Today I’m
interviewing the extremely talented Angela Oliver. And guess what?
Angela and I went to the same High School, in a galaxy far far
away—But I digress. Ahem.
Angela Oliver is
both an illustrator and writer, with a long list of publications which include
several children’s books and a unique tarot deck picturing the
flora and fauna of New Zealand.
Last year she
released Fellowship of the Ringtails an adult high
fantasy novel set in Madagascar and starring lemur characters. She is a member of
SpecficNZ and the ChristchurchWriters Guild. Angela was recently
nominated for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for 2014 in the category of
Best New Talent.
 |
| Angela Oliver holds a copy of her novel Fellowship of the Ringtails |
Angela, when did you know
you could draw?
There was never a time in my life when I thought I could not draw. There were, of course, times when I could not draw well, but from the start my parents always encouraged my brother and I to engage in as many creative projects as we so desired. I do remember being disappointed that his pictures were always better than mine, and it was not until early this century that I realised I was actually getting quite good at it, but I've always known I could draw – from obsessively drawing birds in my primary years, to doodling down the margins and on my subject dividers in High School and finally graduating to actual sketch books.
Who has
encouraged/inspired/supported you the most with regards to your
artwork?
My parents have always encouraged it, however it was probably the internet that truly got me hooked, beginning with online communities around 2001 in which art trades of characters were prevalent and I found myself offering to draw all manner of strange people and creatures for other people. I also began several Art Exchange communities: one competitive one (where everyone drew the previous winner's character) and then we voted on the best and one “secret santa” style one where whom you were drawing for was randomly assigned. My two spawned quite a number of other ones, some of which are still active today, although I gave up on them in 2005 when I discovered Artist Trading Cards.
Do you think
being able to draw is a talent one is born with, or can anyone can
learn given enough time?
I think it is a bit of both, although more the latter than the former. I think the main inherant bit is the desire to draw, and I suppose you have to have a vague eye for proportions. The rest is learned and practise, hours and hours of practise. I have a few people say to me “you're so talented, I wish I could draw like you” to which I reply “do you draw?” And they will inevidly reply “not since I was a child.”
Well, here's an example of something I drew as a child (age unknown, but could have been as old as 11 or 12, I was a late artistic bloomer):
As
you can see, I could not draw especially well as a child either, what
it takes is practise, a lot of practise and encouragement instead of
discouragement.
You’re a
creator of ATC (Art Trading Cards), can you briefly explain what ATCs
are and how you became involved.
Here is one of my very early mixed media cards:
 |
| ATC by Angela Oliver |
Finding
people to trade with was never too much of a problem – most were
willing to trade with even a complete novice and I have made numerous
cards specifically for their new owners. I have now traded over 3000
cards (and assorted other pieces of mail art) and have managed to
send my art into over 80 countries, including Madagascar, Guatemala
and Luxemburg.
However,
collage and scrapping leads to a certain amount of untidiness and
overload of supplies, and I gave up on the collage and layered cards
a few years ago to concentrate exclusively on my drawing.
Who is your
favourite ATC creator?
As I am very active in the ATC circuits, I cannot name a favourite creator, for fear of overlooking someone, or hurting someone's feelings. For the most part, I collect hand drawn and hand painted cards, and I have acquired some real beauties over the years. One of my favourite challenges is asking people to draw Hemlock, the goblin hero from A Midsummer Knight's Quest based entirely on a description.
It is a closed and juried forum, but the gallery is open for public admiration, if you do a search for “Hemlock” or “Lemur” you will probaby find a number of cards now residing in my collection.
One
of my favourite New Zealand illustrators is Dave Gunson whose
footsteps I wish I could follow in! He has done postage stamps,
picture book illustrations, wildlife posters and non-fiction books,
all focusing around things that are dear to my own heart – our
native wildlife.
Another
favourite is Ursula Vernon,
an American artist and writer with a zoological/scientific leanings
(like me) and a really wacky sense of humour.
Tell us about
your latest project, what are you working on the moment?
I am somewhat in the middle of several projects – as is usually the case! – but the major one is my Animal-A-Day project. On October 15th, 2013 I started working my way, alphabetically, through an animal encyclopedia and releasing a piece of animal art (with information) every day via social media, specifically twitter, tumblr and blogspot. I have recently passed day #200 and am still on the Es, so it is predicted that it will take me at least 3 years to complete. Each letter is being turned into a little hardcover book (printed via ArtsCow) and I intend there to eventually be an App and possibly a card/board game (once I have figured out the game play).
 |
| Angela Oliver: Animal-A-Day project |
Each
image is an Art Card, measuring the specified 2.5 x 3.5 inches and
done in the same style. Individual cards can be purchased for $10,
although I will trade them as well. Requests of future animals can
also be made (F and onwards).
The
project's “official” home is on tumblr HERE
The
second project is, of course, the second book in my lemur series:
Tail of Two Scions.
