Character design, style development, and the future of digital art: An interview with Elaina Buffkin

HK: “When did your interest in art take off?”

EB: “I was one of those kids that always liked art, but I was also one of those kids that was always about science, math, and reading. I took AP Art senior year just because I was interested in it, but I came to the University of Florida to do science... and I hated it. So then I started doing art more seriously; it may have been a hobby before, but I found that I liked doing art in higher-pressure situations... where more was demanded of me.”

HK: “What changed after you decided to switch from science to art?”

EB: “Beforehand, I looked at art on the basis of “good or “bad” and related it a lot to technical skill. I was focusing on the rendering, but I also didn’t have a lot of exposure to advanced art.  I look back to when I first drew in high school, and my drawings were kinda just little floaty things on paper. The biggest change has been understanding things like composition, color schemes, and the appeal of art beyond the technique. You can have a really simple and/or abstract piece and it can still be very compelling. There’s a lot more to it than just asking ‘how well can you execute this drawing by hand?’”

HK: “It sounds like your first love for art began with a motivation to render objects, people, animals, etc. accurately. Do you think that taking something you see and making it into a believable image will still be a primary goal for your artwork in the future?”

EB: “It’s kind of funny, because, just as I’ve transitioned my interest into illustration and storytelling, my biggest struggle is finding reference pictures- so, recently I’ve found myself drawing from my head a lot. It changes the issue from replicating a literal image to the question of, ‘how can I make this mental image in my head into something people will enjoy looking at?’ 

HK: “Do you think the main feelings people take away from your art are pleasure and enjoyment?”

EB: “I would like that. I pretty much draw happy stuff. But I also, in general, like provoking thought and emotion… even if it’s more despondent and mysterious. Not everything has to be ‘adorable...’ (although that is my favorite sort of thing to execute in my art). I feel like you can portray a lot of raw depth through fine art that people don’t immediately recognize. And most of the time when people don’t recognize it they just don’t care… whereas in illustration, it might feel more accessible. Capturing the heavier emotions is something I want to eventually strive towards, because that’s one of the best parts about art in general.””

HK: “You made an interesting point about how illustration is sometimes easier to look at than fine art. I was wondering what your take is on that, and what reasons you think exist for why illustration is more accessible.”

EB: “I think that, number one, it’s just more clear by nature. It’s more graphic and you can generally tell what’s going on from a surface level. There is also a social and cultural aspect to it. Ever since we were little we watched cartoons. It’s not like we grew up watching an abstract painting on our television. I recently read something written by an artist, and it mentioned how adults view current cartoons as ‘obnoxious’ because the colors and sounds are overkill. It’s almost like a sweet tooth. When you’re really young, you don’t know what everything tastes like, so you’re attracted to what’s sweet because it’s new. For adults, they’ve already tasted it, they know what sweet tastes like and don’t need too much more.”

HK: “This is an interesting analogy. It reminds me of how adults are quick to take sugar away from kids because it’s been labelled as ‘bad.’ It seems to be similar with graphic art. Older adults, especially ones who practice fine art, seem to exclude graphic arts and illustration as an art form. In a way, they take the same precautions that parents take against sugar, but instead, against digital and graphic arts.”

EB: “It’s kind of a shame… I mean there’s nothing bad about it. Both ‘fine art’ and ‘graphic art’ have their place, and maybe they’re completely different. Honestly, graphic art and illustration is gonna be more lucrative, but there’s more appeal to it than the money. I actually think both ‘fine art’ and ‘graphic art’ could come together really nicely.”

HK: “It’s interesting seeing applications like ‘Procreate’ come to the forefront because it’s bridging ‘graphic art’ and ‘fine art.’ In previous years, a lot of ‘fine artists’ have felt separate of ‘graphic artists’ because of software that is not very intuitive for analog artists. Procreate is a lot more intuitive for the traditionally-trained artist.”

EB: “Yes for sure. I use it a lot, and it’s nice to be able to just pick up the pen and use it like a normal pen. I’ve never really needed a tutorial, and I’m typically pretty inept when it comes to digital things. Photoshop has been an ongoing struggle, for example. I heard about Procreate about two years ago from an industrial designer… and now it’s become the most popular digital drawing software. It’s exploded; it’s awesome.” 

HK: “I’m interested in how this will play out in the professional world…because fine artists can very easily become graphic artists now, too. If you could customize your own job description given all your abilities in both analog and digital creation, what would it look like?”

EB: “Right now--I’m split between working for either entertainment studios or marketing agencies. I’ve noticed that for jobs, in entertainment studios especially, the available jobs are for very separate categories, like, just ‘character design’, or just ‘storyboarding.’ I haven’t understood yet why they all have to be so separate. Those all fall into the same sort of camp for me. If I could choose five tasks for an all-inclusive job, I’d choose character design, storyboarding, probably branding, graphic design, and visual development.”

HK: “Would you consider becoming a freelance artist?”

EB: “I definitely would not. I need benefits and a steady income. I also like becoming more established with a company because you grow with that company and might have more freedom. It’s more unpredictable and frustrating, in my opinion, to freelance with several different companies. But I’m definitely entrepreneurial. I think all artists are.”

HK: “I’d like to tie this idea of freedom back into a more philosophical question. What are your beliefs about artistic freedom? Do you think knowledge (of how to make effective artwork) provides freedom, or do you think that an uncalculated process of creating artwork is more liberal?

EB: “I definitely agree with the former. I think a dash of the ‘let’s see what happens’ mentality is great sometimes. It’s less pressure… but for me, I kind of thrive under pressure. Freedom, for me at least, is absolutely knowing what I want to do and having the ability to do it in a precise way. That’s my experience and the way I practice my art.”