With the goal to do style research (I like doing that), I decided to take a course called Make Art Your Own: Exploring Artistic Identity on Domestika. The exercises I present in this article have more content on the Domestika web site, I am only presenting what is relevant to my article. I found the course interesting, but a little superficial. I did another exercise recently in a Skillshare course that went into more depth. I’m still happy to have done the exercise, because I made illustrations that I like and that I would not have done otherwise.
Exercise 1 – Self-portrait
Since I had made a self-portrait just before starting the course for the website, I cheated a bit by using the same one. On the other hand, there is a little story behind this self-portrait… I don’t often draw human characters, so I didn’t have a very defined style for drawing them. So I did some sketches looking at some illustrations I had done in the past and other artists that I like.
Auto Portrait [Sketch]
Step: Drawing the lines
Step: Coloring
Self-portrait
Exercise 2 – Presentation
The second exercise was to have a short interview to introduce yourself. I think I added some questions from another article I read around the same time that I completed the exercise (but I’m not sure anymore).
How does your life impact what you do as an artist?
I don’t show it in my clothes (I’m pretty neutral on the clothing side), but I really like cute stuff (plushies) and animated movies. I have a young heart! That’s why I love making cute illustrations so much.
I want my art to be able to bring joy, but also to raise awareness among people around me on topics that are important to me. I sometimes do illustrations that touch on environmental topics.
I’m more of a minimalist person and I don’t like clutter much, so digital art is a good medium for me. I am also a reformed interface designer, my background on this side makes me skilled in using drawing software.
How do other people describe you as a person?
People who are close to me would probably say that I am calm, creative, loving, open and caring.
People who don’t know me well probably think I’m shy, but I’m just not a talkative person, and while curious, I like to respect people’s privacy. Being of an introverted nature, I tend to prefer quality moments with the people who are dear to me. I still know how to be friendly with people who are less close to me.
What do you remember from your childhood?
- I drew often and loved cartoons. Also, I read a lot.
- My paternal grandmother’s love and care.
- The discoveries made with my paternal uncle (museum, nature, etc).
- The forests behind my house where we often played with my brother and the children of the neighborhood.
- My maternal grandparents’ farm; the river and the forest near their home; my cousin, Isabelle, who lived next door to them with whom I played.
- Winter slides on big hills in the countryside or near my house; the chalet where I often went to swim; the stars in the countryside.
- Family disputes (divorce, inheritance, etc.)!
- Big move really far and feeling uprooted.
What do you collect?
- Now cute plush.
- When I was young: gems, Barbie cards and stamps.
What does family mean to you?
Really important people (like my husband, my daughter, my friend Karine). For me, family is made up of people I choose and not necessarily blood related.
What and how are you celebrating?
Christmas (with close family), Halloween (with my child), Birthday (with family and close friends).
Where have you traveled?
USA (Disneyland, Portsmouth for a show), Alberta (summer camps), lots of places in my own province.
I’m not a big traveler, because I like the comfort of my house (and my bed). I wish the teleportation machine existed hehehe!
What’s going on in the world that you want to interpret through art?
The need to appreciate and take care of the planet.
The importance of connecting with what really matters to us.
What are your daily rituals? What do you do before you start your day in the studio?
On weekdays I take my daughter to school. We usually go there on foot and I like this moment because she tells me stories coming out of her fertile imagination or about what is going on in her life. Then I come back on my own and plan what I’m going to do in my head. At home, I make myself some tea and start what I intend to do.
Exercise 3 – Making a character and exploring with artistic mediums
In this illustration, I’m back to a more imaginary character. The purpose of the exercise was to illustrate a character and to test different artistic mediums from those we used to work with. As I illustrate on my computer, I had plenty of choice in more traditional mediums. I took the materials that I had on hand, which I use when I craft with my daughter.
Red Hood [Sketch]
Red Hood [Marker]
Red Hood [Colored Pencil]
Red Hood [Collage]
- In the sketches, I really like another one of the characters (the one at the bottom left, number 3). I might make a colored version one of these days.
- I am not super satisfied with the result using markers. I could blame the markers, but I think I just don’t have enough experience with this medium. I do like the little basket though.
- I used colored pencils a lot. I like coloring in general, I find it relaxing and fun to do with my daughter.
- I enjoyed doing the collage as well. On the other hand, I think I would need some practice… and probably better paper than construction paper.
- A few months after the traditional versions, I also made digital versions of this illustration and wrote an article about them (and I see that I forgot the little basket… damn).
Exercise 4 – Finding Inspiration
Boumbo
Being influenced by his youth
I chose to reproduce a character that I loved when I was little. I still have a visual memory of painting a big Boumbo in yellow gouache in kindergarten. I won’t talk much more about this illustration since I’ve already done a blog post about it.
Family Portrait
Being influenced by your family
I invite you to read the article I wrote on my blog about this illustration. The one thing I think I left out of this one is that the characters are currently in the middle of an eye. Meeting my spouse and being a parent has really opened my eyes to what I want a family to be and to my values as a human being.
Another World
Being influenced by other cultures
You could say that I cheated, because not being a big traveler, I decided to be inspired by another type of trip that one can do: a literary trip. I’ve always been interested in fantasy worlds or science fiction. I really like angels, fairies and elves. I think that’s what I drew the most when I was a teenager.
Forest Trip
Being influenced by your hobbies
One of my favorite hobbies, which I would like to do more often, is hiking. It is also a hobby that I enjoy sharing with my family. I chose to make an illustration with my husband and my daughter. The trees were probably what took me the longest to do, but I like the result so my patience paid off. Also, from this illustration, I started to hide tiny snails in some of my illustrations.
Exercise 5 – Your own world
Lying In Grass
The last exercise was to combine the themes explored in the previous exercise into a final illustration. I chose to draw myself lying on the grass, because I like being in contact with nature. Most of my artwork contains natural elements. My most precious memories are the little moments spent in nature (in the forest, on the farm, at the lake).
My conclusions from the course are that I want to include more natural elements such as flowers and plants in my illustrations. I started developing a color palette that I like with lots of green. I will slowly add to it as I do new illustrations.