Interview with VianaArts 
Thank you for taking your time with the interview for AllArtSupport.
AllArtSupport
Hello Samuel, please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into the world of ballpoint pen illustration?
VianaArts
Back when I was 10 I was practising with the objective of mastering pencil drawing. I kept making mistakes all the time, it annoyed me because I had to erase all the time, I wanted to avoid that, I wanted to be able to draw without worrying all the time. I had some black ballpoint pens back then, so I figured, if I always practice with ballpoint pens, which can't be erased, they would make me focus 10 times more because any mistake would be disastrous and spell the end of hours of effort.
It worked. I kept practising for the next few years and not only I rarely if never had the need to erase when using pencil it also gave me an insight of what ballpoint pens could do. So a few years later, this happened!
I like the solid colors they are able to provide, they are an elegant medium, and in my humble opinion, hands down the hardest medium to use, and believe me, I used them all.
AllArtSupport You’ve recently been promoted to Senior Member here, how did you take the news? How has your deviantART experience been so far since you opened your account?
VianaArts I was very happy! It has been an extremely rewarding experience so far, I am here to learn as much as I can with what others have to share and share what I do with them too, and if I at the very least manage to inspire just one person, my time here was well worth it.
AllArtSupport Could you name some of your favorite artists? (Painters, musicians, writers, etc.)
VianaArts Painters: Leonardo Da Vinci, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Musicians: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven. Writers: Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
:bigthumb353271135:
AllArtSupport You have founded a group named BallPoint-Masters one year ago, what have you accomplished with your group so far?
VianaArts It is a place for all ballpoint pens enthusiasts and all other medium artists too. Everyone is free to join! By concentrating almost all ballpoint pen artists in there, they can all discuss and learn with each other as it is a place to share and learn.
:bigthumb338185717:
AllArtSupport How long does it take you to finish your drawings? What is your process?
VianaArts Depending on the size and on he complexity of the subject, it usually takes me between 50 to 200 hours to finish each piece, spanning over a period that goes from one week to two months. The most common size I use is A4.
AllArtSupport How do you find the patience to complete an illustration once you started working with it?
VianaArts I don't! I have little patience, contrary to what most people think! I am very distracted so I draw for 5 minutes and when I realize it I have been watching tv for the last 15 minutes and the drawing is still there waiting for me to snap out of the distraction and draw 5 more minutes, until I get distracted again! It is good in a way, because being so hard to draw with this medium it helps if I take lots of breaks as it is a very tedious and painstakingly slow process.
AllArtSupport Many artists here have had to deal with art theft or other types of fraud, in your case it was a face Facebook account. How did you deal with all that?
VianaArts I filed an official complaint to Facebook and they took the impostor's page down. It is a risk we have to be aware of, from the moment someone posts something on the internet it is going to be copied. If someone uses someone else's art for financial gain without authorization, then the authors have all legitimacy to prosecute the perpetrators.
AllArtSupport We all have that particular set of tools that we love. Which ones are yours? What made you choose those particular items?
VianaArts My favourite tools are obviously the ballpoint pens. They are simple, light, elegant, and yet extremely reliable and high quality, cheap, durable. I also love them for being so challenging to use, so difficult, I love them because they are hard to use, I love challenges and they are one of the only mediums that still pose a monumental one.
:bigthumb280877619:
AllArtSupport Out of all your beautiful work, which piece is your favorite and why?
VianaArts All of them. Why? Because I made them all with the exact same dedication, and part of me will always be embedded in them.
AllArtSupport Usually facial features are complex parts for illustrators, which part of the body or face do you find more challenging? How do you overcome the challenge?
VianaArts When I was a kid and was practicing I found noses and mouths to be extremely difficult. Our brain is especially programmed to recognize faces, I knew that if even one fifth of a millimeter of the nose or mouth was different then people would notice and say "hey.. it looks like him.. but..". I practiced without using grids all my life. When I was a kid I used to consider them as cheating instead of helping tools. Of course that now I know that renaissance masters used them constantly. I don't need them at this point, but when I need to save lots of time and have maximum accuracy I also use them sometimes. Patience and practice are the most important things to achieve ultimate accuracy. If you want and can use a pencil grid, why not, it is a great tool.
AllArtSupport This has been a year of personal changes for you, you’ve moved to another country (UK)! How is life over there for you?
VianaArts It has been a good experience, giant city, full of life and multiculturalism, I love it! Not to mention the Art museums all over the place, the architecture and obviously the people, marvelous warm welcoming people here. Seriously, people are so nice.
AllArtSupport What is your favorite quote?
VianaArts "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
Thomas A. Edison
Never give up people. I never gave up.
AllArtSupport If you could give a useful piece of advice to someone who is considering diving into the world of ball pen illustration, what would it be?
VianaArts Practice hard without ever giving up, practice makes perfection, and one day, I believe that at least one of us will get there, I am still practicing too.
AllArtSupport Any last words of wisdom you would like to share with us today?
VianaArts Just for people not to rely on "this" technique or "that" technique, rely only on your own guts, on your own style, practice your own way of doing your work, and above all improvise! If I had a technique I would call it improvisation! That way, sometimes, completely by accident, you discover something new and awesome.
AllArtSupport Thank you so much Samuel, for sharing your world with us today! 
