This is a redesign of Sailor Moon I did for the Character Design Challenge of June 2016.
I wanted her to look like a clumsy 14-years-old girl who also looked like a little rabbit, and I reimagined also her costume and her accessories to make her look more modern, like she lived in our day.

When I was a child I used to watch the first, historical Sailor Moon Anime all the time, and I fell in love with Usagi's personality, I find her incredibly funny! I grew up with her.
When I read about the Character Design Challenge's theme, I just couldn't resist.
It was my first time participating to an art contest (Yes,I'm pretty new on the Web!), so I thought about how I could reimagine Usagi's Character, my favorite. I knew she was a 14 years old girl, and that her original Japanese name meant "Rabbit of the Moon", so I tried to characterize her face with buck teeth, an happy but a little naive expression and bunny-shaped hair clips.
I also tried to redesign her costume to make it look more modern and more appropriate to a little girl who was also a fighter. I studied many sailor costumes (I took inspiration by some beautiful pinups) and I used details like white stripes and golden buttons blended with elements like punctured gloves or boots without heel to create a new costume which wasn't too different from the original, just "more appropriate"!
Oh, and to replace the original video-watch of the Anime with which she could communicate with her friends, I obviously gave her a smartphone (with the famous bunny-ears-shaped cover) to place her more in our day.
I had so much fan drawing Luna, her cat. She's like a brave and smart mentor/nanny for Usagi, always careful to her duties as champion of justice, that's why I drew her bringing Sailor Moon's smartphone to her.
I developed my style watching Disney movies and Anime, reading comics and manga when I was younger, and I think one of my biggest inspirations is Alessandro Barbucci's work. I spent years trying to understand how his art could be that perfect, and studying everything he did. Thanks to this, over the years I've been able to take an unique and personal direction (which is as it should be), and I'm constantly developing my style.
To pinpoint the right style, I chose saturated and "happy" colors to give Usagi a modern Anime look.

To create this artwork, I used Photoshop CC 2015 and a Cintiq 13HD tablet.
I started doing a sketch to set the characters' positions and everything I wanted to draw. In this phase, I feel completely free to experiment, erase, design and sketch out the areas where I'll put the details (I love them).
Then I chose colors and with a crispy-edge brush I drew every part of the drawing, one at a time so I can focus on the particulars. In the end, I added some glow effects on the shiny parts of the drawing (like jewels, the shiny moon on the head etc).

This project is having a success I absolutely didn't expect. Even if I'm new on the web, I quickly noticed how hard it is to stand out and make you art being seen. Once I posted it, many people started commenting, making compliments, sharing it and contacting me to ask questions, and all this surprised me beyond measure.
When I decided to defeat my fears and put my art on the Internet, I chose to do it with my dearest friend and coworker Alessia, so we created a project which let us share our passions in common and we called it "Memorabilia Studios." But when I started posting my art on the web in a serious way some months ago, no one seemed to care.
It has been very discouraging at the start, but thanks to everyone who loved and believed in my art, I learnt to never give up and keep trying. Well, I think that the acceptance of this project confirms this (I mean, I wouldn't be here writing these words!), so that's what I definitely have learned from this project.

Never give up, guys.
If you have passion for what you do, don't ever stop.
Surround yourself with positive people, enjoy your life and work hard.
If you're having a bad day or you feel discouraged, go out for a walk, take it out and make something you like, then go back to work and do your best!

Matteo Innominato

I'm an illustrator, Graphic Designer and Web Designer based in Molfetta (Italy).
I love image in all fields since I was a kid, so I spent my whole childhood drawing and crafting with paper.
Growing up, I chose a job in which I can play with shapes, typography, color theory schemes and keeping myself constantly up-to-date on new technologies or design trends at the same time.

I recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree and attended a post-degree specialization course in Graphic Design, then I attended also an annual course in Web Design and a basic course in Motion Design. During my studies I worked as freelance designer and I gained valuable experience designing advertising and marketing material such as logos,
posters, products packaging, Websites layouts, booklets, books and social media contents.
I'm also self-taught studying Illustration, comics, storyboard, digital and traditional drawing and painting, and last but not least, paper cut art technique.

Due to my creative nature, I am innately curious and motivated to a constant learning and improvement of my skills. To keep me inspired I cultivate interest such as reading, watching all kinds of movies or going around the stores looking for well designed products, but I take most of my inspiration by meeting new people and doing always new things!

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