Renata Felicia is a digital illustrator. She uses her iPad to create her art and was an art and design major at her university. She was noticed by Joshua Bassett for her HSMTMTS artwork. YEM was able to speak with Renata about when she first learned about HSMTMTS and Joshua Bassett, having her artwork recognized, and what she is most proud of that she has created.
What type of medium do you use to create your artwork? And when did you first start drawing? Where do you get your inspiration from?
I’m a digital illustrator, so the medium i use to draw is an iPad and the software i use is Procreate. I started drawing since i was little but it was just a side hobby of mine that i didn’t pursue until i was in high school and decided to took an art and design major for university. I got inspiration from many many things. Mostly just some things that i’m obsessing currently. Inspiration can come in many different forms, sometimes you’re just walking and ideas suddenly hit you and you just want to scribble something.
When did you first hear about Joshua Bassett? And when did you first learn about High School Musical the Musical the Series? And at what point when you were watching HSMTMTS did you become a Rina fan?
I heard Joshua from his role as Ricky Bowen from HSMTMTS honestly. But before that i know people are talking about him but i didn’t get a chance to know more or listen to his songs. I’m a big fan of the HSM movies (they’re my favorite childhood movie) so i was in denial to watch the series because i thought it was just some remake that won’t beat the original. But boy i was wrong, it was such a fun series. But funny story, i started watching HSMTMTS because of rina. After their endgame in season 4 there’s so many videos/gifs of them floating around and i just happened to see one on a tumblr post, i said “They’re cute.” and gave in to watch the show. So, you can say that i’m already a rina fan literally since the start. It was a different experience for me watching because i got spoiled but it was beautiful to see their progress from season 1 to season 3.
What made you want to start working on Rina to begin with? And how did that lead to working on Joshua Bassett separately?
It all started with “What if…” like for example “What if ricky & gina dance to can i have this dance from HSM3?” “What if Rina spend thanksgiving together as a couple” and all that what ifs, i want to visualize it, thats why i start drawing them. And for Joshua, it all started with the first single he put out early in October “Would You Love Me Now?”. His art cover was just a plain blue color and i want to do something more with it. I listened to the song couple of times and try to draw what that song make me feel. And after that, i kinda like it (and seems like Joshua likes it too) and i continue to do so.
Congrats on getting the recognition from Joshua Bassett, what was that like for you? And now with the rest of the cast tweeting and sharing on instagram. Such exciting stuff.
Thank you so much! It’s still doesn’t feel real to me that i would get this far in such a short time, everything happened so fast to me. I’m grateful for him for being such a sweet individual for a lot of people. He amazes me everyday with little things he does or even just with his words to his fans. You can tell he really love and appreciate his fans so much. I hope this is just a start of something even bigger in the future.
Did you get more people asking for artwork?
Yes, absolutely! I got a bunch after that, and i love drawing every single one of them. My favorite is when some artists asked me to draw for their song’s art cover. This is such a dream come true for me, to be able to make people’s imagination come true and seeing their reaction to the finish artwork, that’s all i’m here to do.
The one you just did with the High School Musical the Musical the Series cast for Halloween was just amazing. How long does it take you to create something like that?
Every artwork has various and different time to finish. When i’m in the mood and i have no other work to do, i can finish it in one go with just hours. For the halloween artwork, i finished it in 10 hours (this was fast for me, considering there’s 10 people in it). I wanted to post the artwork still in halloween spirit so i finished it quickly once i got everyone’s halloween costume. It was stressful but it was worth it in the end!
Before High School Musical the Musical the Series and Joshua Bassett were there any pieces that you worked on that you’d like to share?
Absolutely if i can! Before this i mostly draw about tv shows / movies / kdrama that i like at that time. Sometimes if there’s enough people are interested, i will make them into merchs and sell it. And there’s something about seeing your artwork in a physical form and for a lot people to have it in their house, it’s so exciting.
Out of everything you’ve created, which are you most proud of?
This is very hard for me to choose, because i have so many. For now i would say the artworks that i made for Joshua’s songs. It’s my first time experimenting with minimalistic elements that can represent the song, and people who sees it will feel the same. And because for me, it’s kind of my big break for so many opportunities, thanks to Joshua.
What are you hoping people take away from your artwork when they see it?
I like to leave it to them. It can means whatever they want, whatever they’re feeling. But i just hope everything that i draw won’t offense people in some kind of way, and it will always make them feel safe. The best thing for me is when people said they’re inspired to start to draw after seeing my artworks, i think that’s the best compliment you could ever get.
Where can people find you if they’d like to commission something?
