Check Out Sera Alana’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sera Alana.

Hi Sera, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up, my dream was to become a comic book artist. I remember the first time I laid eyes on the first issue of the Sailor Moon Manga; something clicked together in my 13-year-old brain and I instantly fell in love with manga.

In college, I studied Illustration, with a focus on digital illustration. As I continued to focus on my career, I managed to finally build a freelance illustration client base from the ground up. Although I had found a level of success with freelance, I felt something was lacking in my life. The passion I had for drawing had dwindled down to an act I did to essentially survive and make a living.

But, when I discovered tattooing, my life changed forever. Pursuing a tattoo was one of the hardest yet most rewarding things I’ve ever pursued in my life. But, I felt like I was finally able to merge all of my interests and strengths into one medium. Tattooing really helped me rediscover my love for drawing.

I feel so grateful every day to be able to tattoo, especially when someone wants something original from me. It’s really a privilege to be trusted to tattoo someone, and why I feel it’s so important to never take advantage of it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were always struggles along the way to pursuing my career as an artist, just as I feel like it’s going to be a struggle for anyone who wants to pursue something different for themselves than the ‘safe’ choices.

I failed many times, I made the wrong decision, many times, and I’ve fallen, many times. But, I’ve succeeded many times, I’ve made good decisions, many times and I’ve gotten back up many times. I feel like the growth you experience is determined by whether or not you simply keep trying or not. It builds over time, and I think your success sneaks up on you. The trick is that you shouldn’t stop. You just have to keep rolling with the punches.

I will say that I am a huge RuPaul fan and that watching how drag queens follow their passion is a beautiful inspiration to me. The times when I was at my lowest and wanted to give up, I would turn on Rupaul’s Drag Race and instantly feel like I wasn’t crazy or alone in my pursuit of becoming an artist.

I know Drag is a completely different art form than tattooing, but, the drive and the passion to be the best you can come from the same place I think.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a tattoo artist that specializes in Blackwork.

I really love creating portraits with a dark, surreal twist with a splash of innocence. (Hahaha, that sounds like a recipe for a cocktail.) I also really enjoy doing a creepy yet happy spin on beloved Anime characters, foliage, and insects. I find a lot of my inspiration from manga, lowbrow, and pop surrealism.

With my work, I always want my figures to acknowledge the darkness but never be consumed fully by it. I think this is the message I resonate with the most within my personal life and feel like it’s a beautiful juxtaposition of hope and fear. Life can be such a beautiful thing, but it can also be one of the most terrifying things.

I always strive for my figures to be strong in whatever they may be facing.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I would like to thank the following people. Each one of these people helped in one way or another, and I’m forever grateful to them. I think I’m just going to list them here:

• Lena Wilson
• My Parents
• David Gann
• Dani Olmos Pagan
• Asaru Mushavu
• Zhou Dan Ting
• Carol Silva

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/seraalana