Since last Monday, I have had the amazing opportunity to speak to an artist who I have adored because of her amazing comics, hilarious story-line and brilliant artistic abilities, I present to you....from Deviant Art....*Drumroll* VanHinck!
VanHinck's favorite art choice was Test Flight
I have to agree, VanHinck's skills of drawing a character in motion are chiefly and beautifully put to show here, in this astounding display of agility of the pen and the agility of the motion on the page!
Ariana: What's your name outside Deviant Art?
Clare: My name's Clare, despite the fact that my dA page says Sebastian (long story!)
Ariana: Are you human/boy/girl?
Clare: I am a girl, and have been reliably informed that I am human
Ariana: What Country/Planet/State are you from?
Clare: I'm from England, but now I live in Scotland
Ariana: Do you have brothers/sisters/only child?
Clare: I have one older brother, there's a sketch of him somewhere in the depths of my gallery
Ariana: Do you have any pets?
Clare: Sadly, I don't have any pets with me now- I used to keep rats, but I'm in a no-pets flat. But there's still the family cat back home
Ariana: Birthday?
Clare: Fifth of July... a few years ago. Let's just say I remember the 90's quite well.
One of my many favourites of VanHinck's work is her Loki Dr. Selvig comics, this one in particular Loki and Selvig Coffee
This just begins the series perfectly, Loki is portrayed perfectly by VanHinck, his facial expressions are always perfect, and he's always so innocently snide! Not only is the animation burdened with glorious purpose- the artist is too!
Ariana: What inspires you most to paint/draw?
Clare: Mainly stories- myths and legends, of course, but various writers, like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett-their slightly tongue in cheek take on fantasy and supernatural tropes. The important thing is to try and combine things from several areas you wouldn't normally stick together and see what you get!
Ariana: How do you cope with lack of inspiration?
Clare: I read the Internet, (which is very time consuming as someone keeps updating it); I doodle mindlessly until it turns into something, or I paint my nails in outlandish colours to try and get myself in the mood.
Ariana: Talking about munchies... do you have a favourite food/drink?
Clare: Chocolate orange muffins! Home made, of course :D
Also, tropical fruit juice, particularly pineapple and coconut.
Ariana: Do you have a favourite media to paint/draw with?
Clare: I'll try anything, really- but the two I feel most comfortable using are gouache paints, and watercolour ink. Unlike Indian ink, the watercolour ink can still be played around with a bit after it's on paper, so there's more control there. Gouache paints dry quickly, which I find makes it easier to do details over the top. I prefer traditional media to digital, but every so often, I have a go at computer based things again.
Ariana: What made you decide to draw a HUGE comic series like Dr. Selvig and Loki, that was a big undertaking, did you originally plan for it to be that long or did it sort of grow?
Clare: I definitely didn't plan for it to be that long! At first, all I wanted to do was write little one-shot bits about how Loki and Dr.Selvig would interact, playing on the science/mythology bits. That actually persisted for quite a few of the early pages- they're much more about getting to a punchline than continuing a story. Then a plot started to emerge, and I had an end-point in mind, so it picked up a bit more direction after that. But definitely a lot of it was writing on the fly!
Ariana: Your Loki and Dr. Selvig comics receive quite a bit of attention and appreciation, did you think it would be that popular, how do you feel about it's popularity?
Clare: I didn't really! Everyone was a bit Thor-happy at that stage, since the film was just out, but Dr.Selvig was a fairly minor character. Also it's more talking than action!
I'm fairly proud of it, to be honest- the fact that I managed to finish it at all. I'm also slightly embarrassed - there's quite a few pages I'd like to re-write or re-draw now, but that's an endless task.
Ariana: Do you have a favourite thing to paint, movies, people, animals, what is your favourite thing to paint/draw?
Clare: People, definitely. Getting the details of a character right, that's a lot of fun. And in general, I enjoy fantasy and superhero type things- because they're larger than life and very visually distinctive, it makes them easier to make the simplified cartoon stick figures I do. (It's also easier to find things to make fun of, but I do it out of love!)
Ariana: When did you decide you wanted be an artist?
Clare: Since I stopped doing art at school! I dropped it when I was about 14 to do other subjects, and then found I missed it so much I wanted to keep going. Also, my brother gave me a book about fantasy artists, which coincided with the Lord of the Rings movies, and that's what started me down the fantasy route.
Ariana: Do you have any interests outside of painting/drawing?
Clare: Music! I sing in a couple of choirs, and I need the radio on in the background when I'm working on anything, I don't like silence.
Ariana: How do you wind down after painting/drawing?
Ariana: What would your advice to other artists be?
Clare: It's hardly original, I know, but- try and draw something everyday. The practice starts to pay off very quickly, and you see how much your work is changing, and becoming much more recognisably your style. Even if I don't post it, I try and doodle something. (Also, it works the other way round too- if I don't do any drawing for a while, I can see how rusty I get!).
Just because it is perfect! There will never be a time when I don't laugh out loud while looking at this and there will never be a time when I don't love VanHinck as an artist! Just look at how she captures Loki's anger and annoyance in this strip! The colours are beautiful and her comics are always hilarious! :)
As always I must thank VanHinck so much for agreeing to be part of my "Art Appreciation Monday!"
It is so amazing to get to speak to different artists, from ones who I've been a fan of for a long time and for the artists who I've just become acquainted with!
*****All the artwork belongs to VanHinck. There are links in blue which will direct you to the originals.**********
DO NOT USE ANY OF THE ARTWORK/WRITTEN WORK POSTED HERE WITHOUT PERMISSION!!!!!!!
If you want to use some of the artist's artwork or written work, contact her through Deviant Art, not to mention she very much deserves loads of followers... so go follow her here.
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