Anya Kondratyeva: Can you tell us about how you got started with art and what you like to draw?

Sad Banana: I started my first sketchbook in middle school — video games like Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and Dark Cloud were actually what inspired me to draw in the first place. Nowadays, I still have a soft spot for fan art, but I'm still trying to find my style and what things I like to work with. I realize that I like a lot of fantasy-themed pieces but have been doing a lot of studies. I’d like to work on being able to sketch freely, maybe without references, until I have a concept nailed down first.

What’s the story behind your name?

Sad Banana is kind of an older name. I don't know if I identify as a sad person. So I've been playing with the idea of dropping the “sad.” 

It started from an inside joke from a very beloved teacher of mine. I was taking part in a competition and I was venting to him because I was really worried about being unfairly disqualified. He was eating a banana at the time and he told me, “Don't be a sad banana.” It just kind of stuck with me. I thought it had a ring to it. So to honor that teacher, I started going by Sad Banana.

Recently, Cybernaut [one of Magma’s Discord mods] made a goofy drawing of a banana with a really masculine face with a sharp jawline, like the Chad meme. He called it “Chad banana” and I thought it’d be funny if I just changed my name to that. I’m playing with the idea of periodically changing the first part of my name on Discord, but I think “banana” will be constant. 

How did you find Magma in the first place?

Back when Magma was known as Aggie.io, I had an art friend that invited me to draw with them. It was really fun, we drew a lot of silly things. But it was a one-off session, and I didn't really have anyone else to draw with. 

I thought I'd be much more inspired if I was around others who were passionate about art, like me. I convinced a friend to draw with me, and once I logged in, I noticed on Magma’s website there was a whole Discord server and a whole new Art Jam section. 

Typically, I'm pretty reclusive and shy, so I saw that and mulled it over in my head for a couple of days. I did want to draw and connect with other artists, but I had to gather enough courage. So, I figured a good middle ground was to join the Discord server and lurk for a little bit just to acclimate. 

A little while after I joined, there was a Magma Clubhouse stream that I participated in: Plaster Cast Studies hosted by Anya Robbins and Florent Farges. I decided to participate just to push myself out of my comfort zone. I hadn’t done a plaster cast study in a long time, but it reminded me of my traditional drawing roots.

The entire time, I was very tight-fisted and worried and wanting to make something really great. But at the end of the event, Yaga (another artist on Magma’s Discord) had made a little monster out of the plaster cast references and invited everyone to add on to the monster. 

Then, I realized that I've been so strict with myself, always needing to make something good to the point that I had forgotten how fun it was to create. I was working on this monster with everyone else on the canvas, and it was so completely nonsensical and whimsical and funny that I realized that this is what I like about art. After that, I realized that these are the other artists that I want to hang around and have fun with – that’s my community.

How does your experience differ when you're drawing by yourself versus drawing with other people?

When I'm drawing by myself, sometimes I'll feel pretty unmotivated or lacking immediate feedback. But when I’m drawing with someone else, I can ask, “Hey, do you think this looks strange?” Or someone will say, “This looks amazing,” and it'll change the way that I see the artwork. When you're an artist, you're really aware of your own weaknesses. You tend to be your own worst critic, but other viewers won’t focus on your flaws and will instead remind you of what you’re strong at. Drawing with other artists helps you realize that maybe you're not doing as badly as you thought.

Speaking from personal experience, I feel like this is the most I've drawn in the past three years. It was an absolutely insane feeling to realize when I was just hanging out on the Discord server or in a Magma stream that I had been drawing for eight hours straight. Before, it was such a task to draw for an hour, or sometimes even to pick up a pencil. 

It took me a bit longer than I'd like to admit to realize how much fun I'd been having. I finally noticed when I was drawing on a Magma board with other artists, and I happened to check the time…and it was 4 am. The feeling of staying up so far past my bedtime to work on a drawing was something that I hadn't felt for years. All I could think of was, “Whoa, I'm so glad this isn't dead.” My spark to create and draw was back.

What do you think makes for a good collaborative canvas experience?

Definitely following the prompt of the canvas, or at least finding a creative way to incorporate what you usually draw into the theme of the canvas. Some of my favorite canvases have had really specific themes and it was really cool to see the same subject matter rendered in multiple art styles. Seeing the ideas artists come up with because of limitations they had is super inspiring to me.

Do you have any advice for people who might be going through a creative rut?

First and foremost, I would say do a little soul-searching and figure out why you started drawing in the first place. Speaking from experience, that will carry you through many rough patches. Find what makes you want to draw in the first place and also find a community of other artists that inspire you, try not to isolate yourself. Allow yourself to make bad art, maybe even on purpose. That's my advice.

What are your favorite Magma tools to use?

I have taken quite a liking to the lasso fill tool. Usually, I like to fill the background of my subject in a blocky shape, like a rectangle or some sort of dynamic shape, which I usually color by hand. But with the lasso fill tool, I can just draw the box and don't have to spend time adjusting my brush settings, filling it in, and then erasing when it gets a little too sloppy. I can just draw a shape and then it's filled in and we're good. 

Also, shout out to the perspective tool. I've been studying perspective off and on because that's something that I'm a little weak in, so being able to map out a perspective grid with a click of a few buttons is pretty awesome.

What’s your favorite artwork that you’ve made in Magma? 

I'm slowly becoming a plant mom. I recently got a Syngonium albo and was so excited that she popped out a new leaf, because that means she's happy in her new home with me. As one does, I made a celebratory painting of her. I’m hoping to do a series of my other plant babies – maybe I’ll include little stories about each of them and how I got them. Some of them have silly names, so I’ll at least mention that. 

Is there anything else that you wanted to say to other artists? 

I think it's really important to keep on creating even if you feel like your voice isn't heard or like your art isn't as polished as you want it to be. Just hold on to the love that you have for art, creating, and making things – that's going to take you very far. 

Find joy in the process of creating, and focus less on the end result (easier said than done). Try not to compare your progress to anyone else’s – instead, compare yourself to how far you’ve come from your past pieces. Take time to look back at your old work, and acknowledge how much you’ve grown. Finally, find people that you can connect with, create with, and feel inspired by!