Interview with Karen Leopold

Hey Guys!

We are back with another interview, this time with Illustrator Karen Leopold!
Karen is a Graphic Designer based in Jakarta, Indonesia and she comes up with some amazing fan art on her Instagram account. 

Karen Leopold

"Never quit on your passion, make time for it and enjoy!"

I am in awe of Karen's Harry Potter fan art and if you are a Potter fan check it out on her Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/karen_leopold

Care of Magical Creatures!!

Lets kick off with our little chat then...

Hi Karen! I spotted you on Instagram and I adore your art. Tell us something more about yourself...are you professionally an artist or is this your hobby?

I work as a graphic designer, but there's not much room to express personal artistic style. My art on Instagram is born out of hobby to combine my love of drawing and reading/ watching stories. It's a freedom to bring my imagination alive. 

Since when have you been into art and how did you learn it?

I have been into art since I was a child. I love japanese comic books (Doraemon, sailor moon etc) and I would practice by drawing the characters in those books. Later on I learnt from books and Youtube videos. It's mostly self-taught, learning by trial and error. 

@Central Perk

Khaleesi - Daenerys Targaryen

Are you more into hand drawings/paintings or digital art?

Hand drawings for sketches and digital painting for the final artwork.

What tools do you use for your artwork? Readers who are starting into art will definitely want to know.

I use pencil and paper for initial sketches, and then use my laptop and Wacom to do the digital painting. I use Adobe Photoshop software for the painting.

Game of Thrones - Margaery

Wacom ...wow! Which Wacom gadget do you use for your digital painting? I looked up the various models available online recently and have been so confused because of all the variety!

Which Wacom gadget would you suggest to a beginner in art?

My wacom is ancient! It's wacom intuos 4, i think it's a medium size.

I've tried the ancient bamboo type and Intuos. They both work well for drawing. I prefer Intuos for professional work though :)

(Of course the dream is Cintiq Pro, but it's soooo expensive!) 

Hufflepuff - Kill them with kindness ..LOL!

Any art tips you want to give to my readers?

Never quit on your passion, make time for it and enjoy! :)

Oh and also ctrl+save, and backup your data!    <- :="" a="" i="" make="" note="" of="" one="" people="" this="">

You draw a lot of Harry Potter and GOT fan art and I love those. Where do you get all these lovely ideas from? Do you re-read the books for ideas?

I re-read Harry Potter books a lot! Not just for drawing them haha! Harry Potter books have amazing details in the writing, so I can imagine how the scene would be (colors-characters-etc) as I read them. I feel inspired with books, movies or series (such as GOT). I really just want to draw characters or scenes that I like to show my appreciation and love.

Albus and Scorpius on the Hogwarts Express!

Wingardium Levi-O-sa...not Levio-sar!

I am a big Potter fan. Who is your favourite Potter character?

Hermione Granger! I think she is a good role model for girls! :) 

I also love the Weasley twins Fred and George! They always make me laugh when I read their conversation.

Who's yours?

The Weasleys @ the burrow

Believe me or not, but I and Karen have a lot in common...We are Potter fans, have the same favorite Potter characters (I have Dumbledore on my list too!) and love the TV series F.R.I.E.N.D.S.!

Who are your favorite artists who have inspired you?

On the top of my head are Rebecca Green and Julia Sarda. 

Where can we see more of your artwork?

Website still on the works, hopefully it can be done soon!

Social media account :

Instagram @karen_leopold

Thanks Karen for taking time out for us!

Ending this post with some food for thought: 

"When in doubt, go to the library" - Ron Weasley

😂😂

Interview with Julie Mellan

Hey Guys!

Today's post is an interview with Julie Mellan!
Julie Mellan is a renowned Illustrator based in Lyon, France who specializes in animal illustrations for children.

Julie Mellan

 It might seem stupid but: work ! Drawing skills don't appear from nowhere ! Practice, practice ! 

I am super thrilled about todays post as I absolutely love Julie's work!

Hi Julie! I spotted your work first on Instagram and I absolutely adore your art. Tell us something more about yourself...are you professionally an artist or is this your hobby? 

Hi ! Thank you for your interest ! Yes, I'm a professional illustrator, I mostly work for children books.

I love the expressions captured in this picture!

Since when have you been into art and how did you learn it? 

As every kid (I guess !) I drew with pencils and markers; and after high school, I entered a french art school named Ecole Emile Cohl.

Isn't this just adorable! Super fun expressions!

Are you more into hand drawings/paintings or digital? 

Traditional art ! I paint with watercolor.

What tools do you use for churning out such fabulous cartoons? Readers who are starting off in art will definitely want to know. 

I use watercolor. With this medium, the paper's quality is really important, perhaps the most important ! I work on Arches paper, l love it ! 

Any art tips you want to give to my readers? 

It might seem stupid but: work ! Drawing skills don't appear from nowhere ! Practice, practice ! And draw what you like, if you love dogs, draw plenty of dogs. You'll have fun, and your work will really be the reflection of your personality !

You draw animal art mostly from what I have seen. Is that your favourite style? 

Yes, when I was a child, I started drawing with Disney characters, and now, I still love animals, its fun to draw, and cute !

This is my personal favourite. Worthy of being framed and hung in the living room!

Can you give information of any books or published work that you have done? 

I mostly work with a french publisher named Lire c'est Partir and they have published about 10 books that I have illustrated.

Who are your favorite artists who have inspired you? 

Disney animators, like Glen Keane (and his daughter Claire Keane !), or Chris Sanders, or classic illustrators like Mary Blair, Beatrix Potter, Ernest Howard Shepard, Richard Scarry, Annette Marnat... and many others I forgot...

Do you have any favorite art blogs? 

I don't really follow blogs, but Instagram profiles instead. I love the works of Aida Zamora, Cory Loftis, Ira Sluyterman Van Langeweyde, Diana Pedott, Taryn Knight, Tom Booth, Genevieve Godbout... and once again, many others I forgot... :)

In awe with the detailing on this one!

It was wonderful talking to you Julie. Thank you for gracing my blog!

Julie Mellan's portfolio here: http://juliemellan.ultra-book.com
And Instagram profile here: https://www.instagram.com/juliedessine/

Baby blues

Hi everyone!
I have been away for over an year now with a very valid reason this time!
We have a new member in the family now and he is a bundle of joy!
I promise to post more frequently now though....so keep watching this space as we plan to talk to some established artists for inspiration!