Interviewing: Zuko_42

What is your name?
I go by Zuko. Zu, sometimes. It's a nickname based on my real name (which nobody uses now, not even my parents. XD )

Examples of your work:

Why did you join wattpad?
One of my best friends is a book lover and she wanted me to join because I was one, too. It was one of the best decisions I've made to join this wonderful community.

How long have you been making graphics for?
Well, I have been making book covers by hand for about a year to practice my watercoloring skills, but I started making digital covers only very recently; maybe about a month or two, give or take.

How did you get into graphic designing? [possibly put an example of one of your earlier covers]
I was always interested in design (though I'd always consider myself an artist before a designer) and seeing all of the amazing book covers on Wattpad prompted me to get into digital graphic making.

I used to make random slap-text-onto-image covers using Phonto back when I started Wattpad, for the sake of having covers for my books - although I used most of my own images, photographs and drawings for that, too.

I made the following for a friend; he snapped the photograph for this one, though. I believe he's still using the cover. XD

Believe it or not, the cover for The War of Kingdoms, shown earlier, is my very first photoshop cover, using one of my own illustrations. ^-^

What type of graphics do you make, and which do you prefer?
I stick to book covers, but maybe I'll expand to headers and whatnot later. As to style, I love me some simplicity; I'm not a fan of overly cluttered graphics, and I think that reflects in many of my covers. As I'm only a beginner to digital book cover making, I'm still just getting used to photo manipulations so I don't do much of those. Sometimes I make fully illustrated covers; even the text is hand-lettered in those. They take so long, but they're really fun to make!

What is your favourite part of graphic making?
Coming up with a concept is the hardest part, but it's what I enjoy the most. Deciding what goes well with what, and what colours and fonts to choose ... Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not, but it's always rewarding when you finally end up with something you're satisfied with.

How long does it usually take you to make a graphic?
It depends. As I tend to use my own illustrations, it can take a super long time. Minus the drawing part, though, I'd say it doesn't take very long. I prefer simpler covers, so I don't use a lot of effects - and I don't know how to use them yet, either! XD So it doesn't take me more than a couple of hours, especially with some help from Google when I need to figure out how to use photoshop effects.

What program(s) do you use for making your graphics?
I work primarily on my iPad. I use Sketchbook Pro for drawing, and I often use it for hand-lettering as well. Right now my laptop is dead so I'm using Phonto for text. However, I'm hoping to get more used to Photoshop, which I'm planning to do once my laptop is fixed.

Where do you get your inspiration from/who inspires you?
It's difficult to name everyone, but I guess the general design community on Wattpad is hugely inspiring to me. Seeing their covers make me want to design, and improve, and be the best I can be. I also love going through Pinterest for inspiration, and have boards for all sorts of things: book covers, art projects, writing, you name it!

Do you have any tips for aspiring graphic designers?
I think it's important to be patient, and to always be open to feedback. A friend of mine recently got into graphic designing (just last week!) and after receiving some pointers, she did a complete 180 and improved so much just overnight! I'm so proud of you, @Reign_of_Dark !

So yeah - saying that you can't do anything isn't going to help you improve. Saying that you're not talented won't make graphic-designing skills magically fall from the sky. Saying you're just not creative enough achieves no purpose. You've got to work (work, work, work, work - I hate that song but it applies XD ). There's no shortcut to making graphics; good old hard work and a little help from others is really all you need.

As Shia Labeouf so aptly said:
Just do it! Make your dreams come true! Don't let your dreams be dreams! Yesterday, you said tomorrow; and now it's tomorrow so just do it!

Hope that helped. ;)