A couple of days ago I was surfing the internet and discovered the amazingness that is Princess Love Pon! Princess Love Pon is a webcomic written and drawn by Shauna J. Grant and when I tell you that is as amazing as it is adorable, I am telling you the truth, I have already read all of its buffer and am ready to begin reading it when it updates again.
The Story following Lia and her friends Rachel and Luis, as she has been contacted by Hunnie, a flying rabbit who tells her that she is the open heart she has been looking for. Together they fight baddies with kisses and in heels. So far she has only beaten up two baddies but I am absolutely in love with the way the story is unfolding and the art style. Plus, FINALLY a Magical Girl that looks like Me. Representation is so important and I absolutely love picking the brains of artists who agree!
How did Princess Love Pon come to be?
I’m currently 26 years old, born and raised in the Bronx, New York! I love comics and animation, I’m obsessed with cute things, and the color pink. Magical girl shows like Sailor Moon are pretty much the reason I love to draw at all. I’ve been working on my art seriously for over ten years now.
Are there any artists inspiring you right now?
Princess Love Pon came to be from my desire to write my own magical girl series. I had been tossing around a few ideas in my head for a few years now before trying to narrow it all down into a simpler story. Of course I could;ve probably made it more simpler but... Haha! For Love Pon, I focused on the image of a girl eating hearts and went from there. Okay, I know that sounds kinda gruesome, but I promise everything I do is really really cute. I was thinking what would a story be like if there was a girl out there eating hearts ( or rather representations of "hearts") and a girl who had to protect them? What kind of feelings would that involve for both girls? And for the one who's out there being a heroic magical girl, especially one who had to deal with people's personal feelings, how would that affect her personal life? Her romantic relationships? I wanted to draw a cute story of a cute girl fighting cutely and seeing other people's insecurities, insecurities she tries to help them through, and how all those feelings would affect her. This is definitely more Princess Tutu-like than Sailor Moon!
Are Rachel, Luis or Lia based off of anyone in your life?
In a way, yes! Most of the characters in Princess Love Pon are kinda bits and pieces of myself, inspired by situations and feelings I've dealt with growing up, or situations I've seen my friends go through.
How would you describe your art style?
Soft, Cute, Round and COLORFUL. I want my art to look as cuddly and inviting as possible, regardless the actual content, haha!
What do you do when you aren't working on your art or comic?
At the moment art is my full-time gig! I travel all over to table in artist alleys at anime conventions. It's really fun and I love meeting people, and it especially warms my heart when folks remember me from previous years! Things have gotten even more fun now that I started working on Princess Love Pon because I can talk more about my own original work and it's really exciting to hear "Hey, you draw that webcomic!"
What is one thing you want people to take away when they're done reading your comic?
Princess Love Pon is still in its beginning phases and I'll admit I'm still switching things up as I go along..But I hope at the end of the day that people will read this series and learn to be a little easier on themselves. A lot of the characters in this story are insecure, feeling the pressure of turning into the perfect adult, worried about who may or may not love them, or how to love themselves... I want people to know it's okay to not be perfect. It's okay to feel sad. Most Importantly, it's okay to get right back up and keep going and do what is best for you!
If you could collaborate with another artist or writer, who would be your dream collaboration?
This is a toughie! There are so many cool artists and writers out there, I don't even know where to begin. I guess for starters, though, I would like to eventually do a collaboration with my bestie and amazing artist Bo Ae Lee (krazehcakes.tumblr.com) There is one magical girl story we are still trying to sort out~!
Do you have any advice for people starting with comics?
The best and most simplest advice that I hear from all the other cartoonists out there is if you want to draw comics you have to start drawing comics! Even though I have a college background in comics this has somehow still been (and still is hahaha) my biggest hurdle. For me it's really intimidating! But It's really fun once you get into it and find yourself a story you're real passionate about. It's good to start small and do short comics before settling into a larger story, but hey, you are the boss of your domain and you should do what you like-- you'll still be learning anyway! Read lots of comics! Western, Manga, Mainstream, Indie, Webcomics, Etc... Find the kind of stories that really grab you, see what the artist is doing with their panel layouts, and try it all out yourself! Read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and just sit down and draw comics and show them off!
Do you find any difficulty in being an artist of Color?
Yes and no! I haven't squeezed myself into more commercial art yet and mostly been focusing on slowly building up my own stuff. I haven't had trouble so far promoting my work, and have a lot of people of all backgrounds saying how much they enjoy seeing a diverse magical girl series. I won't say the art world is perfect for people of color though! Especially in the comic industry. While it's a lot safer going the self-publish route, when it comes to companies hiring more artists of color, I believe there's still a long way to go and I am absolutely a big supporter of more people of color getting involved! It's really nice that a lot more diverse characters are showing up in comics and cartoons, but it would be even more amazing if there were more diverse creators behind those projects!
Where would you like to see your comic go?
Right now, I would just love to see Princess Love Pon make it to the finish line, haha! I have so many more stories I would love to tell after Love Pon, so my comic will definitely not be one that never ends. I would just be absolutely happy if it becomes a well-loved comic, an enjoyable experience, and a story that gets collected in printed volumes. I want to watch my art and storytelling improve as I work on it and just craft the best story as I can! And when it eventually makes it to the final chapter I hope my fans will excitedly follow along to the story that follows afterwards!
Make sure to support Shauna and Princess Love Pon by visiting her site, or ordering a commission!
Stay Nerdy!
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