Step Into Your Power with SpookyGirl Andi Astra

Andi Astra, also known as SpookyGirl, caught up with OFM to give the down low on their creative side, from selling their witchy, Lisa Frank-inspired creations to starting an LGBTQ artist collective to help highlight aspiring talented individuals. 

Who is SpookyGirl? How did you come up with your artist name?

I came up with that name because of the X Files. I think it’s important to note that I did come up with this name when I was, like, 19, so it’s very interesting that this name has followed me. When I came up with the name SpookyGirl, I had no idea, of course,  that this would be my identifier for the next rest of my life. I love The X Files, and Mulder, the FBI agent who’s obsessed with aliens, you know, they’re condemned to the basement, and the FBI, they call him Spooky Mulder. I loved that, and I chose SpookyGirl because of that, and I think since then, it has evolved to mean, you know, more than that. It also has to do with being that person that nobody else really gets and nobody else understands because of their interests.

How long have you been illustrating, and how has your craft evolved?

I’ve been illustrating for, gosh, a decade now. I’ve been illustrating professionally for the past, like, seven years. And as an artist, it’s just one of those things that, it’s always evolving. I think the challenge for artists is keeping things consistent. My style and what I’m interested in has changed a million times in the past seven years. I’ve been lucky enough to have my favorite colors that I use, and of course I love drawing cute girls in space and all of that. I think that stayed pretty true.

It’s fun for me to go through my Instagram, and I’ll go all the way back to the beginning. And you can see level up in moments.  I think that SpookGirl also has changed just as I’ve grown. When I started this, I could have never imagined that my illustration career would revolve around this kind of identity in this brand. In the beginning, there was less meaning to it, but now, I think it reflects a lot more of the person that I’ve become. I share more of my personal beliefs, my spirituality, and more words of encouragement, like things that I need to hear for myself.

How would you describe your artistic style?

I just did a video that I was incredibly proud of; it was with that Tik Tok sound with the people from Game of Thrones. “Negroni… sbagliato with prosecco in it.” The sound was really blowing up in the gay community, and I used it to talk about my art style. I was so proud of it because I felt like it was really reaching my intended audience. I described it as Lisa Frank in outer space, but dark and witchy.

What would you say inspires you to create?

it’s really just part of who I am, I think, as a person, and of course, I’m so fortunate to be able to do this now full time, and so my whole environment around me is created by me to inspire me. I think a lot of people ask that question of, “How do you wake up every day and make something new?” I think that people that I live with would probably like me to stop doing that because every day I wake up and I’m, like, building some absurd thing or, you know, start painting over a painting, and my roommates and my housemates are like, “What are you doing?”

I’m always inspired by stuff. If I had to pick specifically, cartoons, shows, and things—Steven Universe, Rick and Morty, or I find a lot of inspiration from comic books. I watch a ton of TV, and it’s always stuff that, if you looked at my art and saw the stuff I was watching, you’d be like, OK, I kind of get it. So that helps me to just keep me inspired and coming up with new material. But I also have a very colorful home. I’m always making weird stuff. So even when I’m not drawing and illustrating, I kind of always have those creative juices flowing.

How did you get started designing illustrations for musicians?

So much has changed with the internet in the past five or six years when I was on Instagram, and I was growing my following. It was totally a different time. I would do illustrations of musicians, and I would tag them. It would always be people that I thought were really cool or people that resonated with me. Back in those days, it was a lot easier to get noticed for stuff like that. So that’s kind of how I got into it.

I don’t think people realize that I was maybe one of the first five illustrators on Instagram to be doing something like this. So when musicians would see fan art like that, it would really grab their attention. At the time, It was just amazing that I even got those gigs, but I think it was just that I’ve always been good at social media marketing and putting myself in the right place at the right time. So I got into that world by doing a couple strategic illustrations of musicians that I liked.

Tell me about the merchandise you design and sell; what does SpookyGirl have to offer? 

In the new year, I’m scaling back and focusing on the products I love. Coloring books, prints, tapestries, rolling trays, you know, kind of fun stuff like that. I think my favorite products I have are these little stash bags, and I offer throw pillows; they are such a great way to just set a vibe. 

Artistically, what are some goals you would like to accomplish? 

I have all these different things that I could see myself doing, but I’m not married to any one of them. I love comic books. So I think abstractly, I would love to do an alternative cover for Marvel someday. But really what I’m most passionate about is building community and helping other people. I’ve been trying to build an artist’s community to help other people get started.

I’ve obviously found a lot of success in my career. And I think my biggest challenge over the past 10 years was building this business from nothing. I just want to turn around and help other people who’ve struggled with that type of stuff. I love teaching, and I love talking to people about art, whether it’s drawing meetups, classes on social media, or whatever. My long-term goal and whatever form that takes is to just hang out with other people and facilitate the creation of art.

Why do you think it’s important to support small, marginalized businesses?

I think we always joke about the barter system and how that’s what we want, right? We want to go back to that time where we just totally broke out of a capitalistic society, where we’re just exchanging, you know, baked goods or whatever. I think the first step towards that is buying from small businesses and supporting small businesses. 

I mean, like, imagine a life where everything that you’re getting from your clothes, your jewelry, your food at a farmers market, is coming from an independent business or a small business within your community where people are putting their real energy into what they’re creating for other people, or giving to other people.That’s one of the first things I think of is supporting small businesses, especially marginalized businesses when we’ve had so much stacked against us and continue to be stacked against us. It’s how to build community, I think.

Do you have any projects you’re working on currently you’d like to tell us about? 

Nothing too big. I’ve started a very small LGBTQ Artists Collective group here where I am in Honolulu called the Outer Rim, and right now it’s just me and a couple of friends who are kind of living and working together intentionally with a focus on, of course, LGBTQ individuals, to support and uplift  other queer people. So I’d say that’s kind of my ongoing project. Building a community and a space for people to work is hard and it’s something that requires a lot of planning, a lot of communication, and all that.

So in terms of artistic projects, I’m always working on cool stuff for ‘spooky girl’. I’m finishing up my zodiac collection. I did a whole astrology line, which has been a year long project.

Is there anything else we haven’t covered you’d like to share? 

I’m really excited about this; I’m looking forward to having more opportunities to be in queer spaces!

Keep up with SpookyGirl on IG at SpookyGirlArt or her personal  IG Andi_Astra_