Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Daniele Monardo @Monardoillustrations

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

Right now I am exploring the world of fashion promotion. This offeres me diversity in my own work as I begin to experiment digitally with both cameras and art softwares like photoshop and illustrator. It’s always important to do something different every once in a while, gotta keep things fresh and you always gotta be learning something new!

I was born in Rome, to an Italian father and a Colombian mother. I currently reside in London, England. I have to say I am proud of where I’m from, as I believe that my culture was also a big part of becoming the person I am today – and it doesn’t end here.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

I’m an illustrator, so I tend to post mostly drawings. These drawings range from personal experiments like using collage on the artworks I make, skylines of cities I’ve thought up in my head or real places, murals and drawings from my personal ‘brand’ and upcoming story I am working on, called TERIYAKI.

Recently I’ve began exploring new flavours, like fashion illustration, using Illustrator and Photoshop for artworks and merging my drawings with photographs I have taken on either shoots or personal adventures to create a world where my imagination and reality both exist. Real excited about this last one, it is going well so far.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

My surname is Monardo and my page is about my illustrations. Simple as that I’m afraid! Although, to give more context, I wanted to come up with a brand name that made my name known, also something simple so that people knew who I was and what I did straight away. If I’m honest I’m not too sure if this name will be permanent, it’s still early days for me!

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

I tend to use Photoshop and Lightroom when editing drawings I’ve made on computer or photographs I’ve taken. For the rest I tend to stay quite simple on this front too, just use the edit tools on instagram!

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

Anson_art for sure. I’ve known him a long time and it’s thanks to him that I have this quite modest following and people who support my work day to day. He personally set up my instagram account and basically said ‘here you go. You were taking too long, it was time to put yourself out there!’

He is also somebody who’s work has evolved so drastically over the years. I’ve seen him grow into who he is today and he is someone who works hard in silence and it pays off. His work is down right incredible.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

Stay active! The best way to be seen and to let people know you’re one to look out for, is to keep putting work out there, whatever it may be. You’d be surprised, I had a small pause a few months ago and it proved what I just said; nothing was happening, the account was essentially frozen.

Trust me guys, keep at it and step up!

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

Inspiring people. It’s such a big honour that people can look at my work and think ‘damn this is cool, that’s what I wanna do, let me try this out!’ You know? My work meaning something to someone is the most fulfilling part of being an artist in my opinion. I love helping others, especially when it comes to making their dreams real – it’s a real plus when those people can use me as an influence in their journey of becoming who they want to be!

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

Experimenting and taking influences from different things It’s so important to always look at things from all sorts of point of views, even if they aren’t exactly your personal interest. As an illustrator, yes, I love taking influences from illustrators alike but I find it important to look at things like photography, fine art, architecture, music etc. All these elements will enter your subconscious and then without you realising it, you will have a mind rich of new ideas that perhaps you wouldn’t have thought of without said influences. This all helps to build your unique style and your character – after some time, people will notice your diversity and it’ll all be thanks to your influences and experiments.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

Always take your time with things. You’d be surprised. Somehow, the more I take my time with something, the quicker I end up making it. It’s sort of all about enjoying the work you’re doing – if you’re not enjoying it, then don’t be surprised when the quality isn’t what you’d hoped it to be. Don’t force anything, always go with your own work flow!

Originality always stems from everything around you, subconsciously you’ll always take everything in. It also stems from just always being on your grind, the continuity in your work is what’ll make the real difference. You’ll notice that you’ll keep improving and your style becoming more apparent and personal. Remember though, inspiration from looking at other people’s work is always a major part! Set your own goals and don’t look at someone else’s work and think you’re any lesser than they are. You’re your own person. Your style is you, their style is theirs. Simple as that.

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

The opportunity to learn from each other and create something you’re truly proud of by putting minds together.

Working with other people is always a win win situation, and it’s a way to keep fresh, especially if you and the people you’re working with do different things. I’m looking forward to teaming up with fashion designers, animators, musicians and photographers because I just know that the results will be some of the most exciting and original projects.

There’s something real refreshing when you see your style fused with somebody else’s; there’s never a bad result, this is because experiments are always a success. You can be proud to say that you’ve tried it, you either like it or you didn’t, but at least you’ve learnt what you and your collaborators can do next time if you ever felt like giving another project a go.

Never stop learning from each other!

Topics:

• Art

Country:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland