Happy 2021! You all seemed to like my last Q&A style blog post so I decided to do a little Q&A for today. I asked on both my instagram and Facebook if you had any questions you'd like me to answer so here are my responses that I got:
'Were you scared at first to share your art?'
Oh my god. Yes. I still am aha! Your artwork is so personal to you and it is such a widely critiqued subject, there will be people that are bound to love or hate it. Also, I am a massive over-thinker which didn't help the situation but I gathered that if I wanted to share my artwork and make something more of it then I better just bite the bullet and post. I think what helped me the most when starting to share my artwork was the immediate support I got from my family and friends which I am so beyond grateful for. Don't let fear and particularly the fear of judgement stop you from doing something you're passionate about, at the end of the day it is your life and you never know what opportunities might come of it.
'What is your favourite commissioned work that you've done?'
This is a hard one! I love all the commissions I make but I always try my best to fit the aesthetic of the client so I do have a few that stand out to me as my favourites. These are the commission designs I made for (left) Kitty Riggs' book 'What if Bowie were a woman', (middle) Witch Kits one of the designs from the birthday card collection and (right) Tough Cookie zine front cover. I love them all for entirely different reasons but they all were amazing opportunities with gorgeous aesthetics. I feel like they all perfectly reflect the client but still hold that Olivia_tatedesign sassy edge.
'How are you finding studying illustration with COVID-19? I'm going to study illustration this year and with corona Im quite nervous.'
*for those of you who don't know, this is my first year at university studying illustration* so taking all of this in mind of me not knowing a uni experience any different ... dare I say that I don't really mind online? Undeniably, the course is presented and taught differently to what it usually should be in session and it most definitely should NOT be costing me £9250. But that aside and talking in terms of how I'm actually finding it so far, I think that with the course being online it has relaxed me a little. The thing with an arts based course (and you might not truly understand this if you haven't studied an art based course before) is the first year is hella scary because you expect everyone to be miles ahead of you and sharing your work to a new group of people for the first time can be daunting. So I have found that doing my work in my own space and my own company has took some of that pressure away as I am someone who definitely prefers to create artwork when I'm alone and in my own space rather than in a busy classroom with people watching me. However, I think it depends on how you work etc. but try not to be nervous, it is important in times like these to find the positives out of negative situations even if it might be hard, make the most of your situations. Take it as an opportunity to really connect with yourself in your artwork on a one to one kind of level.
But hopefully I'll be back in session sometime this year so I can experience both sides of this and also have more of a social life (I mean at some point I have to try and have one right?)
Just make sure if your uni experience is back in session by the time you start that you stay safe and just enjoy it!!
'What is your favourite creative medium that isn't digital?'
Since starting uni, I have gone back to more analogue based work rather than digital and let me just tell you, I'm RUBBISH at trying to find the right medium for what I want to achieve, which is something I'm trying to work on. So I'm not sure I've found my 'favourite' one yet (though I do have some new ones to try out that I got for Christmas which I'm excited about). However, I always tend to be drawn towards my coloured pencils and fine-liners as I love how you can build the pencils up but also keep control of the intensity and then add that cartoon-like structure back with the fine-liners.. boring I know!
'Any tips for initial growth?How to build your socials etc.'
I'm still figuring this one out myself aha!! I think the main thing really is not to focus on the numbers, that shit can be tough as my followers go up and down all the time and I know if I focussed on it, it would demotivate me. But here are a few 'tips' from me...
1. Actively follow people that might inspire you or do something similar/share similar interests so that not only is your feed just continuous inspiration for you but you also build a following that is relevant to what you're doing and with people who are likely to engage in your work.
2.Use hashtags that are relevant to what you're doing so yet again you build a following that actually want to engage with your work. I know people try to look 'edgy' by not using them but when you have a smaller following, how do you expect people to see your work?
3. Be active by grid posting and story posting. Also engaging with other accounts encourages them to engage back - domino effect kinda.
Overall, I think (well at least for me) having loyal and engaging followers is much better than having a large following that is purely numbers based and don't interact with your work.
'What is your favourite part of creating a piece? For example linework, colouring, shading etc.'
Digitally, my favourite part is definitely adding the colour and shading I just love seeing the whole piece come together. Sometimes doing the linework is stressful because it just doesn't go how you want it to especially when it comes to commission work where I don't have full creative control of the design.
Whereas, if I'm hand-drawing something I honestly love the stage where the linework has just finished being penciled in, there are so many drawings I've done that I have ruined by adding colour (as said recently, it is something Im working on aha).
Hope you enjoyed reading this!! This one was a little shorter than the last one so if there are any questions that you'd want me to answer on another blog post like this or direct, please email me at oliviatatedesigns@outlook.com or contact me on my socials