Rising star of the Brazilian illustration scene, Vinne - in partnership with Clover Press - is now kickstarting The Art of Vinne - My Way, available through January 17th!
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome to the Yeti Cave, Vinne! How is everything going in Brazil? Any big plans for the holidays?
VINNE: Everything is fine here. Brazil is cool. I hope to spend my holidays with the person I love.
CBY: Since the new year is now upon us, I hope your plans panned out well! So you’re 23, and you’ve got 450k followers on your Instagram page, which I notice some of my collaborators and mutuals also follow. I’d never seen your work before, but runs the stylistic gamut from vaporwave to dark academia with a core anime-inspired style. Looking back on the past five years of your career development, what steps have you taken to set yourself apart from the pack of western artists inspired by the anime/manga tradition?
V: I’m just trying to be true to myself. Pulling the right inspirations together and trying the best techniques I can to reproduce those thoughts into art.
CBY: So My Way -- the art book you’re releasing through Clover Press – from what I gather, represents the first consolidated print edition of your work. With over 500% of the $5,000 Kickstarter goal pledged upon launch. Now with over a week left, it's up around $75,000 - 15x the initial pledge amount, so it looks like a resounding success in the making (and congratulations!). What does this collection offer that your fans may not have seen before?
V: I think this is the only artbook I will release with works from before 2020. It is really cool to offer a book like this for fans to add to their collection if they like my art.
CBY: You’ve mentioned Yoshitaka Amano and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto as inspirations - I showed my daughters your work, and one of them mentioned it reminded her of Atsushi Ohkubo’s Soul Eater manga. I haven’t really kept up with the anime/manga scene in twenty years, so can you give us a rundown of how your stylistic influences have evolved since your earliest exposure to the anime and manga industry?
V: Your daughter is correct. It gives this Soul Eater vibe sometimes. Anime definitely inspired me, and I started searching to know more, asking what was the inspiration and who drew the art. Then I realized that there’s someone who worked really hard to develop the anime I’m watching. I consider anime to be an important bridge between me and the artists I really love, such as the artists from Gainax (Studio Trigger). Yoshitaka Amano is also really important because his journey is so inspiring. Atsushi Ohkubo from Soul Eater and Takeshi Obata from Death Note are very important recent inspirations in terms of using as reference for scenes and color. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto stands out completely and is my real forever inspiration for every aspect in my art.
CBY: It looks like you're doing them justice with your recent work. Let’s unpack your technical process a bit – I saw in an old interview you mentioned using a Wacom Cintiq 24hd – what equipment do you use these days for all your work in terms of hardware/software to achieve the look you’re after?
V: I’ve upgraded my setup. I use a Wacom Cintiq Pro 32”, software Clip Studio Paint and sometimes Photoshop. My process is not complicated. After a long time, you start to understand the process more completely.
CBY: Keeping things clean and simple with the digital tools, indeed. I notice most of your work available for viewing is comprised of pin-ups, posters, and one-off imagery. Are you working on any sequential or narrative projects? What sort of stories are you keen on telling with your art, and are there any writers you have plans to collaborate with, or would like to work with in the future?
V: I definitely want to create a lore to everything you’re seeing now. Or, at least, part of it. But this is for the future. I want to master a little bit more technique before jumping into such a hard task.
CBY: So looking through your work, I checked out the Hex Termina online store you’ve set up, but from what I gather, everything is sold out at the moment. Can you tell us a bit about the process of setting up this store, which collaborators and manufacturers you’ve been working with to develop products, and what fans can expect both in the near future and the long term plans for this platform to access the merchandise you’re making?
V: Hex Termina is where me and my partners get to produce all our ideas. I want to turn ideas into physical products. Hex Termina is focused on clothing, accessories and art in general. We have our own manufacturers that we deal with and someone who does the logistics for us. People should expect more products soon!
CBY: Will products be available worldwide? Do you want to mention the companies that you manufacture with or mention/praise who does logistics for you?
V: Yes, everything is worldwide. I usually just let my logistics partner do all the magic. Hex Termina is so recent and we probably will change and improve a lot in 2025.
