DTP Interview #7 Griseldajane
Hello to all our friends and followers of Daily Thranduil Project!
Today we’ll be interviewing the lovely @griseldajane, whose art we have already featured several times on our blog. Her art style is refreshing and unique and in within the Tolkien fandom she is especially known for her dedication to the Mirkwood Royals and her blog @mirkwoodfamily. Drawings as well as fanfics are her métier and I hope you are looking forward to get to know her a bit better! So here are our and your questions and her answers:
Username(s) we can find you under: Griseldajane
What Media do you create? Art and fiction.
Are you self-taught or did you go to art school?
Both! I learned everything I know about photoshop and digital art on my own, but I did attend art school for 3D.
Which artists have influenced your style?
Glen Keane, Gabby Zapata, Sara Kipin, Chihiro Howe and many, many others!
Which are your favourite artists?
Animation artists, like Glen Keane and Jin Kim. But so many other kinds too. I love art that tells a story or makes me feel something. I like Bernini sculptures for the way you’re supposed to walk around them and see the story unfold, and Rothko paintings for the feeling I get when I stand in front of them, I like impressionist paintings like Monet or Van Gogh, and I love graphic novels, most currently Jen Wang’s work.
Where can we find your work?
griseldajane.tumblr.com AND my brand new Instagram account for folks who prefer that platform: artbygriselda https://www.instagram.com/artbygriselda/. Fiction over on AO3: Griseldajane
What would you say you are best known for in the fandom?
Oh boy. Probably for drawing Thranduil and Legolas too much, and running the Mirkwood Family blog.
Do you have a favorite pairing?
I primarily like gen father-son stories of Thranduil and Legolas and on the slash side I’m a Thor/Loki fan.
Do you have a favourite creation of yours you are especially proud of?
I get a lot of love for my story “Godchild” and that does make me happy.
Do you have a favourite fictional character, besides Thranduil of course?
What other fandoms are you part of?
So many, I’m active in several Marvel fandoms and of course Tolkien fandom, but I follow Star Wars, Sherlock, Star Trek among others.
Any advice/words for others in the fandom?
Try to have fun out there, and if you like something, art, writing, edits other fan media— let the creator know! We’re a community :)
Personal Questions (Optional):
If you could name a song (or two or three) that would describe you or your life, what would it be?
Oh dear... let me get back to you!
Favourite book? The Last Unicorn
I get super annoyed by people who are wholly unaware that other people share the sidewalk with them and then block the way— so, selfishness is my pet peeve! (Can you tell I don’t own a car?)
What country are you from? The United States
Who do you think you might have been in a past life?
Probably someone who worked by or on the ocean, since I am utterly charmed by the sea.
What do you like to do in your spare time other than create the media you work on?
I honesty do a lot of art, but aside from that I play the ukulele badly, study absolute beginner adult Ballet, and like watching basketball games with my friends.
When did you join the fandom?
Oh, when the first Hobbit film came out, so end of 2012.
@beelovesbutterfly asked:
Current goal (name one goal) in life?
I have so many little goals which all serve the greater one: finding happiness! To be honest, I'm never sure what that is for me, so my little goals change frequently. But one goal of mine, which has been constant, is to improve my drawing skill. I desperately want to level up so that one day I can draw whatever I imagine!
What is your favourite flower, ever?
I like light colored, small roses, in white, baby pink or yellow. But my favorite flower in the wild is the endangered Lady Slipper. It's illegal to pick, but they sometimes used to grow in the woods around the house where I grew up, and whenever I saw one it felt like magic, like seeing a fairy ring. The last time I was able to go visit my mother in the springtime, I traipsed through the woods for old times sake and I saw one! It just filled me with joy.
How would you describe your art style? Thank you :D:D
Oh gosh, it is difficult for me to see my own style, but I would say, anatomically incorrect Disney?
Your Thranduil and Legolas art is wonderful, and you have also written about the royal family, have or would you, ever create a graphic novel with them? Thanks!
Thank you! Oh my, I'd love to create a graphic novel, but I fear I lack both time and skill to do so. I'm definitely into little mini comics, but an entire graphic novel seems so daunting. I work so much to pay my bills, but if I ever pay off my student loans and find I can work less, that would be an amazing project to tackle. I find comics a bit challenging because I'm used to animation storyboards (I'm always drawing "to camera"), and comic layouts can be very different! But I do enjoy writing so a graphic novel would be like the ultimate project for me.
When creating art, do your prefer traditional media or digital art?
Hmm, it's hard to say. Honestly, I do both pretty regularly. I think digital give you incredible flexibility. You can do almost anything, fix almost any mistake. It's easy to share and to perfect. But there's something so satisfying about traditional media because you are literally creating something-- there's a thing now, in your hands, that wasn't there before. With digital, it's a file somewhere, easy to forget. It doesn't actually exist. I find I do draw better on paper, but I refine my ideas much better digitally. I guess, if I'm doing art therapy for myself, I always do something traditional. There is a catharsis to picking up a pencil and drawing lines, feeling the paper, hearing the sound it makes as you make marks.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Early bird. If I get up too late, I get anxious. I feel like my day is squandered. That said, I have also worked late into the night sometimes when I'm in a groove.
What inspires you to write a story?
All my stories start as little drabbles. Usually, a character will say something to me. And then another character will respond, and my imagination will just run with it until before I know it, I've got a story. I'm also a sucker for emotional conflict, so if something happens to me that is particularly emotionally upsetting, I tend to write it into my fiction. Writing is therapy for me. For instance in "Always," the fear that Legolas feels that he could lose his remaining parent is one that I have experienced myself with my one remaining parent. Being disgusted or ashamed with my physical appearance that Thranduil feels, is something that I've wrestled with. In both cases it is not literally the same situation that the characters face, but the emotions are the same and people recognize that I think. It helps me anyway.
Do you draw art for your own stories?
Oh yes! Especially if it takes me *cough* years to write a story and then when I'm done I still think about it-- so out come the drawings! I've done art for every big story I've written.
Thanks everyone for your questions! If you want to ask any follow up questions, please feel free to contact me. :)
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s interview and are looking forward to the next one!
