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We caught up with the Italian artist who is best known for her effort of co-creating and illustrating the first version of Miles Morales as Ultimate Spider-Man.
"Hi Gamereactor friends, this is day 3 of the San Diego Comic Con in Malaga and I'm here joined by Sara, so thank you very much.
We've seen a lot of Miles Morales cosplayers. We've enjoyed the characters for many years now.
We've seen him in comics, movies, animation, video games, everywhere."
"So how do you feel about what it has become seeing all these fans at the San Diego Comic Con?
Well, I'm always excited to see my character around on movies and TV screens, video games that I don't play because I'm a boomer.
I'm very proud, that's it.
So when you were designing this character, which would you say was the key for him to become one of the most influential and inclusive characters ever in Marvel?
My opinion is first it was his story, because it was a brand new story that needed to be told."
"And after that, the look, because I did it.
And speaking about the look, would you say that body language and the hair are two of your staples, of your trademark styles or traits?
In Miles or in general?
In general, in your style."
"In my style, yes. I put a lot of care in the body language, facial expressions or clothing, you know, styling.
So yes, I have fun doing that.
So it's something I love, you know, spend my time when I create a character.
So the same I did for Miles."
"How would you say your style and your technique has evolved through years?
I think it did. I'm not very good in judging my own style.
But, you know, if I look at the feedbacks I get, it changes a lot because my influences change in time.
So yes, I'm evolving, I guess, like in real life."
"And speaking about evolving and how you started and what you're doing now, you started actually with animation and with storyboarding.
So how would you say that shaped you to become a different type of artist for comics?
Definitely, yes. My experience and my, you know, the school I took was traditional animation and 3D animation.
It was what changed my style, the way I approach a body, a sequence, everything."
"So I did character designing, storytelling, sorry, layouts, storyboarding, texturing.
I did a lot of stuff and it helps to, you know, to see the character in your mind differently.
Especially when you have to animate something. So I think it shaped a lot my work.
And you were found by Marvel via Chesterquest. What can you tell me about that? I didn't know about that process. How does it work?
Well, that was peculiar because I wasn't a comic book artist at all. I was in animation back then."
"I was fired some months before that Chesterquest was still looking for a job.
And I sent my stuff. I have a few pages done for fun or sort of sample for, you know, publisher, Italian publisher.
And I got selected. It was like, oh my God, now I have to do this seriously.
All right. And final one, you're Italian. I went to the Napoli Comicon 25th anniversary this year."
"There is Lucca, which is crazy big. And I've been asking some Spanish artists what do they have to succeed with Marvel and DC in America.
And they tell me it could be the influence from other European comics, such as Franco-Belgian.
Or it could be our history of art, same as in Italy, that goes back a lot of time.
Or also that we take from Japan, we take from the north, we take from everywhere."
"So would you agree is that something that shapes you as an Italian, a richer artist being an Italian?
I think it's all of this together, because we have a different state of mind.
We're very far from American way of thinking in the good way and in the bad way.
So maybe they needed that in the comic industry now."
"Back then, when Internet started to be the main way of sending stuff, portfolios, it was easier to find talents all around the world.
So maybe it's our history, maybe we're just good for that.
I like that one."
"Alright, thank you so much for your time, Sara. Enjoy your panel and enjoy the rest of the Comic Con.
Grazie mille. Gracias."