CBY: Hopefully our readers will get to see it all come together this year! I noticed the landing text scroll on Hex Termina says, “We are #CARLOVERS” and you’ve done a lot of illustration work depicting various vehicle models in the last few years. Growing up under the influence of The Fast and the Furious franchise, and ending up working in the sustainable land transport sector, the influence of media on cultures of consumption is definitely non-trivial. I was joking with Gary Scott Thompson, who wrote the original The Fast and the Furious film, about how it might be useful to platform a program called The Calm and the Curious, because we only have about three years left in our carbon budget, and the internal combustion engine has no place in a viable future. I see a bicycle or two amongst your illustrations, so as a young artist who might live to see the end of the century, what sort of consideration do you put into the intent behind your imagery, the partnerships you select, and the ways in which your art may influence the culture in which it exists for the better?
V: I know it's ending. I think I'll just be forever in it because it was my dad's favorite thing besides fishing. The love for cars and engines, it really hits my heart - every time I turn on my car, I remember him. He's not with us anymore. I think I'll just hit other people's hearts like I'm hitting mine. It is simply about the passion shared with people that care so much about it. That's how you transform things in history. And I really hope to be part of this.
CBY: I'm sorry for your loss, and taking the moment to pay tribute to him, here with our readers, is much appreciated. We’ve mentioned My Way is coming out through Clover Press. Can you tell us a bit about how the publishing arrangement came together, and what the role of Media Do will be in the release of this book? From what I gather, it looks like Clover Press is handling physical copy/western marketing, and Media Do is handling Tokyo-focused, digital distribution. Can you give us the rundown on the business decisions behind this publication release and distribution?
V: Clover Press helped me by setting up the Kickstarter and worked with Media Do International on everything. I can’t lie. They saved me from a lot of bureaucracy, so I’m not sure I can explain this process (ha ha). My manager approached me with interest from Media Do International first. I looked them up and saw they had a really interesting way to manage the production and distribution of a book like this [on other projects with Clover Press], so I decided to jump in. It is my first ever art book so I was kinda anxious, but in the end everything is working out smoothly.
CBY: On the note of the art market and your business activities, you’re clearly a prolific illustrator, and I’m always curious how creatives manage both their artistic productivity and the administrative tasks involved in building their brand and selling their work. It seems like your fanbase has grown very quickly since you started working professionally, so what sort of structure and support do you have in place to help you keep all the parts of your operation moving smoothly? Anyone you’d like to give a shout to who helps you keep things organized?
V: There is a specific person who helped me the most. Bianca is the person I love, and she is the one who helped inspire me. Also, my partners who helped me develop Hex Termina, Lucas, Enzo and Patrick. Bianca has been the most important person that's helped me through the years. My crew consists of Patrick "Shark", our dev, Enzo my partner in logistics and Lucas, my partner in developing products.
CBY: I'm sure it's reassuring to have a crew on your side, helping you make the most of your creative capacity. So we’ve spoken a bit about your influences, but here at Comic Book Yeti, we always provide an opportunity at the close of interviews with an opportunity to share a bit about creative work unrelated to your own that still catches your attention. What other comics, films, art, literature, music, etc., has been inspiring you lately which you think our readers should check out?
V: I love music. I also try to watch movies when I can. They’re a really good way to get inspired. I’m not much into comics just because I didn’t grow up on them. But my favorite superhero is Spider-Man. My favorite media is simply illustrations that speak for themselves.
I don't really know any names for music or movies I can recall right now, but I'm sure most of them are Japanese. Hideaki Anno from Evangelion, RWB's owner Akira Nakai, the artist Takato Yamamoto and more from other areas. Ayrton Senna too. My dad.
CBY: Thanks for stopping by the Yeti Cave, Vinne! Now is the time to share with our audience any portfolio, publication, and social media links where you’d like people to better acquaint themselves with your work!
V: Follow my work on Instagram @vinnne.art! Give a chance also to my brand @hextermina if you’re interested in fantasy. Thank you everyone for supporting me. The art book is receiving massive support. Thank you, Comic Book Yeti for giving me the opportunity to share some things about myself!
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