JANKY DOOD
Interviewed by Mavi M
LA-based artist, Amanda, unveils how one sketch on a crumpled napkin in an Australian cafe led to the creation of the iconic, ever-evolving and extremely relatable ‘Janky Dood’, her dog Maxine, cat Brian and towers of Chinese take-away boxes.
“My biggest advice for young creatives would be to try everything and anything that interests you even if it's scary or impractical. It may lead to something or nothing at all. Even if it leads you to nothing, you won't be wondering about the "what if's". Listening to your gut about what's right for you is the best thing you can do. It may lead you down a difficult path, but it would definitely be a more fulfilling path.”
How did your journey with art begin?
My art journey began very young. I've been drawing since I was probably 3 or 4. It's something that I've always enjoyed and that's always come naturally to me. I tried different mediums while growing up, but I was always pulled back to drawing.
I remember at my elementary school, there was a little box where kids could "publish" their illustrated stories and they could be checked out by other students. I loved them and always wanted to make one. I think whether I've been aware of it or not, there's always been this invisible force that makes me want to draw and make stories more than anything else.
Tell us about 'Janky Dood'. What inspired the idea?
Janky Dood is a constant work in progress, and she is forever evolving. Technically she is me; however, I'm seeing a bit of a separation between us these days as her character develops more independently.
Her origin story was very random. I was working at a cafe in Australia, and one day I doodled her on a napkin during my shift. I remember liking how her lips looked, so I started experimenting and drawing more with that style. I wish I could say there was a super deep meaning that inspired me to create her, but she quite literally was born on a crumpled napkin.
What is the Inspiration behind the stories you tell?
I would say the inspiration behind my stories is a mix of my experiences in this world combined with different things I find funny or interesting. I try to stay aware of my surroundings because even the most mundane things can spark an idea.
I also try to keep in mind the different personality traits each character has. A lot of their traits I pull from my own thoughts, feelings, and insecurities. I've also been collaborating with someone to further explore these characters and write longer stories (nothing released yet). It's helpful to bounce ideas off of each other.
What’s your creative process?
To come up with ideas, I try to think about how I can expand on my characters' storylines. They have a lot more of a backstory than I currently have posted online. Once I get an idea, I try to visualize it very generally. Then I start sketching and altering it to get an overall layout to work from.
I've created a drawing process that I use. My medium of choice is drawing directly in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet that I connect to my laptop. When drawing characters in a scene, I always start with their heads. That's completely the opposite of what I was taught, but it's my favorite part of the process and what works for me, so I run with it. I've found that knowing when to bend the "rules" can be helpful when establishing an art practice. I do all of my outlines first, then color, then lighting. Lighting is something I've started to incorporate in the last year. It's not something that comes naturally to me, but I feel that it adds so much, so I've been trying to improve on that.
I know you’re an artist outside of social media - working on commissions etc, but social media plays a big role. How much do you focus on ‘clickability’ when coming up with the stories?
I don't really focus on clickability. I find if I worry about what the audience and social media will like (which I don't really ever know what people will like), then the artwork doesn't feel authentic. I do put a lot of feeling into my work, so if I'm neglecting that to make something clickable I think I would feel a bit robbed of the experience. I figure if people like it they like it, and if they don't they don't. I haven't been the strongest with social media, so I'm trying to be more proactive with it since it does help a lot.
How does tik tok as a medium add to the art?
Personally I view TikTok as a way to showcase my art to a larger audience. I always struggled with reach on Instagram, and I found TikTok to be a platform that pushes out content more than Instagram. I now mostly stick to carousel images because they seem to perform the best. I've experimented with process videos and they never felt aligned with what I truly wanted, so I decided to stick with the basics and just post my finished work. With the carousel images, I do enjoy the ability to focus on smaller details within the image that someone might not notice if they're just looking at the whole thing.
I also try to look for sounds that other people are using that also matches my art. There is a happy medium between trending sounds and what "goes" with the artwork.