Arantza Pena Popo

I'm Arantza (Ah-rahn-zah) Peña Popo and I'm an Afro-Latinx comic artist, zinester and illustrator currently based in Vermont. My pronouns are she/they and I am currently a Fellow for the Center for Cartoon Studies!

In a sentence, how would you describe your work?
I make vibrant, effervescent comics and zines that expand on queerness and mental instability.

Do you have any favorite themes you enjoy working with?
My favorite themes are usually slice-of-life diary comics, queerness, and mental illness.

What mediums do you like to work in?
I like working in screenprinting and risograph methods the most. I just love to interact with most printmaking methods!

Do you have a dream project you'd like to work on someday?
It would be really cool to do set design for some of my favorite artists--Chappell Roan, Aldous Harding, Angel Olsen etc. Making sets and visuals for live music has always been one of my dream endeavors. 

What is the strangest/goofiest (PG) fact about yourself that you're comfortable sharing?
I was on the Jimmy Fallon show for winning the Doodle for Google Contest in 2019! His dressing rooms are wilderness themed lol.

What drew you to the imagery of the starbursts?
I'm usually drawn to more ethereal and action-packed organic shapes. I like the idea of these giant stars bursting over the sky and lightly raining down flares.

Can you talk a little about your design process? Where do you draw your inspiration from, and how do you work shop your design from draft to final? 
I usually start pretty free form, just by drawing random objects that come to mind. I draw a lot of inspiration from abstract Transcendentalist painters and folk artists! 

Ankle or crew socks for preference? 
Crew sock for life! Especially since I love to wear my socks with heels or a nice lil boot.

For more of Arantza's art, visit their portfolio or Instagram!