Avalon-Rain

    

   This week Aubrilynn searched a little closer to home for her artist to meet up. Closer to home, meaning.. They grew up together in Taylorsville, Utah. Under the same roof. She interviewed her multi-talented, and always hilarious sister, Avalon-Rain. Avalon-Rain discovered her passion in drawing when she was at the ripe young age of 14, in the gentle hands of public middle school. There she explored various styles of drawing.

    Her first steps into artwork were into the world of anime, an always popular choice with young teens that have a knack for the world of two dimensional artwork. Since then, she has grown and developed her own style of artwork and picked up other hobbies such as crochet and Shrinky Dinks. She specializes in adorable miniature octopi, some that are comparable in size to quarters. Anything miniature is adorable. Right? Yes.

    As a commission artist, Avalon-Rain lets other people’s characters come to life through her artwork. She has also recently been commissioned to do artwork for a poetry book, similar to the artwork in Shel Silverstein’s poetry books. Follow her blog for more updates on her artwork and giveaways.

Aubrilynn: Tell us a little bit about yourself: What got you interested in art?  Have you taken any art classes?

Avalon: My interest in art, really stemmed, with growing up with my dad working in a tattoo studio. Just constantly having people involved in art in my life. And not really having the same kind of outlets that they did, I took to drawing more than anything. Eh, kind of. I took beginner’s art class my senior year of high school, and a pottery class at The Red Kiln.

Aubrilynn: What is your preferred medium and why?

Avalon: Digital, purely for the fact that I can undo unwanted strokes. Because I am heavy handed, and that doesn’t work well for pencil. I can make cleaner pieces, that’s the best way to put it.

Aubrilynn: Do you have a favorite artist?  If yes, what draws you to that person’s work?

Avalon: I have a few favorite artists… As far as well known artists, the animator Don Bluth is where I draw a lot of inspiration from these days. I like his ability to create real expressions, despite simple character designs. Like the way that Thumbelina wrinkles her nose. Until recently, Disney princesses didn’t wrinkle their noses.. Gustav Klimt: His expression of the human form is very unique. His pieces are usually not in regular human positions. They’re usually not even positions that a human can get into, but it explains so much more than what five pages of writing could describe.

Aubrilynn: Do you have any other art forms you favor, besides drawing?

Avalon: I crochet, and sculpt… Does Minecraft count as a medium?

Aubrilynn: You do commission art, please elaborate..

Avalon: So far, it’s mostly been trades.. We barter and I draw them what they’d like me to draw. Which usually results in hilarity before any real product. My inspiration can be very fickle. It’s usually done on Tumblr and other social sites.

Aubrilynn: Do you necessarily market to a certain audience for what you’d like to draw?

Avalon: Mostly to people who roleplay, which I guess is a very specific niche, I guess. But people like individuals who can represent their characters well. And I like to pretend I do.

Aubrilynn: Where do you gather most of the inspiration for your works?

Avalon: Ugh, that’s really hard for me. Primarily, I’m a character artist.. Backgrounds make me sad. And so my inspiration usually comes for the character I’m drawing. If I’m reading something, I can kind of picture what that character acts like or moves like. And that’s what I try to express.

Aubrilynn: Being that you do character art, would you ever want to work with an author?

Avalon: I’ve been commissioned to do the illustrations for a poetry book, from an author in Ogden.

Aubrilynn: Do you feel like your style has evolved over the years? Describe the different levels of evolution.

Avalon: Oh certainly. And definitely within the last year, I feel like I’ve made leaps and bounds in creating my own style, and becoming more comfortable in it. I mean, one of the beginning levels is to copy other people’s styles. I mean, you don’t know how they feel or how they think. Like most kids, I started with cute, silly, “I think this is a dog.. Squares with some ears and legs.” And then, unfortunately, I did fall into an anime phase. But I got over it quicker than most people. And then at the beginning of high school, I realized I prefered western cartooning styles. And that’s exactly what I wanted to do, cartooning. A “cartoonist.”

Aubrilynn: Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and discovered a whole new genre of art?  How did it turn out?

Avalon: Yeah, I really have. I mean, for a while, my comfort zone was very simplistic, short bodies, big heads.. Fairly standard. And then, ugh, I decided I wanted to be able to express more through body movement itself. And not just facial expressions. Because so much of what people are feeling is expressed through body language, which is hard to express in that noodly stature.

Aubrilynn: Do you have any other interesting hobbies or maybe a fun story about an experience involving your artwork?

Avalon: Shrinky-Dinks, I have an absurd love for creating things out of Shrinky-Dinks. Once, in a great while, I will post on Tumblr or Facebook that I will draw whatever people want me to draw. Which results in fancy dinosaurs and sushi riding roller-coasters. Recently, I’ve become comfortable enough in my style and ability to participate in Artstreams, in which myself and quite a few other artists.. Basically devote the day to create art for people who cannot afford commissions. Or have not ever had the luck to win a giveaway.. I have a giveaway ending at the end of this month. It’s pretty genre specific, but if anyone wants to enter, they can. I won’t exclude.

Aubrilynn: Gimme the deets on yo’ giveaway.

Avalon: It’s kind of a celebration of my second blog, and that I’ve finally become comfortable with my own art. For a while, it was exclusively personal, I never drew for other people. I’m giving away character art, I’m also doing some animation.. Very simple animation, three frames.. Additionally, for people who are willing to give me their mailing address, I’ve offered to throw in the crocheted octopi and jellyfish I make. If someone goes to my blog, they do need to be following my art blog or my character blog.. And they can reblog or like the post that’s involved.

Aubrilynn: What, in your opinion, is the hardest step in creating a work of art?

Avalon: The hardest part, isn’t so much part of the work itself. It’s being content with it. I think, as an artist, it’s very hard to look at it and decide it’s up to par. Which is why, up until recently, I haven’t felt comfortable creating art for other people. Because it never feels as though it’s good enough. And I still struggle with it.

Aubrilynn: Are you happy with what your style has evolved into?

Avalon: I’m happy, but there’s always room for improvement. And I would be very interested in, not only expanding on my own style, but also taking figure drawing classes, and things of that nature. And, someday, mastering scenery. So, more so, I’d like to expand my style, rather than improve it.

If you would like to contact Avalon-Rain for commission art or if you’d like to view some of her art you can find her at fameoftime.tumblr.com or avalon.rain@yahoo.com. Her user name in several forums is HELLOISE, which is where the signature comes in.

Warning, there is mature content on her blog, totez n00dziez.