“From a very young age, I wanted to become an artist,” Cassandra said there was barely any doubt about her future. “When I was a toddler, I scribbled on my parents' furniture and, ever since that day, I just drew all the time.”
She joked: “But of course, I had to quickly switch to drawing on paper, for my parents' own sanity.”
"The challenge is having to get out of my comfort zone. I used to only draw people and willingly avoid backgrounds, because they took too much time and dedication. But when you draw comics, unfortunately you can't always avoid them,” the artist revealed what she finds difficult to do.
“The most enjoyable aspect? Drawing people. I love drawing faces, facial expressions, clothing and, as it probably shows, hair!”
Cassandra share some advice with those artists and cartoonists who are struggling with their work: “I think social media is a great way to build and connect to an audience. But don't stress on creating solely what's considered "safe" or "trending" (because trends change so quickly anyway), but instead do what you genuinely enjoy.”
She went on to say that building a large audience isn’t easy and won’t happen overnight. “I think it's nice to shift the focus from "having x, y, z followers" to "taking this opportunity to build an online portfolio". Create for the simple purpose of creating, learning and improving. As cliché as this sounds, if you're having fun in the process and it doesn't feel like a chore, you're doing it right!”
According to the freelance illustrator, the webcomic series Cassandra Comics is semi-autobiographical, borrowing some aspects and experiences from her own life.
However, her comics are far from the only thing that Cassandra does in life. Cassandra the artist is well-known throughout the industry. Among the people and organizations she’s worked with are: CollegeHumor, Simon & Schuster, Mattel, Les editions les Malins, BOOM! Studios, etc.
What’s more, the Romanian-Canadian is the author of the Still Just Kidding graphic novel. She also sells art prints on Society6, a website known for its artistic and creative crowd.
Cassandra’s popularity is not to be understated. She has nearly 2 million followers on Instagram and almost the same amount of fans on Facebook. It’s no wonder because her art is very pleasing to the eye.
Dear Pandas, what do you think of Cassandra’s comics and artwork? Which of her cartoons made you smile and chuckle? Share your thoughts with us in the comments and maybe even drop a word or two for Cassandra if she’s reading.
