Living in Denmark, Nadiaxel calls herself a self-taught artist and loves to create magical stories with her works. She describes her art as colorful, expressive, and devilish and keeps moving forward with her weapons – a pen and a tablet.
Where is your home?
I live in the capital region of Denmark – a tiny Scandinavian country between Sweden and Germany.
What does your studio look like?
My studio is like an extended part of my personality – full of fantasy artwork on the walls, green plants I am desperately trying to keep alive, fancy gaming gear, a tv-sized monitor, and lots of nerdy knick-knacks. Oh, and dog hair. There is dog hair everywhere.
Are you a professional or self-taught artist?
I’d like to think I am a self-taught professional artist. We don’t have many art schools in Denmark, and I never went to any of them. Everything I’ve learned, I learned from books, practice, and from the good old days on Youtube. I still use online classes and platforms such as Youtube to better myself, like I am using my own channel to learn others to draw too.
What inspires you the most?
Stories! I don’t always draw artwork that tells a story, but when I do there is nothing in comparison to the inspirational flow I am in. It’s not easy for me to come up with a story for a drawing, so I have created a bunch of original characters with stories, that I love to tell too. I also get inspired a lot by watching other artists’ works – a color palette, a specific light setting – those are things that inspired me a lot on a daily basis. Besides that, looking at how much you have improved is a great motivator. Whenever I decide to do another “draw this again” challenge, I get inspired anew, because I realize I have moved and improved.
Which one of your artworks is your favorite and why?
My favorite piece changes often, to be honest. Approximately every 10th piece I produce is my new favorite. My current favorite is the “Goddess of Heroes” piece because there is a deeper meaning to it. I also spend an additional effort to animate the final artwork, which is usually something I do with pieces I really like. The statue and environment tell a story of a place long forgotten. A goddess waiting for the next hero to emerge and claim her sword of heroes. Then I added the chains on the statue, just for the viewer to wonder why they are there, so they can build further on the story inside their mind.
Who are your favorite artists?
That’s a tough one! My inspirations change a lot, depending on my current taste, and what level of stylization I enjoy drawing at the moment. But I do have a few artists that I have followed for years, and that still inspire me today. I love the work of Loish – her sense of composition and color is always inspiring. My favorite comic artist has to be Alessandro Barbucci, the artist of Sky Doll, W.I.T.C.H., and Ekho. The way he draws characters and expressions has inspired me for almost 20 years! Lastly, I am very inspired by the simplicity and elegance of Pernille Ørum’s art. A world-known fellow Danish artist who draws the most beautiful cartoon characters.
Capture your art style with 3 words.
Expressive, colorful, and devilish!
What is your biggest dream as an artist?
I think my dream is very similar to many artists’ dreams – to be able to do what I love for a living. To draw and create art-related entertainment to my heart’s content!
If you weren’t an illustrator, who would you be?
My childhood dream was to work with animals in any kind of sense, but after going to university I realized I like programming a lot, so I would probably either do a mix of both, or either of the two.
What are your plans for the future?
To keep moving forward – to stay on track with the newest trends, and to keep entertaining my audience! You never know what the future brings, so all you can do is keep moving forward with what you’ve got. I got my pen and my tablet, and that’s all I need to move forward right now!
Instagram: @nadiaxelart
