“Ancient,” by Gillian Griffiths
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember; Nature is the subject of my artwork most of the time. I was born in Raleigh, NC and lived there till I was 18. Now I’m based in Colorado, and I’m going to The University of Colorado, Denver for a BFA in 3D animation. My plans after school are to be a character sculptor as a freelance artist or part of an animation company.
I love digital sculpting and texturing, but I’ll always go back to drawing. I usually work with pen and ink, but occasionally with pencil, colored pencil, or acrylic paint. I’ve started drawing a lot digitally as well. My pieces are animals for the most part, and I like to add aspects of environmental consciousness and/or fantasy to my artwork. A lot of my drawings are of fauna that are made of flora, like the “Snapping Turtle Forest.” I also tend to detail my artwork as much as possible, and use very fine-tipped pens. The more to look at, the more I enjoy creating it.
I find inspiration in the artists around me, and online. Aaron Blaise, a former Disney animator, is one of my favorite artists. His animal art taught me to use reference, but only to help with anatomy and pose. Not exactly to copy it, but to use it as a tool to create the artwork of imagination.
I’ve just recently started to sell artwork regularly. I’ve been doing personal commissions since I was twelve or thirteen years old, but now, I focus more on selling my original art and prints. I still do commission work, but my favorite artwork are the pieces I draw out of pleasure.
In my artwork, I like to focus on the beauty in powerful creatures; like a massive turtle, with pine trees on his back, to a dragon spiraling around a rock face, or a horse made of flowers, dancing. Anything I can think of.