#kallielef

[bighound-littlebird]

SanSan sketch dump by kallielef

@kallielef

[wrenbee]

I got this absolutely beautiful sketch as a Patreon reward from @kallielef recently. I’m still freakin out over it. I’ve been dying to see Aura in Kallie’s style and oh my gosh she’s so perfect. I love this little moment so much.

Check out Kallie’s Patreon here!

[ladytp]

Life imitating art

Whoa! This lovely artwork drawn by @kallielef around 2013 depicting aging Sandor has now become truly alive in the new movie trailer for ‘Chaos Walking’ in the form of Mads Mikkelsen... 😲😍

[thebluelemontree]

Couple of things: 

Hi! To the anon who sent me an ask last week, I will answer today after I get home. Things have been crazy with work.

Over the last couple of days, Kallielef got a pretty nasty wave of anti harassment and accusations of you know what over on Twitter. Kallie is one of the sweetest and most talented people in the Sansan fandom, and we’re extremely lucky to have her. It’s laughable when they try to say drawing characters as consenting adults is still you know what. Kallie only draws romantic content between obvious adult characters, and she doesn’t even do anything too risque; however, they dug up one particular piece of art with a very young Sansa that was taken entirely out of context and tried to use that as proof. And the context of that art was for a protector!Sandor AU where Sandor serves the Starks and had nothing to do with shipping at all. 

I really hope that kinda thing doesn’t get her too discouraged about posting her Sansan art. Today, my queue is full of Kallielef’s work because it’s awesome, it’s always worth reblogging, and I just wanted to show a little love and support.

[paperwick]

Artist Interview with Kallie LeFave

Last week I got to sit down and interview an artist I admire, Kallie LeFave. Her work has inspired me for a while, and she very kindly agreed to take the time to chat with me about her social media, past struggles, and how fanart has impacted her freelance business.

Kallie Lefave is a self-taught illustrator with a focus in fantasy, and has been successfully freelancing for nearly 7 years. She has a keen eye for color and shape dynamics.

D: You're pretty active on social media, at least from what I've seen on Twitter. How many platforms do you maintain?

K: Right now I'm active on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, all of which I can be found under @kallielef

D: How much of your day, or week, do you devote to your social media? Not just posting and retweeting/reblogging other's work, but also creating the artwork you use on social.

K: Well, my schedule has changed a lot with a toddler, but I'd say right now I devote about 2-3 hours of the day to creating work along with posting to my platforms. So, perhaps 30 minutes retweeting/reblogging/liking art and maybe 1-2 hours painting and drawing.

Weekends I get a little more free time, so maybe 3-4 hours then, but that can always change with a kiddo.

D: I believe it! Starting a family will shake up any schedule for sure. Has it impacted your approach or your artwork in unforeseen ways?

K: Oh, definitely! I waited (and contemplated) on having a child for almost ten years because I was worried about how it would affect my time to create. My daughter had some complications, a breathing issue after she was born which made my brain switch gears, and all my focus went towards her. For a while I found myself frustrated needing a creative outlet, but ultimately having a child helped me learn balance and selflessness. Because of her, not only do I have a more structured and valued appreciation for time dedicated to creating art, but being around a child really has expanded the way I look at and feel about art.

D: Oh wow, even in retrospect that’s scary to think about, I'm glad things worked out! It sounds like it's really changed things up for you. Did you struggle with balance before you had your daughter?

K: Yes, I did struggle, but in the sense that I had so much time on my hands and not enough discipline, and I would overwork myself. My schedule was a hodgepodge of doing studies, learning more about digital art, learning and practicing fundamentals, free art and commission work. Now, I know for the most part what to expect of the day and myself, but also that everything can change and I need to make the most of the time I'm given.

D: That's encouraging, I feel like it's a pretty common problem among artists to struggle with discipline and overwork. Do you have any general advice for people who are facing those same troubles?

