Art has become reachable to one and all, especially with illustrators taking up Instagram as a platform to promote their viewpoints and creativity. One such page came to my view, Titbits of art by Sanno Singh.
Collaborated with brands such as Reebok and Campus shoes, Sanno has framed a fanbase for her bold illustrations, with strong female protagonists and a message to convey.
For everyone who wants to know her journey, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview her and get an insight into her artistic life.
Sanno, tell us about yourself and your education background.
I am an illustrator (or that's what I like to be referred as). Apart from that I am a graphic designer. I completed my studies from St Xavier's College, Kolkata and MIT Institute of Design, Pune. My college education was what shaped me to be an aspiring illustrator.
Was art a hobby for you? Or did you always want to get into it professionally?
Getting into art was a hobby. But pursuing it as career is a long story. I grew up in Jharkhand. And the first 12 years of my life, I lived in a small village of Jharkhand. It was there where I saw a lot of folk art around me. So art became my hobby. I didn't know then that a profession called an 'illustrator' existed. I was never phenomenal at drawing, but the only thing that worked for me I guess was that I never gave up art. And that's why I decided to pursue my education in a creative field. I studied Multimedia in my Bachelor's. After that I knew that one day I would become an illustrator. I already drew a lot, so as the obvious next step, I started learning the software and drawing digitally. One thing led to another and Instagram happened and now I get to draw for a living.
As seen in your creations, powerful figures are the centre of all of them, what inspires you about these individuals? Are you trying to educate your viewer?
I love stories. And stories of people's strength and dreams is what inspires me. I am more inclined towards women's stories because I know for a fact that they have to try really hard to be able to be in a position of independence. I try to create illustrations that show women as people with strength and men as people with emotions and dreams. The two things that are somehow yet to be accepted by the society we live in.
Let’s dive into your process for a bit.
I mostly get instantaneous ideas. Other times, I get inspiration from whatever it is that I am watching at that point of time. I don't take creative blocks as something negative. So I mostly do things that I otherwise don't get to do. Reading, walking, cleaning, going to cafes. These things help me.
As there are so many artists out there with their stories to tell, what makes you unique?
Every artist has their own voice and style. And the beauty of social media is that everybody has an audience. So whatever your story is, there would certainly be somebody who would find inspiration, power or solace in that.
As a homegrown artist yourself, what do you think is the future of digital art and artists?
I find more and more people understanding digital art and trying to fit it into their design aesthetics these days. Brands are seeing it as an interesting way to break away from the usage of photographs and text. Magazines are making space for Illustrations in their spreads. In a world of images, illustrations are finding acceptance as something that gives break to our eyes. And I am sure there would be a lot more space that would be made for this fairly new entry to the world of social media.
With digital art gaining momentum, artists like Sanno are here not only to soothe our Instagram feeds with colourful images, but to add meaningful content with deeper, underlying messages of empowerment and dreams. What we need now, is more people to follow these paths and create every day!