Amanda Scopel: a 2D Artist, Illustrator, Character Designer, and Writer of the Book BloodLycan – The Saga of Brothers Moo: She was in love with illustrations and animals, especially wolves.
She was born in Salto, in the interior of São Paulo in October 1990. She is the twin sister of Arthur Scopel and the daughter of Edson Scopel and Edna Marcelina da Silva Scopel. She graduated as a technologist in the course Systems for the Internet (Web design) in the first semester of 2011, at the university CEUNSP (Centro Universitário Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio). Since she was little in love with illustrations and animals, especially wolves, being one of the factors that encouraged her to choose the theme Werewolves for her work. She started the habit of reading in 2009, the year in which she also decided to start writing her work BloodLycan – the saga of the Mool brothers. Currently, the author resides in the city of Itu, in the interior of São Paulo. The author is also a gamer and cosplayer, in addition to loving watching movies, serials, and books of werewolves, dragons, suspense, romance, fiction, and fantasy in general.
I started to like to draw since I was 7 years old, but I decided to start as a professional at 16 old. I started practicing digital painting watching other artists doing the painting process on Youtube. I’m also learned how to use photoshop with some video tutorials too.
I’m started doing fan arts to practice painting digitally and show my arts in my gallery on Deviantart.
Some years after (2012), an advertising agency found my portfolio online and contact me. Working with them, I learned how to use some software of Adobe as Photoshop (that I was already starting to learn with Youtube in 2007), Illustrator, and Indesign. But I always keep working as a freelance doing arts too.
One thing I always wanted to do was to illustrate my own comic book story, even though I didn’t really like reading or writing, I challenged myself to start work, so I could draw it in the future. In 2009, thanks to college, I started BloodLycan, totally blind to what I was doing, because the world of literature was new to me because I was not in the habit and hate it before.
After that I wrote for 5 years without showing the text to anyone until an artist friend and internet writer learned that I was writing and asked me to read it, his name is Pedro Elefante, and I am very grateful to him because of the feedback he gave in my work helped me a lot to improve in writing.
It took me 7 years to finish the work, in December 2017, I published it online on Wattpad for the first time, it took a while, but little by little people got to know the story. And in August 2018 I published the physical book for the first time, independently, because as I already work in the area of book design, I already understood a little about the process of creating a book. I just needed to search for something more like ISBN, for example, and I ended up finding it on Youtube too. That is, everything you want to learn, you will find on the internet, just WANT and know how to search in the right place.
This year (2020), my book completed 11 years old, and I confess that I don’t know how I wrote it because for a person who never had the habit of writing, I only had it in my head that I would go to the end, regardless of the time it took, that’s why I always say that the impossible doesn’t exist, you just need to want to.
A tip I give to anyone who wants to become a writer or illustrator, the power to find you is in the dissemination, disseminate, and disseminate until they find you, today I use many social networks to disseminate books and also my arts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, TikTok, Behance, ArtStation, Deviantart, etc… Show yourself for the world and the right people gonna find you! ^w^
My Work Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Indesign.
How was your time at university?
I did two years of Web Design, but I confess to having chosen the wrong course for me, I came to think about giving up every day, but I was persistent and went on until the end, and it was thanks to a class in this course that encouraged me to write my book because nothing is by chance.
Why did you choose a career in this area?
Because I love to draw, we have to choose something we do for love, money is a consequence.
What was your first job or job nuggets that you had that helped you get to where you are today?
My first job was with my family in a video store, I believe that watching a lot of films to give referrals to clients in the past, helped me to bring out a lot of creativity.
Can you provide some book recommendations?
Yes, several that helped me: “The Secret of the Millionaire Mind,” “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” “Whoever thinks gets rich,” “Awaken the giant within,” Augusto Cury’s books too, but these ones above changed my life.
Things are changing very fast in the industry; how you keep up to date. List techniques or newsletters, podcasts, events, etc.
I don’t follow, I only know if someone tells me, I’m focused on reaching my audience only.
Any advice on resumes?
Nothing specific, but always be sincere.
Advice for job seekers?
If you don’t know how to do something, just talk the truth, always be transparent when you don’t know how to do something and show that you are willing to learn and always be proactive in everything you do, as if the company were yours.
Why do you think you were selected from among other candidates?
I have no idea ^^Maybe because of my portfolios? O-O
Also read: How I Became a Graphic Designer and Self-Published Author
