“Why not try it?” @pumpkin.sunnyrest

Dear Diary,

My name’s Zuzia, I’m 20 years old and I’m from Poland.

I’ve always liked to mess around with creative things, but sketching on paper never felt interesting enough. At some point, I got really into watching My Little Pony speedpaints. It was so cool to see how ponies came to life with so many pretty designs and it’s also very satisfying to watch the line art look so perfect. One day, after watching a few of them, I thought, “Why not try it?” And that’s exactly how I started my digital art journey — with the Paint app and My Little Pony bases.

I think my biggest spark of creativity came from the fact that I can finally let myself go. I was always a bit closed in my cage with my art; drawing only within my comfort topics or always drawing when I had a story behind the art. Then, I started a challenge of drawing birthday art for some of my characters, which sounds easy, right? But only after I started it I realised how much work I need to put in to make something interesting while also keeping the same theme and showing the characters' behaviour. This definitely made me leave my comfort zone a lot since in order to draw something I am happy with, I had to start experimenting.

Credit: Zuzia (Instagram @pumpkin.sunnyrest)

I was always on edge for leaving the internet. No one ever showed interest in what I do in my life, but I wanted to be seen. I had many ups and downs, after which life showed me the biggest success came in less expected times. If there is a chance that one day someone would really like my work or if some group of people would really care about my work; why not at least make them smile with my posts?

Since the My Little Pony speedpaints era, I have adored more "chunky" art styles. Thick lineart, strong shadows, that was just something I loved. I think it’s also the fact that I never used any art tutorial. I was always experimenting, trying to understand what shapes made the body look the way it does, and since I started with ponies, I also took big inspo from Equestria Girls at first. Observations mixed with roots and first picked preference is how my art style came to life. Right now, I am trying to switch into a more subtle, anime- like one, but it just doesn't seem to work.

Credit: Zuzia (Instagram @pumpkin.sunnyrest)

My advice? Definitely to never give up but even more importantly: Have fun creating. For years, I was struggling really hard as my artworks didn't look the way I wanted. Basically, every year, I was thinking about quitting art forever, cursing myself, crying, and hating everything I do. I forgot the reason I started drawing. It was meant to be fun. It looked fun and was bringing me joy. Art should be fun. Here I am 9 years later, with abilities I would never think I was able to achieve. I am still not perfect, and there is a lot to fix in how I draw. But oftentimes in my mind, I see a vision of quitting. I remind myself of little me 9 years ago.

Don't let go of your past self. Fight to make their dream real, because only you are able to do that. Time will pass anyways, it's up to you to decide how you’re gonna use it and if in the next 5 years you will be full of regret or in the middle of finishing your goal.

Until next time!

Zuzia