UBD BlogBack to inbox

Interview with Illustrator Jess Fortner

Previous Next

1. Hi Jessica, before we start I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to interview you. Could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

My name is Jessica and I’m a freelance illustrator based in Toronto, Canada. I’m also a sculptor, maker of things, grower of things, reader of books, designer of websites, thinker of things, and lover of animals, to name a few. I’m interested in art, culture and eco-politics. I’m a vegetarian and I own far more books than I can ever read. I wished I lived in a warmer climate, so I could spend everyday basking in the sun. I also wish that I could play the steel drums. My desk is tidy, however my boyfriend’s is covered with my junk. I take up too much space when I work, and have a bad habit of never cleaning up. I eat at my computer, and sleep at my drafting table. My boyfriend and I run an online arts magazine called Squidface & The Meddler. So when I’m not drawing, I’m designing, coding, writing, promoting and butting heads with him, all is fair in love and art. But mainly I just draw pictures and hope that people will like them and hire me to make pictures for them.

2. What are your influences and inspirations?

I really enjoy all types of illustration, but I definitely prefer the less commercial stuff out there – the “fine art” side of illustration.  There are tons of artists really pushing the boundaries these days,  artists like Peter Diamond, Chris Buzelli, Andrea Wan and Sean Lewis, to name a few. I am inspired by great concepts/ideas, and interesting illustrative approaches. Besides art, my day to day activities and interactions continuously inspire me. I find so many of the little things in life to be sources of inspiration as much as any grand event or happening.

3. How would you describe your creation process in producing each illustration from start to finish?

Generally I do a lot of thinking beforehand; well away from any desk,  sketchpad or computer. I think about the concept and what ideas must be articulated. I think about the most interesting and dynamic way to get the ideas across: composition, colour, etc. Then I think about alternative (not so obvious) imagery to use. Then I ask myself: Is it good? Is there an emotional connection? Does it communicate the idea clearly? This helps me get some objective sense of whether the work I’m doing holds up.
After I pretty much have everything decided I start sketching. I do sketches to communicate the concept to clients, although with my personal work I generally go right into drawing the final illustration.  When I’ve decide that it works, I ink it and then colour it.

4. I noticed you are Co-Founder of a great online arts magazine Squidface & The Meddler. What made you start this project?

Thanks! Glad you like it. My boyfriend and I, illustrator Michael Wandelmaier,  started the site about a year ago. We wanted to create a place to showcase great Canadian illustrators and artists. We also feature international artists as well, but we try to focus on Canadian illustrators. But mainly,  we wanted to make an online arts magazine that was as enjoyable to read as a printed magazine, with art-directed articles and unique content, that wasn’t in PDF form. There seem to be a lot of art/illustration blogs out here, which is fine, but we wanted to do something a little different. We were hoping to have the artists feel like they’re being published rather than posted – If that makes any sense. We designed the site ourselves, to really create an online magazine that could function the way we needed it to. Essentially, we just really love art/illustration and comics and wanted to create a unique place to spread the word and share the love.

5. What projects have you been involved with / working on recently?

I’m constantly working on new projects. Sometimes it seems I can’t work fast enough, there’s always something to be done. Not long ago I wrote and illustrated a short story for Robin Boyden’s blog ‘Papercub Club’. The story and illustration were called “Many Masks”. Come check it out: http://www.paperfoxpress.com/papercub/2011/4/28/many-masks.html
Most recently I’ve had a lot of fun illustrating wallet designs as submissions for the Poketo/Booooooom wallet contest. It’s a really fun format to design to, and a nice change from what I normally do.

6. Finally do you have any advice for young illustrators wanting to pursue a creative career?

Remember that illustration is a business. Be professional. Work hard. Play. Stay honest.

Please visit Jessica’s lovely website to see more of her fantastic illustrations

This Post has been reblogged from Feature Me

by Sasha
Saturday 16th July 2011