Akuma-Inn

"Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen." - Picasso, Pablo

Can you tell us a few words about yourself?

Akuma-Inn was established in 2017 and happily lasts till now :) We come from Poland, we love to travel, we are happy to be able to bring our Fat Cats with us around the Europe and even more happy when customers fall in love with them! ;)

How did you fall into the world of artists? When was the first time you thought you wanted to deal with this?

Conventions, of course ;) We spotted areas designed for artists where people can show and sell their own artworks and we thought that it would be lovely to follow that path :) We started from a tiny stand and big hopes, and now we grew much bigger, we have plenty of stuff and we keep working upon new projects all the time!

What work method do you use? What creative path have you taken so far?

We work in traditional media - ink and watercolors. We tried digital once and it came out we don't feel that, our cats would lose their artistic touch and spirit, so we decided to stay with inking and painting with watercolors only :)

You do several workflows on a project, but what is closest to you? How would you define yourself?

Sometimes projects just come to our minds and are ready within few hours. Sometimes we keep thinking and trying for weeks and yet the result is not satisfying, so also many projects went to trash at some point. Creating is complicated ;)

What aspects do you consider important during the creative process?

Set the mind free ;) Be sure You can do and invent anything - and have faith that Your hand will be able to follow the visions in Your head! ;)

How would you define your own style? Was it difficult to take the first steps?

No, not really ;) Drawing since kindergarten times gave us good basics and plenty of experience, so we simply had to chose one path and master it ;) Fat Cats had some different projects of how they could look like and the one we have now is the one we picked in 2017 ;) We were always very confident about having a kitty stuff, since we both own and love cats very much!

Can we talk about the technical side? What techniques and tools do you use in your projects? What equipments are you currently working on?

Nothing complicated or very expensive - we started as a poor people after all ;) We work on Canson watercolor paper always, because it drinks water best and sometimes projects need to be almost flood with water and watercolors ;) For inking we use waterproof Unipin liners. Our watercolors are famous and immortal St Petersburg - The White Nights ;) Highly recommended and worth their price!

Inspiration is very important in art. What inspires you, what are the things that inspire you?

We can find inspiration everywhere ;) In music, in movies, in dreams even ;) All up to mind to figure out how to use the ideas and turn them into more Fat Cats ;)

Could you tell us a little more about what you have learned so far? Have you pursued any studies that have helped / facilitated your current career?

No, not really. Drawing was always a side hobby. I wanted to go to the Academy of Fine Arts, but I didn't pass the exams, so I ended up being an archaeologist on the University of Warsaw and I worked as a draftsman in archaelogy for some years ;) I changed my jobs a couple of times until I settled myself as Akuma-Inn and it was best idea ever ;)

How typical is instinct for your work? How do you get started with a work, could you describe the process? What do you need to create?

Just a table, paper and pencils to make first drafts and see how they could look ;) Our minds are stuffed with ideas - some better, some worse, but we simply keep thinking about Fat Cats at the back of our mind almost all the time ;)

Which part of your work do you like the most? What do you like to create best?

We love all our kittens, but Cifero - the white demonic cat - has a special place in our hearts :) He was our firstborn child, since I always, ALWAYS wanted to have a white demonic cat out of Hell as a character to draw ;) When it comes to drawing, I must admit I love projects that include Cifero most ;)

Your work is strikingly different in style from the main striking directions. What could you most liken your art to? Do you consciously shape your own style?

The Fat Cat anatomy is pretty simple and it was designed consciously. We decided to draw rather plain and not overload our projects, to play with details, dialogue lines and funny texts rather than cats themselves. We wanted to create something 100% ours, unique and also easily recognizable ;)

Could you give an example where random discoveries have affected your creations?

Cannot think of anything spectacular I am afraid ;)

If there was no barrier to money, what would you like to deal with?

If we would be rich, I bet we would still want to draw and run conventions the way we do now ;) We're very happy with the life we had chosed for us and we wouldn't want to give it up ;) But having money would bring some more opportunities, we could set our own Fat Cat plushies as we always dreamed of, and try some further trips to events taking place far away from Poland ;)

How do you have fun, what does this concept mean to you?

Being creative is fun, drawing and painting is fun, creating stuff with our own designs is fun, running conventions is fun and the most fun is to meet customers' smiles and hear that they loved our Fat Cats and adopted some of our works to keep them, bring them home or made gifts for friends out of them :)

If we want to get to know your creations better, where can we do that?

Check out our Facebook and Instagram ;) We're not very much into social media, but it's the best way to see what we do, what's the newest projects or where will we come next ;)

How personal is the basis of your work? Do you always create from personal motivation?

