Interview with:Jennifer Kearney [jenniferkearney]
ILLUSTRATION
 | What is your specialty in illustration? Fantasy illustration and portraiture (people & animals), landscapes, character design/concept development, (which can range from realistic to stylized). I work in a variety of traditional media including: oil, watercolor, acrylic, pencil and pen & ink, pastel (though painting with oils is my preferred modus operandi). Also, if the need warrants it, I can produce work digitally. |
| What are your regular clients like? What do they expect from you? Well, my clients are usually friendly people excited about art and their project or idea. They always expect the best... and I try to accommodate them. |
| Is there a web address where we can see some of your work? |
| Have you completed formal art studies, or are you self-taught? It all started with my mother... My mother is a fantasitic artist who was trained in the Old Masters techniques of painting. She exposed me at a very early age to the world of art, as well as to many wonderful things in this amazing world of ours. So, throughout my childhood I was studying things in nature, and drawing continuously. After graduating from high school, I got into graphic design school, and ended up doing graphics & copy work for MacDonnell-Douglas in California, but it was never as satisfying as being able to draw and paint. So, I made the decision to go back to school and get a degree in illustration. As of present, I have received my BFA in 2D Art with emphasis in Illustration from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. I was very fortunate to have been mentored and befriended by acclaimed illustrator, David Christiana. |
| How did you get your first full assignment? What did it involve? My first client was a local author who had found me via my university online portfolio, and it involved illustrating a book he had written for children. |
| What past or present day illustrators do you admire most? NC Wyeth, David Christiana, Adam Rex, Gregory Manchess, Jim Murray, Justin Sweet, Tony DiTerlizzi, Rebecca Guay, Terese Neilsen, Mark Zug, Peter de Seve, Brom, Greg Swearingen, Phil Hale, Gris Grimly and Jon Foster... to name a few. |
| How similar are your current drawings to those you did as a child? Similar... but not. I like to think my technical ability has gotten a little better since then. It's important to keep that childhood imagination active, as well. I believe that, especially as an artist, one should not only work on improving their technical ability, but always be open to learning new things and asking questions - even if the question seems silly. Life is about continual learning and growth. |
| What was your favorite comic book as a child? Well, I like Batman. Most of the top comic books are great for the study of extreme perspectives and dramatic lighting. |
| Do you have a particular style, or does it vary a lot? Hmmm, yes and no. I can vary between realism and whimsical. However... while being diverse in style is a great demonstration of skill, it can often create a problem for finding work. People in the industry usually want to hire you based on your personal style, and if it's across the board... well, they might look you over. I love realism, and I think that it is especially important when creating something from my imagination. Even though it may be a creature or place that does not exist in real life, I feel it should look as though it physically could. |
| What is hardest to draw? The human figure... and horses. Anatomy is something that requires careful study, and a lot of it. I love it! I have studied the human figure for years now, and I find the human body fascinating. Every figure is beautiful in its own way. |
| What type of music do you listen to while you work? I love a wide range of music, but to give some kind of answer... some of my faves are Classical, 80's, Rock, World Music, Techno, and Celtic New Age like Enya and Loreena McKennitt. One might say I have quite the eclectic taste. |
| Do you have a favorite work of art? Just one?! I think it's too difficult to pick from so many, but I will say that I admire the work of John Waterhouse. |
| What do you do when a client simply says "I don't like it"? I have to say that I've never had a client say those words to me... not yet anyway. (And I hope it never happens, though I know that you can't please all of the people all of the time.) However, I have been, from time to time, asked to make revisions to certain areas of a painting. Small changes or adjustments are often typical of work in process, but excessive changes are something else. I tend to be a stickler for perfection, and I'm not personally satisfied unless I'm putting my whole heart into my work. I believe that taking short cuts and and having a 'meh, that's good enough' attitude about your work will only hurt you in the end. We reap what we sow. |
| What new techniques have you been experimenting with lately? I'm always pushing myself. Lately, I guess I've been really pushing my use of temperature (warm and cool colors). |
| What part of your work do you do on paper and what part digitally? I love hands on, so I do most of my process the old school way - sketching in my sketchbook, on the backs of envelopes, etc., as well as doing color studies on paper with actual paint. Occasionally will I use a program like Photoshop to do color studies in, or to finish a painting digitally that was originally started in oils - for the sake of time. |
| What research do you do for your illustrations? I'm always collecting and taking photos of various locations/settings, animals, people and environments for reference... but if at all possible, I prefer to sit and sketch from life. |
| Do you have colleagues with whom you share techniques, tricks, ideas, etc.? Yes. It's good to have the input of fellow artists. |
| Do you have any specific goals as an illustrator? I would love to work in the fantasy art industry. You could say it's been a long time dream of mine. There is something very free and unrestratined about the world of fantasy that is so attractive to me. I'm interested in working with the film industry, the gaming industry and with book publishers. I'm currently aiming for work with Wizards of the Coast - Magic the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, Blizzard Entertainment - World of Warcraft, and a few others. |
| What illustration web sites do you frequent? All the sites of my favorites, for obvious reasons. I like to keep up with what they're currently working on. I also like to simply Google "illustrators" and see what comes up, or go onto illustration directories and check out the work there. |
| What are you working on now? Adding fantasy-themed paintings to my portfolio for submission to the fantasy companies I'd love to work with (i.e.: Wizards of the Coast). |
| What advice do you have for someone who likes to draw and would like to make a living from it? Draw, draw, draw! Drawing is something that an artist always does... it's like an impulse. When you draw things you begin to know more about them, which sets you on a continual cycle of learning. The more you know, the more you'll see, and the more you see, the more you'll know. Also very important (I can't stress this enough!) is to leave your ego at the door! To some extent you need to be able to develop a thick hide and receive constructive criticism without taking it as a personal attack. If you are not open to suggestions and advice from others, you are not open to learning new things. |
| 
2064 visits Whohub
Jennifer Kearney
Tucson-USA
|
95719 interviews created
![[jenniferkearney] Jennifer Kearney](http://www.whohub.com/_pics/13643.jpg?1337593632)
INVITE YOUR FRIENDS