Post by urbancinderella on Jun 2, 2007 9:15:49 GMT
Interview with ¢myntideviantART - Digital
Administered by Whitney.
Name? Laura Grace Marie Rafferty
Age & birthday? 24, birthday November 26th
Location? Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania, U.S.
Website/gallery? www.myntifresh.com (currently in the process of getting a makeover), mynti.deviantart.com.
Where did you start with your art? Did something inspire you to begin, or was it just a crazy notion?
It's hard to really say exactly where. I think, in some ways, I've always had the desire to draw, but I'll talk a bit about the first few key moments of discovery, if you could call them that!
One major moment was when I found my grandmother's sketches and watercolors. I think I was around 5 or 6 years old at the time. I never really knew her, but when I saw all the portraits of my aunts, uncles, and my mother when they were little kids, it just sparked something in me. My grandmother just did art as a hobby, dabbling here and there in paint and sketches, but it really was amazing to see parts of her that she put into her paintings... it was like sort of meeting her even though she had passed away. It was pretty emotional, but in a good way.
Also, as a little girl, I looooved the book "Harold and the Purple Crayon". Haha, I apparently made my mother read that book to me countless times when I was a baby. I've always had a vivid imagination, and I've always loved the idea of drawings coming to life (that's what the book is about). I guess after that, I mostly drew with crayons on printer paper in my childhood home. I wasn't a natural artist, but I sure did have the desire to draw.
How long have you been involved with your art?
I've been doodling since I was a kid, but I started seriously paying attention to my craftsmanship and drawing skills about 11 years ago. And saying that makes me feel old! Hehe. I started out traditionally, with graphite, charcoal, and pastels mostly - and my most-drawn subject back then was common everyday items - just to get the hang of rendering light and shadow and form.
Do you prefer making templates or working with digital painting?
Ah, yes. Well, I will be honest here. I love painting more than probably anythingelseinthewholewideworld. The time I am not painting, I am thinking about my next paintings! I design websites and code CSS professionally for a living, so most of the time I associate the CSS templates with work.
What inspires you to make a template?
Well, the only templates I've made to date are the ones for the deviantART CSS journals. Mostly I adhere to a strict principle of not giving my work away for free, but when I saw that there were no easy-to-use, quick-to-edit templates on dA back when the CSS option came out, I started creating them so people wouldn't feel so lost when it comes to CSS.
I will admit I spent very little time on the templates because I knew people would personalize them and make them their own. I mostly focused on making sure that the code was as simple as I could make it: that the color schemes were harmonious so even if someone changed the accent images, the total look would still seem coherent. I also wanted to include a lot of documentation and instructions with them so that most of the questions people would have would probably be answered immediately and save everyone a lot of frustration.
What do you believe makes a good template?
I think it varies inevitably on what the user wants out of a template. For the ones I created, I was thinking about the user as someone who had no prior experience at all with CSS, and maybe some limited experience with HTML. From that assumption, I think simple is best. But- if you have a userbase which is fairly knowledgeable in the code you're using, then it's fun to experiment and get really creative. Just make sure to comment and/or document all of the code so the users know exactly what to change if they want to do so.
To sum up, I guess a good template is one that is clear, easy to install, works in the major browsers- or at least Firefox and IE- and comes with coherent and complete instructions.
Do you have any tips for those who are trying to better themselves in making templates?
Know your coding language well. Plain as that. I notice sometimes that a lot of people have extra code, conflicting issues, or they simply don't bother to check IE to see if it works well. It's okay if you're doing that for your own work, but when you put something out there to help other people, it really stinks to have them download something that might potentially confuse the user more than they already are! (After all, they wouldn't be looking for templates if they knew how to code it.)
What inspires you to paint?
Ah, that's a tough question. I went through a tough period in my life two years ago: a time when I couldn't paint at all for extended periods of time, and as soon as I could paint again, I found myself in a state of withdraw, sort of. It's hard to explain, but basically since then, if I don't paint every day, I get a bit antsy!
Some might call it passion; I call it a necessity, nearing addiction. I know that might sound extreme, but painting is something that makes me feel very free and happy. It is a very challenging, rewarding thing. Life inspires me to paint because painting is how I feel I can best express myself.
