For the second edition of FanArt Friday, we’re lucky to display the art of the talented Nova also known as Nova Collects.
“Art has always been (something) fascinating to me because everyone’s brain is so different. If you tell ten people to imagine an object and ask them to paint it, you’ll get ten completely different versions of that. With what I do, it’s incredible to see so many other artists besides me doing similar things but with their own renditions. You’re free to create anything that comes to your mind. And that, in itself, is amazing.” Nova expressed.
The talented artist shared that Pokémon is more than a franchise to her. She began collecting Pokémon Cards when she was a child. She recalled Base set Arcanine as the first card and Pokémon she ever saw, and her interest in the franchise was instantaneous because she wanted to know more about that “brand new thing that was becoming so popular so quickly.”
“My dad was also a card collector, so my parents would get me Pokémon cards here and there. My most vivid memory is going to Toys R Us on release day for Pokémon Gold. I couldn’t believe there was going to be a whole new generation. I continued collecting and playing the games for a long time. I fell off collecting as I got older, but my love for it was reignited in 2016 when the Generations set came out. I haven’t stopped collecting since then, and it’s been the best years of my life. Pokémon has also been the reason I met some of my best friends. I never imagined that a franchise could make such a huge impact on my life.”
The artist stated that having the opportunity to combine her love for Art, Pokémon, and Gaming, in general, makes her feel amazing.
“The fact that I can make someone’s day by painting their favorite childhood card means everything to me. I absolutely love talking with my clients and discussing the best card options for their commissions! Sometimes they give me a backstory on why they choose a card or why that particular Pokémon means so much to them. I love when there’s a story attached to it. We need to keep the nostalgia alive forever!” She added.
Nova said her process “starts with me imagining the scene I want to create. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes, it’s a bit more of a challenge, especially if I’m adding more Pokémon to the scene.”
For color matching, she commented that “all I need to do is stare at the targeted color, and I can quickly figure out which colors I want to mix to get the exact shade within seconds.”
“For holographic cards, I use acetone on a cotton pad to remove the top layer of the card, which reveals the entire base holo layer underneath. I use a lot of different small thin brushes to get all of the tiny details exactly where I want them to be. I also usually work on more than one card at a time because it maximizes my time usage since I typically need to wait for layers to dry before continuing. Blending the existing art to the rest of the card is, by far, the most satisfying part of what I do. I finish the piece with a clear coat that helps protect and smooth out the paint. I then sign the back and ship it to its new home.”
Music is also a component of Nova’s creative process: She listens to a retro video game radio on Youtube called Soap as she works on her art commissions. She said she enjoyed it because it plays all the music from the Super Nintendo, N64, Game Cube, and all the games she holds dear to her heart.
Soap is the retro video game radio on Youtube that our featured artist listens to.
When it’s time to choose her favorite Pokémon, the decision is easy for Nova: “My favorite Pokémon has always been Scyther, and it always will be… When I first got Pokémon Blue, I was playing it with my neighbor, and he showed me Scythers sprite after getting him in the Safari Zone, and I was immediately obsessed. Scythers stance reminded me a lot of a velociraptor, and dinosaurs were my favorite thing. Combine that with sharp scythe arms and a cute face, and I was sold. To this day, I collect every single Scyther item I can find, cards, figures, plush, etc. He will always be my number 1.”
Nova also shared with us a couple of pictures of her Pokémon Collection, it includes an entire section dedicated to Scyther:
Don’t forget you can follow our featured artist on her Social Media Accounts and platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/novacollects
https://artbynova.bigcartel.com/
https://www.patreon.com/NovaCollects
https://ko-fi.com/novacollects
Let’s see more of Nova’s art below:
Pokémon Blog 
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