing art keeps me online.

Years of going through different interests and also doing actual practice got me to develop my own style. At the beginning of my digital art journey, I didn’t care for accuracy in my art; I just made what I felt like was as good as I could do. The older I grew, the more I learned, the more I wanted my art to look accurate. I’m mainly an anthro artist, so I started out with a super cartoony style, as that’s the most common art direction in the “furry fandom”. When I slowly but surely started feeling more comfortable with my skills, I decided to go in a different, more semi-realistic direction. I stuck to more human-ish bodies and faces for my anthro characters and that is my thing now.

Lastly, any advice I’d give? I’d say: Art is a process — so treat it like one. It’s not something you achieve overnight. Your journey, your pace. Don’t rush it. Enjoy your time.

Until then!

Nasti

Featured image credit: Nasti (Instagram @nastithemonarch)