Arena Artist Spotlight - March

[Griffin]

To celebrate the 20th Arena Birthday and our wonderful community, we are delighted to introduce a monthly Artist Spotlight!  

  For our March spotlight we interviewed Gator!

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Color pencils

What kind of art and/or crafts do you do?

I do a lot of pencil drawings.  Some I will go over with pen and color with watercolors.  When I was younger I had an illegal copy of Photoshop , and I loved coloring pictures in that. But that computer died, and I have never gotten around to getting it again.  I also feel as I get older, technology is getting so advanced, that today's Photoshop is probably way out of my league.  I see the digital art produced these days by other people, and I wish I could make things the way they do.  I'm in awe.  I also like to make sculptures in clay. And just recently I dipped my toe into trying to make custom ponies!

When did you first become interested in art and/or crafts? What brought you into MLP art in particular?

I have always drawn since I was little.  I was just drawn to it I guess    MLP in particular, I remember as a child drawing on large pieces of cardboard with colored chalks to make a "map" I guess of where my ponies lived.  It had roads, grass, etc.  You can imagine what my white so-soft Paradise looked like after playing on colored chalk   I was forced out of ponies for the rest of my childhood until I got into college and found some ponies at a flea market.  Then I started drawing ponies, creating new ponies, etc. I spent many hours at college doodling between classes.

Has your style, preferred media etc. changed along the way?

My style, yes.  If you saw some of my ponies from 1995 and compared to them now, they look really funny.  Ugly things.  But I feel the more you practice/draw, you improve.  I think a lot of people could be artists if they just practiced.  My media has stayed the same really.

In what ways has your art improved over time? Where do you still see room for improvement?

I always want my ponies to look as much like the cartoons as possible.  As I said in the question above, my late 1990's ponies were awful   But I feel I have gotten better with time.
I really wish i could improve my hair.  My manes and tails never come out looking like I imagine.  I love the hair in Midnight Castle, Escape from Catrina, and backcards like the So-Soft one.  I love the So-Soft backcard art.  And I wish I could shade.  That makes a difference too when there are highlights in the mane and tail and stuff like that.  I suck at shading. 

What is your goal for this year (or 12 months from now)?

I work so much, I definitely don't draw as much as I wanted.  I used to want to be a children's book writer and illustrator, but that dream ended a few years ago.  I wish I had goals for a year from now, but I don't really.  Work, pay bills, and draw when I have time

What would you like to say to new, aspiring pony artists or someone who is still looking for encouragement to share their artwork? 

Practice practice practice.  You will get better.  And look into digital options.  I wish when I was younger I had looked into classes or something.  I think my art would be on another level if I could draw and color in the computer.  And sharing your work helps make friends.  I still, after all these years, don't feel comfortable or at ease in the pony community because of my gender.  I still feel like I don't fit in.  But when I share my artwork, and pony friends on here comment, I feel like I'm connecting with invisible friends across the globe.

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I have always loved Rep.  Although my paint job sucks, I'm really happy with how his sculpt turned out!

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This guy means a lot to me.  He is an original character I created on paper years ago, and to finally have him in hand and real is amazing!  Thank you HQG1C for the blanks!

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Non-pony art

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Back when I had photoshop

Thanks for the interview, Gator!

[Heart Of Midnight]

Wow, great art interview and it was interesting to read! Gator, your art is amazing! 

[BlackCurtains]

I love all your art! I think you're too hard on yourself.

Have you looked into other digital art programs? Clip Studio Paint is in an initial investment of about $60 but it's a one and done deal. There's also ArtRage, which is set up for people who do more traditional art. It's not as complicated and the interface is very comfortable. I think there are still some free ones that are pretty good too.

[SpacePinto]

Gator is one of my favorite pony artists ever.

[NanoRuby]

Love your art and your style!

[Gator]

Thank you everyone!

[brightberry]

Gator is one of my favorite pony artists ever.

This! I love how cute they are.  I can't find the words to describe what I want to say but they really capture the G1 feel without looking like something is off.  I want to draw like Gator.