Thank you for taking your time with the interview for AllArtSupport.
AllArtSupport
Hello Samuel, please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into the world of ballpoint pen illustration?VianaArts
Back when I was 10 I was practising with the objective of mastering pencil drawing. I kept making mistakes all the time, it annoyed me because I had to erase all the time, I wanted to avoid that, I wanted to be able to draw without worrying all the time. I had some black ballpoint pens back then, so I figured, if I always practice with ballpoint pens, which can't be erased, they would make me focus 10 times more because any mistake would be disastrous and spell the end of hours of effort.It worked. I kept practising for the next few years and not only I rarely if never had the need to erase when using pencil it also gave me an insight of what ballpoint pens could do. So a few years later, this happened!
I like the solid colors they are able to provide, they are an elegant medium, and in my humble opinion, hands down the hardest medium to use, and believe me, I used them all.
AllArtSupport
You’ve recently been promoted to Senior Member here, how did you take the news? How has your deviantART experience been so far since you opened your account? VianaArts
I was very happy! It has been an extremely rewarding experience so far, I am here to learn as much as I can with what others have to share and share what I do with them too, and if I at the very least manage to inspire just one person, my time here was well worth it.AllArtSupport
Could you name some of your favorite artists? (Painters, musicians, writers, etc.)VianaArts
Painters: Leonardo Da Vinci, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Musicians: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven. Writers: Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.:bigthumb353271135:
AllArtSupport
You have founded a group named BallPoint-Masters one year ago, what have you accomplished with your group so far? VianaArts
It is a place for all ballpoint pens enthusiasts and all other medium artists too. Everyone is free to join! By concentrating almost all ballpoint pen artists in there, they can all discuss and learn with each other as it is a place to share and learn.:bigthumb338185717:
AllArtSupport
How long does it take you to finish your drawings? What is your process?VianaArts
Depending on the size and on he complexity of the subject, it usually takes me between 50 to 200 hours to finish each piece, spanning over a period that goes from one week to two months. The most common size I use is A4.AllArtSupport
How do you find the patience to complete an illustration once you started working with it?VianaArts
I don't! I have little patience, contrary to what most people think! I am very distracted so I draw for 5 minutes and when I realize it I have been watching tv for the last 15 minutes and the drawing is still there waiting for me to snap out of the distraction and draw 5 more minutes, until I get distracted again! It is good in a way, because being so hard to draw with this medium it helps if I take lots of breaks as it is a very tedious and painstakingly slow process.AllArtSupport Many artists here have had to deal with art theft or other types of fraud, in your case it was a face Facebook account. How did you deal with all that?
VianaArts
I filed an official complaint to Facebook and they took the impostor's page down. It is a risk we have to be aware of, from the moment someone posts something on the internet it is going to be copied. If someone uses someone else's art for financial gain without authorization, then the authors have all legitimacy to prosecute the perpetrators.AllArtSupport
We all have that particular set of tools that we love. Which ones are yours? What made you choose those particular items? VianaArts
My favourite tools are obviously the ballpoint pens. They are simple, light, elegant, and yet extremely reliable and high quality, cheap, durable. I also love them for being so challenging to use, so difficult, I love them because they are hard to use, I love challenges and they are one of the only mediums that still pose a monumental one.:bigthumb280877619:
AllArtSupport
Out of all your beautiful work, which piece is your favorite and why?VianaArts
All of them. Why? Because I made them all with the exact same dedication, and part of me will always be embedded in them.AllArtSupport
Usually facial features are complex parts for illustrators, which part of the body or face do you find more challenging? How do you overcome the challenge? VianaArts
When I was a kid and was practicing I found noses and mouths to be extremely difficult. Our brain is especially programmed to recognize faces, I knew that if even one fifth of a millimeter of the nose or mouth was different then people would notice and say "hey.. it looks like him.. but..". I practiced without using grids all my life. When I was a kid I used to consider them as cheating instead of helping tools. Of course that now I know that renaissance masters used them constantly. I don't need them at this point, but when I need to save lots of time and have maximum accuracy I also use them sometimes. Patience and practice are the most important things to achieve ultimate accuracy. If you want and can use a pencil grid, why not, it is a great tool.AllArtSupport
This has been a year of personal changes for you, you’ve moved to another country (UK)! How is life over there for you? VianaArts
It has been a good experience, giant city, full of life and multiculturalism, I love it! Not to mention the Art museums all over the place, the architecture and obviously the people, marvelous warm welcoming people here. Seriously, people are so nice.AllArtSupport
What is your favorite quote?VianaArts
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."Thomas A. Edison
Never give up people. I never gave up.
AllArtSupport
If you could give a useful piece of advice to someone who is considering diving into the world of ball pen illustration, what would it be?VianaArts
Practice hard without ever giving up, practice makes perfection, and one day, I believe that at least one of us will get there, I am still practicing too.AllArtSupport
Any last words of wisdom you would like to share with us today?VianaArts
Just for people not to rely on "this" technique or "that" technique, rely only on your own guts, on your own style, practice your own way of doing your work, and above all improvise! If I had a technique I would call it improvisation! That way, sometimes, completely by accident, you discover something new and awesome.AllArtSupport
Thank you so much Samuel, for sharing your world with us today! 
