Countdown to Release: 3 days, Interview with my Illustrator

Today I'm thrilled to have my illustrator, Natalie, join me in an interview! We've known each other for--what, six or seven years now? It's been fun, but I learned a lot more about her when I did this interview. ;)

Me: How long have you loved to draw?

Nat: I've always enjoyed drawing! It's something I did casually, but i got serious about it a few years ago. I was tired of the people I drew looking like childish cartoons. I wanted to draw more realistic things and essentially get good at drawing, if that makes any sense XD

Me: Love it!! That actually sounds really similar to my writing journey. ;)

I know you like art, but it's just one of your many hobbies. What all do you enjoy doing?

Nat: Goodness, there's a lot of things I like to do. I enjoy playing music on my violin, piano, or ukulele. (I also have a pretty cool teacher so that's a plus ;)) I like playing video games--usually puzzle solving games though. They're extremely fun, but can also be extremely infuriating! I also enjoy writing myself! I only started because my sister was writing and I, being the younger annoying sister, had to do everything she did. But I found out I enjoyed doing it, so I kept writing even when she stopped. And I'm still writing to this day! 

Me: Aw, thanks (yeah, I'm her piano/violin teacher)! ;) That's neat about you and writing; didn't know that bit!

Because I'm a writer, the way I read is affected. Do you find yourself examining others' illustrations and such? Do you learn from this? How?

Nat: I try to examine illustrations as much as I can since I'm pretty new to the thing. Most of the time I'm end up staring at the paper wondering how they did something so amazing! There's usually always something to learn, it's just a matter of if you look for it hard enough. I have a lot of problems capturing features in people to make them distinct (like, drawing a specific person), so seeing different people drawn by others is actually very useful!

Me: Learning from evaluating others' work is probably my favorite. :D

Out of all of your interests, is there one in particular that you feel God leading you to more seriously pursue right now?

Nat: I'm considering writing as a possible career, but I'm not positive about it. Still praying about everything. But being a writer what I find myself day-dreaming about the most. I would love to get to the point in drawing so I could like, draw my own cover or something, but I don't know if I'll ever get to that point. It's fun to think about though! 

Me: Sounds like me and my graphics' designing!

Okay, so some quick-shooting questions.

1)You have a weekend to do anything you want—no budget or limitations. What will you do?

Go to London! I've always wanted to go there (^_^)

2) Favorite beverage

Hmm, I like... lemonade. It's usually my drink of choice.

3) Favorite snack

I'd die for just about anything sweet! I really like chocolate covered strawberries. 

4) Favorite place to write/read/draw

On my bed. It's the perfect place to curl up and escape to another world.

5) Favorite author

There's a lot of authors I like, but I really enjoy reading Marissa Meyer's work. Gah, I don't know how she writes so good!

6) Favorite color

My favorite color changes every other day, but aqua blue usually dominates the others.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Natalie!!! And if you haven't already seen her illustrations, I'll share just one with you... it's kind of my favorite, bringing Leviathan to a larger-than-life proportion, yet incredibly amazing...