DIDIHOOD ~ Issue 53

Happy July Didis! 

This is an exciting month for our team. We will be announcing the recipients of our first-ever Didi Creative Fund, in partnership with Tamil Women Rising and the South Asian & Tamil Women Collective. We are also collecting applications for our 2022 mentorship program. We are still looking for more mentors and mentees, and keep an eye on our Instagram stories where we will share call-outs for specific industries. Apply here! 

Meet the Didi: 
This month, we are spotlighting one of our first and longest supporters, Anu Chouhan who you may know better as @anumation. Anu is an illustrator and game art director whose work we have been following for years. 

Photo by: Ishu Kler

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career in visual art? 
I always knew I wanted to do something related to art, since I was a kid. There was a period during high school where I convinced myself it would be wiser to just pursue a law degree (maybe it would have been...would be great for understanding contracts), but I eventually ended up going for a creative career anyway! 

How have you honed your skills over time? 
I'm always trying to keep learning and developing my style so that I don't get stuck in one way of drawing. I think being an artist means being a lifelong student. I often look at the works of artists I admire and observe their techniques (really important to not fall into the comparing yourself to others trap when doing this), and when I have time I like doing studies from movie and show screencaps (this is really helpful for understanding good compositions and lighting). I don't have much time for online classes these days but I try to take some every now and then to further develop my skills. 

Where do you draw your inspiration from when working on new projects?
The first place I go when I am feeling stuck is Pinterest. I am often inspired by stories and folklore, as well as fashion and architecture. But I do get inspired from very random things in everyday life too, such as a cool looking house I might see while out and about, or an interesting person I see walking down the street. I like to do more story-driven art these days so if I can imagine a little story around my subject, it really helps. 

You've worked on everything from books to a Netflix show and video games, tell us about your favourite projects: 
I've really enjoyed working on picture books and graphic novels in the last few years! Though I have pursued animation and game development for full-time work, book illustration was a dream of mine for many years. I also got to paint my very first mural last summer, which was a very memorable experience. I have a deep respect for mural/large scale painters — it's a lot of physical labour. 

What projects do you have in the works that you can tell us about?
Since January I have been working full time as Art Director at a local game studio called Silverstring Media. It's my first senior role in a studio and it's been a really great experience so far. I also really love the project my small team is working on — hopefully I can share more details about that soon. I am also currently working on my author/illustrator picture book debut HAIR OIL MAGIC, which is slated to be released in early 2024! Working on my very own book has been really awesome, especially thinking of all the rejections and edits my manuscript had to go through to finally find a publisher. It's a personal story that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to. 

For Didis looking to purchase some of your work, will you be reopening your online shop this year? 
I wish I had a clear answer for this question. It's just that between my full-time work, freelance book projects, and life stuff, I don't have a lot of bandwidth to also run my shop. I am hopeful I can at least do a small temporary reopening within the summer months, but I'm scared to make any promises! 

What obstacles did you face as a South Asian woman pursuing a career in animation and illustration? 
I think the lack of other South Asians in the animation and gaming industry when I graduated was very daunting for me, as I felt like I didn't have a mentor or someone to look up to for guidance when I was first getting started. While in animation school, the only other South Asian I heard of in animation was Sanjay Patel at Pixar, so I reminded myself that there's space for everyone in the industry. (Flash forward six years, and I got to do some work on his Netflix series that is in development!) As the years went on, I started to meet more and more South Asians in the industry, in person and online. It's really reassuring to see, but I think we have a long way to go in terms of visibility and inclusiveness within studios, especially in stakeholder/senior positions. 

What advice would you give to a young artist looking to follow a similar career path?  
I kinda envy younger artists because I feel like they have so much access to resources and people that I definitely did not when I was getting started. When it comes to education, this may be a controversial thing to say but I don't think going to art school and getting a degree is as important as it once was when applying for animation jobs. The strength of one's portfolio alone can get them a job these days. I do see the value of a formal education because that is the path I went on, and I know a lot of South Asian parents wish that for their children, but it's simply not feasible for everyone. Things have changed a lot in the last five years and there are really great and affordable online courses taught by industry professionals —Schoolismis a great resource to check out. The flexibility of learning online is also good if you're trying to shift careers, so you can learn while continuing to work your day job. 

As for making connections, I have seen lots of artists come together on social media and places like Discord to create little communities. I recommend finding a place (IG was the first place I landed as "anumation") and just putting your work out there and slowly building up your skills and connecting with others over time. I would also say to check out art call-out hashtags like #southasianartists or #portfolioday on Twitter, and finding artists/networking by participating in showcasing your art when those prompts are trending. That said, I think social media can be very exhausting and frustrating, especially as the algorithms keep changing and the anxiety-inducing nature of it all, but I think finding and building up even a small community is more valuable so you can share and be inspired by each other. 

What we're reading: 
In Conversation with Louis Vuitton's First Afghan Sikh Model: Karanjee Singh Gaba Representing Refugee Sikhsby Simran Kaur Takhi inBrown Girl Magazine

'Chutney Popcorn' Reimagines Family and Motherhoodby Priya Arora inThe Juggernaut

Rupi Kaur Believes Style and Stanzas are One and the Sameby Jasmine Fox-Sullivan inWho What Wear 

What we're viewing + listening to:
Iman Vellani on becoming Marvel's first Muslim superhero on CBC Radio 

Hatecopy painted a mural on the corner of Mont Royal and Saint Laurent in Montreal

Who's ready to get back to in-person events? Let us know, we can't wait to see all your faces again! 

— Nikkjit Gill 

Issue 53

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