K: Yeah, for sure! I always look at a creator like George R R Martin and Stephen King; both incredibly talented and creative artists, but very different disciplines when it comes to creating. I had a professor once tell me that I had a "dancing brush", which she said meant that I traveled a lot around a painting, not settling on one thing for too long. That's very much how my mind feels, constantly dancing and entertaining ideas. If I feel myself getting too overwhelmed or overworking something, sometimes I just have to verbally tell myself to stop and move on, otherwise I'll just get stuck. If I'm afraid to try something or don't have the confidence, or lack of motivation, I like what Even Amundsen once said, "f*!%$ it, Let's DO IT!"

D: Ha ha, I like that a lot!

K: Yes, it's on a sticky note on my computer!

D: How long has it taken you to build up a following? Was there anything that kick-started that process for you, like a shift in what or how you posted content? Or has it been a steady increase from the start?

K: I started working in digital art in 2014, where I began scanning in penciled drawings of all the Hobbit characters, and that was my introduction into fandoms. It wasn't until about a year later when I discovered A Song of Ice and Fire, along with the Game of Thrones series, that I really got invested in a fandom. That's where I created a piece of Sandor Clegane "The Hound" and Arya Stark, posting on Deviantart and got one of their Daily Deviations. I didn't know what that was at the time, but saw that it brought in a lot of new followers and interest to my work. That was exciting, I love having conversations with people and the fan art engaged me with so many other fans. So, I had a small following start there which grew a lot for some time in the GoT fandom. After that, I created works for The Hobbit and Dragon Age fandom, which I'm still currently creating artwork of, but I'm not certain my following has grown very much-it's been steady, but small. That used to disappoint me some, that I didn't have a huge following, but I kind of like my small groups; I get to spend more time talking to people and less pressure on myself.

D: Fan art has been a large part of your online work, how has it informed your professional work? Has having a fan-base built on fanworks impacted your business significantly?

K: A lot of the work I do professionally is because clients found me through fandoms, and it's definitely impacted my business. But one thing that is always flattering and fun are the clients who want me to create their original characters or concepts. For them to feel confident enough in my abilities to recreate their ideas means a lot and tells me I must be doing something right! That also helps give me encouragement to create my own characters, and hopefully one day make solely original content to sell (like Pete Morbacher, Charlie Bowater, Eli Baum, Valentina Remenar, Lois van Baarle, and Minna Sundberg).

D:Do you have a commissions page?

K: Thank you very much! At the moment I don't, but I'll be setting something up in the near future. I'll definitely let people know when I'm taking commission work again.

D: As a self taught artist, how do you feel about the art college dilemma? Especially with online course schools like schoolism and CTRL+Paint available?

K: Ha, I was just reading about the topic in imagineFX magazine. I went to school for traditional art with a focus in abstract expressionism and conceptualism. I'm not sure I really learned anything, unfortunately, BUT the discipline, structure,  connections and social networking I made at that time were helpful. I think a lot of digital artists would agree that going to art school has those same benefits and can help a lot of people who are lacking in discipline, creating a daily syllabi and have a hard time meeting people. But also, I have taken a few self taught Schoolism courses, and loved them. I think if you have the time to invest in courses like that (or the free ones like ctrl paint), and are willing to be disciplined, they can be very effective. In short, I feel both traditional and online schools have a lot to offer, it’s just a matter of what you're willing to invest in.

*when I say I didn't learn anything from school, I mean the fundamentals or "how to paint", haha. I did learn a lot otherwise.

D: What has been the most challenging thing for you in art?

K: The first thing that comes to mind is building up a memory of what I'm trying to learn or practice, like how light hits the planes of a face or how a figure should look when turned at a certain angle. I still have to reference things as my memory can betray me lol, but I'm starting to see things being remembered and clicking.

D: Is there someone lately whose art has really inspired you? Or some recommended reading you'd like to share?

