Some artists seem to discover their medium before they even realize they’re telling stories. Long before commissions, illustration studies, or carefully developed original characters, there are simply children with pencils and imaginations too big to fit neatly on a page. For Corro of Jaymazing_art, that meant drawing from an early age. Now studying illustration design while creating commissions and developing original characters of their own, they bring a particularly thoughtful approach to their art, drawing inspiration from everything from animals and color palettes to books, games, classmates, and fellow artists online. We recently had the pleasure of discussing that journey and why sometimes the best thing an artist can do is simply put the pencil down and let themselves play.
Nikki: Thanks so much for joining me, Corro! It’s so great to get to chat with you. For those that are new to your art, what’s your elevator pitch?
Corro from Jaymazing_art: I’m a small artist from Germany who focuses on designing original characters and redesigning characters from kids shows. Currently, I am studying illustration design online and am doing commissions on the side. Whenever I’m not drawing – which is rare – I play gacha games like Infinity Nikki.
I can see an artist thriving in such a colorful game for sure. I’d love to learn more about what got you started as an artist. Do you mind walking us through that?
Of course! As soon as I could hold a pencil, I was drawing, I remember drawing funky vehicles that were part house, part car in third and fourth grade. I always drew a cut-open side view to show the entire inside with living rooms engines, et cetera. I started actively drawing at 12 years old when I became friends with a classmate that was really really good at My Little Pony fanart, and she inspired me to start drawing MLP fanart myself.
Around the same time my dad gave me his old laptop, which had to constantly be plugged in because the battery was broken. I used to print out and trace MLP bases on a clean sheet of paper.
Then I discovered Microsoft Paint, which became my main medium for my pony art.
Microsoft Paint – how funny! I remember that Paint was my first digital medium, too… Whenever I would visit my grandma at work back in the day, she’d open up Paint on her computer and let me draw away. What did you graduate onto after MS Paint?
After MS Paint came Paint Tool SAI, which I didn’t use for long, maybe for a year. Mind you, up until this point, I only had my mouse to draw, no pen, no iPad no graphics tablet… But it worked somehow.
My dad only got me my Wacom in, I guess, 2019 or 2020 along with Clip Studio Paint, and these two have been my go-to mediums since then.
That’s so impressive. When do you find yourself doing most of your creative work?
I try my best to maintain a good sleep schedule, but I often catch myself staying up a little too late to finish a drawing. Generally, I would call myself an afternoon person… I don’t struggle too much with getting up early but I do prefer sleeping in. (Laughs)
I hear you there! I also find myself staying up late whenever I get wrapped up in a good project. I’d love to learn more about your creative process… How do you choose which colors you’ll use for a given piece?
I mostly use color palettes or color combos I see on Pinterest. Sometimes it’s a certain color palette I saw another artist use on their OC, sometimes it’s a palette inspired by an animal, a fictional character, or a color I like in general. I usually color-pick and then adjust the colors until I’m satisfied.
It really is just a constant readjusting, trying to add a bit of contrast or switching colors around.
I totally get what you’re saying… I feel the same way with words when I’m working through a manuscript. I’m just constantly tweaking my sentences, making careful adjustments until it feels right. Speaking of manuscripts, I’d love to hear if there were any authors that initially inspired you to draw book characters.
I started drawing book characters after reading The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir. Her characters are all so unique and interesting and the community is awesome… I’ve never seen a book with more fanart before.
I’ve never read that series, but I’ve definitely heard great things. Do you have a favorite book right now?
I’m absolutely obsessed with Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, specifically the second book of the series called Artificial Condition. Another favourite is Harrow the Ninth, the second book of The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir. I’m a huge sci-fi fan and these two have such unique worldbuilding and characters, especially TLT!
I also really love sci-fi. It’s just such a creative genre, I think. Before we go back into creative discussion, I always like to ask one especially revealing question, so… How did you feel about required reading when you were in school?
I hated reading in school, the pressure of reading out loud for the whole class, the pressure to read a certain number of chapters for homework, and just the fact that all the books were so weird and overall, stories I would never choose by myself in a store. The only book I enjoyed was School of Magical Animals by Margit Auer, which I think we read in second or third grade. After that, we only read classic German authors like Friedrich Dürrenmatt or weird and tragic stories about kids our age, nothing fun or cool. I never finished any of these books.
In twelfth grade, I chose book club as a subject, and we were allowed to suggest books and then voted on which one to read. That way, we got to read Sherlock Holmes (yay).
I also hated required reading in school, which is crazy given that I’ve always been such a voracious reader. I came to enjoy it in my secondary studies, but… Yeah. (Laughs) Did you always know you’d grow up to be an artist?
According to my first grade book of friends, I wanted to become a fairy, which honestly seems like a nice goal to chase.
That is a nice goal! Nowadays, now that you’re all grown up and creating art, do you have a favorite piece you’ve done? What about a dream commission that you’d love to do one day?
My OC Zafira the Peacock Spirit, and the characters around her, are one of my best works, in my opinion. From the idea to the colors, I’m obsessed with all of them and plan on making more characters for this universe.
Another design I am incredibly proud of is my redesign and human version of Princess Luna from My Little Pony. I am so proud of the whole idea of her appearance shifting with the phases of the moon and how I’’’ve executed it. I’m aware I’m not the first and probably not the last person to have this idea but I am proud nonetheless.
As for a dream commission, I would love to design characters for an animated TV show or a video game.
I’ve seen Zafira and Princess Luna… They’re both gorgeous! There’s no denying that you have an incredible talent. With such detailed pieces, you surely must encounter creative block every once in a while, right? How do you work through that?
Whenever I notice an art block coming, I grab a book or a video game. I used to try and force myself to draw anyways but it just stresses me out and it’s no use. Besides, I draw every day, I’m not losing anything by relaxing for a day or two and just playing a game or reading a few chapters. If I have an idea, I write it down so I don’t forget.
Don’t be afraid to take a break once in a while.
That’s fantastic advice. I always say not to force the muses to come… They’ll strike when they’re ready. What artists would you say have had the biggest impact on your style?
My classmates mostly, or mutuals on social media. I often save art online from various artists wanting to try out the way the draw hair, render faces, do line art, and so on.
Arcane also had a really big impact on how I render faces.
That’s a beautiful sentiment… I love that it’s not some famous artist of yore, but the circle of creators around you. I just have one more question for you, Corro, and then I’ll let you get back to the creative work. When you look back on where you started, how do you think your art has evolved?
I feel like my art style has gotten more mature in a way. When I post a redraw of an old artwork, I am often told that it looks like the character has grown up with me. Looking back at my older art style, my characters all looked like children or teenagers; now they look more like adults.
My style has also become softer. I used to use black line art, now it’s a dark red. I use a softer brush for rendering now and darker and muted colors (at least for OCs).
Beautiful. Thank you so much for letting us into your world, Corro!
Corro has such a natural knack for storytelling, and that’s especially obvious when you scroll through their social media. Connect with them on Instagram and TikTok, and if you’re considering a commission, head over to their Ko-Fi for more info. They did an absolutely incredible job bringing Victoria from Putrescence in Her Peripherals to life, so you can trust your character in their hands.
Want to get to know other incredible artists? Swing by my Artist Spotlight Series page for even more artist deep dives.