I am currently in the stage of having the first draft roughly
finished and going through it with a butchering knife to work on into
a more concise, more fluent plot. It is proving to be something of a
struggle.
A
third project, which is almost reaching fruition, is an anthology for
the Christchurch Writers' Guild. It is entitled Reflections
and should, with any luck, be available via Amazon in late June or
early July. It is a collection of poetry and prose from our members,
and contains some excellent pieces from independent, up-and-coming
authors.
What has been
your favourite illustration project to date?
Probably my tarot
cards, which are based on New Zealand Ecology. Not only was it fun to
come up with images to suit the
card definitions, but it has also proved to be my most profitable
project to date. Decks are available via The Game Crafter:
or if you live in New Zealand, you can purchase them directly from me
(NZ$30 + shipping) and I'll autograph the Signature card too.
 |
| tarot cards, which are based on New Zealand Ecology |
Which is your
favourite animal to draw?
I do not really have a
set favourite persay. I love a bit of variety in my wildlife art, and
challenges can be fun! However, my top favourite subjects would
probably be birds and lemurs. I love the colours of birds, and since
I have been more-or-less obsessed with birds as long as I can
remember, I can almost draw them in my sleep (although some species
are trickier than others).
 |
Bittern
|
And, of course, there
are lemurs.
My passion for lemurs
began later in life, when I did volunteer work at Orana Park and fell
in love with the cheeky, pixie-faced ringtail lemurs. This passion
led me (and my husband) on an amazing and eye-opening expedition to
Madagascar in 2007 and also, finally, into the creation of the Lemurs
Saga.
Someone has challenged
me to draw a lemur for every letter of the alphabet, and with around
100 species, I shall certainly make a good effort at it! Here is one of my interior illustrations from Fellowship of the
Ringtails.
 |
Ringtailed
Lemur
|
Can you explain
your preferred illustration method?
I begin with a pencil
sketch. For my Animal-A-Day project I use an A5 sized pad in which I
have already ruled up the approximate size of the Art Card (I can fit
four per page). I use reference material extensively, usually via
google image search, but also my copious piles of animal books and
bird calendars. Generally I will seek 2-3 sources, so as not to make
my final piece resemble the original photograph too closely. With few
exceptions, I work off photographs. For imaginery (including Pokemon)
or extinct animals I will use creatures that bear similarities to the
intended creation. I generally use an HB or 2B mechanical pencil for
this purpose. I hate blunt pencils, so mechanical is the way to go!
After laying down the
pencil sketch, I then ink it. For this I use an array of fibre-tipped
pens, UniPin is my favourite, but I also have Artline, Staedtler and
Tombow pens ranging in tip thickness from 0.05 to 0.8 mm. The fine
tipped pens – 0.05 and 0.1 – are used for the fine detailing such
as fur, feathers, shading and scales.
After that, I add in
the background, which can range from heavily detailed to very lightly
indicated, depending on the size of the subject. I do not wish my
image to look too cluttered, especially since I work on such a small
canvas. For my animals I will make it as close to their natural
environment as I can find – again using reference images of the
habitat.
Finally, colouring,
which is the most time consuming part. I use colouring pencils
extensively. My preferred brand is the American prismacolor, but
these have very delicate leads and sometimes do not sharpen well.
They are a wax-based pencil with very smooth consistency and great
for blending. My second favourite, and what I used before I acquired
my first set of prismas, are Fabercastell's Polychromos. These are
oil-based and have a harder tip, but definitely lay on more colour
than cheap-brand colouring pencils. I occasionally use markers to
smooth over colours and blend it more fully.
Gel pens are then used
for adding highlights. I am particularly fond of the Signo White gel
pen.
 |
| illustration colouring process, before and after |
Do you work entirely
on the computer, or by hand, or a combination of the two?
The
art piece itself is entirely traditional media, although I do use the
computer – and a very dated version of Paint Shop Pro – to
“clean-up” the image before it gets printed.
Do you take commissions?
Do you take commissions?
Yes, selectively. As you can see, I have quite a few of my own projects on the go at present, so am unwilling to engage into anything too time-consuming and complicated, but am definitely keen on small art commissions – I prefer working on sizes between Art Card size and the NZ standard A4. If you are interested in having an Animal-A-Day card drawn specifically for you, then please notify me – preferably before I pass the appropriate letter! Prices range from $15-$100 for non-commercial pieces, depending on size and complexity, and turn-around is from 1 week to 2-3 months, depending on communication (if you respond to my emails fast, then changes can be made and your piece will be finished sooner).
If
you wish to purchase my art or skills for commercial purposes
(including book covers, interior illustrations, luggage tags, labels
etc) then a royalty scheme may be discussed.
Thank you so much
for answering my questions and giving everyone an insight into your
lovely artwork.
You are very welcome!
Thank you for wanting to interview me.
For Readers looking for more of Angela's work, please check out these sites:
No comments:
Post a Comment