K: A lot of the Pixar/Disney art teams, like Mingju Helen Chen, Corey Loftis, Minkyu Lee. I'm learning a lot about shape language looking at their art. There's always Charlie Bowater, too, who I think is a bit of a wizard with her brush. Art related reading-I have been listening to Bobby Chiu's "The Perfect Bait" on youtube, hopefully it will be in print again one day because it's a very resourceful art book. Non art-I read devotionals daily, currently one about the ego and it just helps keep me grounded.

Kallie has a lot of great insight, and is just an incredible artist. You can find Kallie’s work on most social media platforms under her handle kallielef:

https://twitter.com/kallielef

https://kallielef.tumblr.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kallielef/

[midnightprelude]

Spotlight Sunday: Kallielef

I’m a sea cucumber and forgot to hype some of my favorite creators for Spotlight Saturday. I do what I want anyway, so I’m gonna carry over into Sunday for some fun! I’m tagging forward to @kallielef​ of course, and @lethendralis-paints​, @thesaltyhealer, @faerieavalon, @pikapeppa​, and @schoute​ to gush about fan work creators they love (though it doesn’t need to be in this much detail)!

I’d first like to shout out of @kallielef​ who is not only an amazing artist, but also such a kind and wonderful friend! All of the art in this post is obviously hers! :D

Yesterday I asked her what her top 5 things about her artwork were. She only gave me 3 (sigh), so I’ll give examples of her work that really highlight those for me as well as fill in the other two for her. 

HER LINES

Now, this is the first thing that drew me to Kallie’s art style. The way she draws *lines* is so raw and emotional, which sounds so weird to an art idiot like me, but it totally makes sense once you see her work. Every line is perfectly placed, the angles are often sharp and really draw your attention to the subject. 

Post here!

Look at the contrast between their super sharp jawlines and the gentle waves in the blanket and her hair... It’s really breathtaking! Also the coloring, which I’ll talk more about later really sets the mood for this piece. <3

HER NOSES

She said this one and I immediately agreed. She has an amazing way of drawing noses differently for each character, represented beautifully by these two lovely elves here. <3

Post here!

Oh my lord, look at those regal noses! So different from each other, but they suit their respective faces so well!

HER QUICK GESTURE DRAWINGS

Admittedly, I wasn’t 100% sure what she meant by this one (art cucumber, remember)? I’m going to take it to mean the her drawings that maintain that sketchy nature or her sketches themselves, which are breathtaking.

Post here!

Look at all of the emotion in each one of the different faces here! They’re all telling their own, unique story and I really want to know what they are! (Also look at the noses again)

HER EXPRESSIONS (MY ADDITION)

Phew, this is the big one for me, Kallie. I think you pull SO MUCH emotion into all of your paintings and I feel sucked into their world. Usually, it makes me want to give the subjects a hug. <3

Post here!

Here’s an AMAZING sad DA4 era Solas. And if you don’t want to just RUN UP TO THAT MAN AND HUG HIM, armor and all, I don’t even know who you are. :)

HER EPHEMERAL COLORING (MY ADDITION)

Finally, my last thing I’d like to highlight is Kallie’s phenomenal use of color, to create eerie, beautiful, solemn effects. It’s really impressive! And she maintains that she’s not good at coloring. Ha! 

Post here

This phenomenal SanSan image BEGS TO DIFFER, MADAM! Look at the glow of the (wildfyre?) out of the window, Sansa’s perfectly red hair, Sandor’s angry scars, and the beautiful drapery. It all is pulled together in a wonderful effect that takes my breath away!

[ielmoe]

I commissioned @kallielef for this wonderful picture of Ma’Lenna and Cole!! It’s so sweet and perfect, you’re amazing!!

Thanks again, I love it soooooo much! <3333

[liliaenbaggins]

The amazing @kallielef sketched my Liliaen again - I love this so much Kallie! Maybe I should get a matching Frodo one to hang on my fireplace LOL