What is the purpose of "speed painting"? How often to you do this?
Speed painting is simply... painting quickly! Haha. The purpose of a speed painting is to get the quick "moment" or base image of a painting. This means it will most likely be unrefined, messy, blobby, ect. The reason I do speed paintings is because it forces you to work quickly, and on the entire composition all at once. You only have a limited time (usually one to four hours) to get everything in, so it forces you to think about the entire image and not get stuck in details. Ideally, every painting should start out as a speedpainting- then you just take it further and work on the details and any corrections.
I speedpaint about once a week (digitally) if I have time to, but I do countless traditional sketches every day, which are very much in the same spirit as the digital speedpaints. Most of my paintings start out as traditional sketches.
What is your favorite style of digital painting? Why?
I can honestly say that I have no particular favorite style. I like certain subject matters a lot: detailed environments fascinate me because that is one area I still struggle with and practice a lot.
However, as far as style goes, I am attracted to viewing all sorts of styles. I enjoy messy styles just as much as the super-fine detailed ones. It just depends on the actual painting (whether or not it is successful), but I usually attribute success in a painting more towards composition, coherency of light, visual interest, and sometimes if it has some sort of story I can make up about the image in my head. That sort of thing!
Are there certain subjects or themes that you prefer to work with when painting?
As far as subjects go, I'm pretty much willing to paint just about anything except extreme violence (unless there is a conceptual purpose for it).
I started out trying to draw people, so that is what I focused on for about the first 9 years or so. People are what I'm most comfortable drawing, but I have recently begun exploring other subject matters since then (especially environments). I just love the learning process!
What affects your art?
I look around me every day and see beautiful or interesting things. Those inspire me alot in my work. My mood also affects my work. If I'm feeling downright miserable, I tend to want to express that. On the other hand, if I'm really happy, then same thing happens there.
Do you have any background in traditional art? If so, has this related to your digital painting at all?
Ha, looks like I jumped ahead on my interview questions, but yes, I started traditionally. I think it really helps to do both. A lot of the time when I'm starting out a digital painting I will still sketch out my ideas on paper first. I still feel more comfortable with paper and graphite than I do with my tablet, although I think I've settled in quite happily to digital painting. It's much cheaper than oil paint, that's for sure!
Is there any style of art that you particularly adore other than what you work with? If so, why?
I really enjoyed glassblowing when I took a class at university, but I think that's because I like fire and glowy things! Hehe. Also, there's something very visceral about sculpting glass: it's very intuitive and quick, and if you make a mistake, usually the price is pretty high. (I.E. It breaks!)
What do you find to be most important with your art? What do you find to be most important the art of other people?
For me, I am still learning a great deal. I try to paint things that challenge me, that interest me, and that I feel show a bit of my personality. The most important thing to me, however, is that I keep pushing myself to try new things and learn as much as possible with each painting. I also think that's probably important to me when I look at another person's work. I love to see a progression of skill, and also I like to see that the person is really trying to do their best.
In closing, do you have any general tips for artists?
Look around you... study the clouds, shadows, anything. I find that I use photo references a lot, but that doesn't always help. Observing things in the world is really fun and I find that helps me the best... just the sheer absorption of all the details that go on around me.
Paint or draw as much as you can stand, but try to take breaks. Sometimes I get burned out after an 18-hour painting session and I realize I haven't eaten that day, hehe, and I end up ravenous. Not taking breaks is a bad habit to get into. Just make sure the breaks are frequent and short. Don't take really long breaks if you're on a roll- it will disrupt the creative flow- but short, frequent breaks are good for standing back and taking a good look at what you've got so far. I find a lot of mistakes on those breaks.
Also, music! I listen to music to keep me energized, bouncy, and singing while I paint. It's so much fun!
One last, random question... where did the alias "Mynti" come from? It's very catchy, you know.
Haha. Well, I would tell you the full story but it's a bit racy! Let's just say I am known among my friends for having a penchant for altoids (which are so very curiously strong!). I tried the name "minty" at first, but was disappointed to find that it was already taken. I switched the Y and the I, and bingo. I've pretty much adopted that nickname elsewhere since then, mostly because it's short and easy for me to remember.
