Nei Ruffino - Colorist Extraordinaire

Today the spotlight falls on Nei Ruffino, a 25 year old freelance colorist from Los Angeles, California. Having never taken any formal instruction, Nei started off as a tattoo artist. Through word of mouth she fell into the career that she now loves and works on various projects from the likes of DC Comics, Zenescope, Hasbro, and Fantasy Flight Games. Nei attributes her entry into the comic world to Dawid Strauss and cites him as being one of her greatest influences, which also includes Christian Lichter, Steve Firchow, and Hueng Tae Kim. Nei's tools of choice include Photoshop CS3, Painter 2 & 9, and her Intous 3 special edition 6 x 11 wacom tablet.
When asked what she wished to achieve with her artistic career, Nei's response was, "I wish to achieve a well known status that lets me work on the things i really enjoy." She then added, "I recently had to reevaluate that question in my mind. It used to be to work on batman, but i have recently achieved that. I still feel i am fairly new in the industry of comics, so i have a ways to go."
On a less artistic note, Nei enjoys chocolate chip soft chews and pecan sandies, prefers cats to dogs, is 5' 2" tall, and will not marry you.

"It can only be two ways....i will either die...and therefore not be able to do art anymore.....or not be able to do art anymore and then die. I cannot imagine any other life."

If you wish to seek out more of Nei's pieces or contact her check the links below.
http://www.neiruffino.com/
http://bakanekonei.deviantart.com/

In the Spotlight... Alexandra Prillaman

Our first featured artist is Alexandra Prillaman. At the age of 21 she hails from Richmond, Virginia. Involved in art from an early age, she began posting pieces online her junior year in high school after she became aware of the internet art community. Some of her major influences stem from digital artists such as Matt Dixon and Nic Klein who "are able to infuse their work with so much life and personality while keeping it gritty, organic, and real." With her Intuos 3 tablet and Photoshop CS3 she produces amazingly colored works using very simple brushes, no tricks, and only one layer while listening to bhangra music.
“I would love to land a job as a concept artist for characters in video games, RPGs, or movies,” she says. “I’d also like to illustrate children’s books, so I’m a little torn.”

You can find more of Alexandra's wonderful work (along with a few purchasable prints) at either of the following links:
http://aprillaman.com
http://thundercake.deviantart.com/