We talked with Ana Santiso, artist in charge of the drawings of the creatures of the first Tarasca DAO’s card collection, “Mythical Creature of the World”. Ana is a professional painter, she lives in a small village in the rural Galicia, and is beginning to enter into the uses of the blockchain for artistic creation.
Ana Santiso, in front of a work of her
Good morning Ana. How would you present yourself?
Good Morning. I consider myself a visual communicator, and my language is drawing. My work is to communicate an idea through the image.
How would you define your style?
Uff … it’s precisely that I do not have a definite style. Today “style” for a designer is like the brand for a company, it should be “recognizable”. And that’s a drag on creativity. For me the style is constantly evolving, adapts to each new project and gathers the experience of the previous ones. I can not define the style, my style is the way I see the world and the way I talk about it.
You have worked many different techniques. Illustration of children’s and adults books, paintings, murals, comics, digital illustrations … Do you like to use technology and digital media?
It turns out to be an indispensable tool. As a complement to other techniques it solves problems and streamlines work, widens possibilities and improves results. As a technique in itself, I recognize that I use it in a very analogical way, almost always seeking a manual aesthetic. It takes me a couple of years to get away from digital techniques, fewer hours in front of the computer, contact with the paper, with the brush … I feel much more comfortable working like this.
Do you know bitcoin and blockchain technology for a long time?
I knew before this project that the blockchain. Now I know something else. And it seems to me to be amazing for artistic creation and market, to tell the truth.
How did you get to participate in the Tarasca DAO project?
It was in July, one of the members of the Tarasca team proposed me to illustrate the first collection of cards. The subject, legendary beings of the peoples of the world, was very appealing to me. And it seemed like a good opportunity for me to learn new ways, such as blockchain technology, which could mean new opportunities and ways of working and collaborating. I consider me lucky that this group of professionals counted on me.
Tell us a little about the collection, Mythical Creatures of the World.
The collection tries to be a small sample of the richness and cultural diversity of the peoples, draws them to them through their oral tradition and the beings who lead their stories. From those stories come ours. And knowing them we learn about our origin, for they come from the most ancestral accounts of those who remain vestiges.
Research works and sketches of the Lisovik
And what style do you want to give them?
There are a number of cryptocollections of diverse subjects that work the same way as ours, and would say that all employ digital techniques. By all means there are very different styles, but most coincide in that they sound very simple or little elaborate images. Stick to a simple formula that allows to invent new simple images and to elaborate them quickly. I, now that I am faced with the creation of 50 illustrations and seeing the time it takes, I understand that they work that way. In any case, we bet on the artistic quality and richness of content. We want this to be our brand of identity, to put it somehow. For this collection it seemed to me expedient to use the technique of watercolor, because of its natural and spontaneous aspect. It is used in a clean and restrained way, in orderly and balanced compositions, in which the character always appears to some element related to it, from a plant to a landscape. I am looking for a static, almost decorative image, like the popular arts.
Lisovik’s original painting
Can you give us some more details about the collection?
No. I prefer to recommend that you invest a few euros in Ignis [the digital currency that is used to buy the cards] and discover the collection for yourselves. I assure you it will be a journey entertained by universal mythology. At first there will be 50 creatures, ten per continent. Ah! And, very importantly, there is a cash prize for everyone who completes the collection.
Do you have plans to publish other different collections?
Of course there will be more collections and games, I may be able to illustrate some other, but in principle we will seek the collaboration of more creators. We already have some theme in mind for the next collection, but I will not say anything, because they do not copy it …
It’s all over this time. Thank you very much, Ana, for helping us, and see you soon!
Thanks.!