Yes, all ideas are personal - it makes us very happy to see that people like our projects and our Fat Cats the way we made them :)

What do you think has changed the concept of art projected for each generation, and if so, how?

We have no exact opinion in that matter ;)

Is there a work, perhaps recognition, that you are especially proud of?

Cthulhu cat! We spent hours to made those tentacles look nice! XD

What expectations must be met by those who want to thrive as an artist in the future?

That nothing will come easy and You need to spend a lot of time on drawing, running conventions and becoming popular and recognizable to turn that into Your full time job ;) It took us four years to became what we are now, and we never stopped on our way, focused on our goals and determined to believe in Fat Cats ;)

How do you remember the initial wing rehearsals? Do you look back on your work as an enthusiastic "amateur"?

We never forget our beginnings and we treasure any artwork we done :) Fat Cats grew with us, of course we're getting better with drawing, painting and living in a convention business, but we always remember how hard it was on the beginning and we're proud that we never hesitated and never gave up :)

What content do you enjoy consuming in your free time?

Reading! Both books and mangas ;) We love to sink into another worlds, meet new characters and be taken for some adventures ;) And we love music a lot - we listen to music all the time, it fills our days :)

How do you see people's attitudes towards art?

It depends, and it's up to people if they're interested in art or no. We can just present what our skillful hands can do, but it's totally up to them to decide whether they like it or no ;)

How critical are you to your work?

Very much! We're damned professionalists, we want all projects to be pretty and flawless! We can keep changing stuff for days until we're satisfied with the result ;)

For many creative people, it can be observed that their careers can be broken down into epochs. Looking back on your career so far, do you have them, and if so, what eras?

No, we don't divide our life into any eras ;) We were drawing since we could hold a pencil, so it was rather continuous process of getting better ;)

How long does an image take to shape between your hands? When is a drawing ready for you? (although I know it depends on a lot...)

As You said, it depends. Some projects are crystal clear in our minds, so we simply put the idea from our head to a sheet of paper. Some are harder, we have only hints of what would we want to have, and then we can make tons of sketches finding the one best view ;)

Each creator can usually name at least one person whom he considers a mentor who has had a great influence on him. Can you tell us a little bit about this?

Oh, wish we could, but we're rather outsiders taking our own path and not looking to the sides, I am afraid ;) We adored both manga artists and great painters, we respect art in general, so we cannot give any names or any mentor who might have guided us, because we didn't have any ;)

What are you doing when you do not work on a drawing because your days go by? What are your goals? What other things do you care about? Do you have another hobby?

Too much hobbies, I'd say! We need to pick out of them and focus on some only ;) Beside drawing we're also writing, reading a lot, watching movies, animes and TV series, riding a horse (one of us owns a horse), playing lots of board and card games and much more! Sometimes we wish we could spend some evenings playing some computer games, but it seems we have not enouh time to give in ;)

How does your lifestyle affect your social relationships? Where do you have so much energy from for so many things?

Energy is inside ;) If You picked a way of life for You and You're happy with Your choice, then any day is a burden for You ;) We love drawing, travelling, meeting people around countries, so we simply get up happily we can live a life of our dreams ;)

Do you think art is a better tool for networking?

No idea about it, we have no opinion ;)

How do you see similarities or even differences between artists from different countries or the reactions they evoke?

Artists are open and cheerful and nice towards each other :) Country doesn't really matter since almost everybody can speak English, so we can communicate with no barriers :) We love to visit other artists' stands and we love to buy postcards and stickers with designs we like :)

How do you see the possibilities of artistry in cyberspace? Can we create spaces where a virtual identity can convey its own artistic content?

Again, no idea about it. Cyberspace is something that exists, but we exist a little bit beside that. We love the real world, real artworks done on paper, real conventions and real people to meet there :)

Do you still see that you have made the right decision to choose this path?

Yes, we never doubted it :) Akuma-Inn could became a full-time job only because we believed in it so much and we never gave up :) There's no better job for us, so we are really happy with that path of ours :)

If you could have a super ability, what would you choose?

Flying! No special need for that when it comes to running a business, but flying is so much fun! ;)

If you could go anywhere, where would you most like to go?

Any Scandinavian country ;) We love that cold northern lands most, we kinda feel there like at home ;)

Are you a designer, a goal-setting artist, or do you trust your destiny that everything will always be achieved at the right moment anyway?

We believe in a hard work, in determination, in having faith in Yourself :) We never sat and waited for better days to come - we were always heading towards them all by ourselves ;)

How do you envision your life in 10 years?

No idea! We don't even know what will we eat for tomorrow's breakfast, so definitely we won't think about what might happen within 10 years ;) 2020 showed us that long-term planning might be useless, so we live day by day, taking any opportunities coming our way, and keep drawing, drawing, drawing... ;)