Designer's Depot

please tell us a brief info about yourself.

Gracjana Zielinska, born in Warsaw (Poland) and still living here. Though I also lived in London for a short while.

Tell us about your humble beginnings, When did you you first realized that you wanted to be an artist?

I don’t think it ever occurred to me in this way. Hell, I’m not sure I would call myself an artist now, even though illustrating is what I do for a few years now as a job and as a hobby as well. I always doodled. Then, around summer of 2003, I stumbled upon digital art and discovered a whole new universe – a medium that gives huge versatility, is quick and I can paint thanks to it any time, without the need to make long preparations first, like preparing the canvas,paints, all tools.. Don’t get me wrong, I still love traditional media, but with all my daily activities I can’t find enough time for it.

What are your tools of the trade: mouse, tablet, brush or pen and ink or pencil? and why?

I think it is pencil and ink. Basically all my illustrations (well, most anyway) start in pencil, I just later scan it and color digitally. For that I use a Wacom Tablet (old Graphire 3, smallest size) and paint in Photoshop and Painter. I prefer digital colouring as it lets me experiment a lot with what I do without ruining the image. I know, I’m just stating the obvious here

Who or what gives you inspiration?

I’m going to sound cliche as hell again, but okay – everything. Whatever I look at, listen to, read can suddenly ring a bell or bring a picture to mind. Also while browsing the net I often stumble upon pics that catch my attention. Not because I love them in general, but for example I like the mood, or how the butterfly was painted, the stroke of the hair – you get the idea. I save lots of those in a separate folder and sometimes browse it in search of inspiration. It usually works

Is your artistic background self-taught or did you go to college to study?

That’s a tricky question. All my life I was self taught and I still consider myself that, because it’s my own practice that made me progress as much as I did from my early, 2003 works. But I also decided to go to an art school (in 2005). My course is more about graphic design / visual communication, but I also get to paint and draw a lot and that surely didn’t hurt, studying real life and anatomy is a great exercise no matter on what level you are. But it’s not school that will make you (or made me) paint better, it’s just yourself and how stubborn you are.

How do you keep “fresh” within your industry?

I’m not trying to copy others or what is popular at the moment, I also never published fanarts (even though I did some for fun). I sketch a lot and try to finish only the ideas I really like. In general I don’t really care how “fresh” seems what I do to others as long as it looks good to me. And I’m not a fan of over-done topics anyway, so I guess you won’t be seeing one hundred winged fairies wearing pink from me anytime soon

What are some of your current projects?

Ah, I can’t tell! I work in gaming industry, so I can just say I’m working on few projects. Nothing that big, but some might turn out interesting I am also working on my “Bad Habit” project when I have time.

Which of your works are you the most proud of? And why?

Hard to say. I’m not really fond of my artworks after I’m done with them. After short while I only see mistakes in them. But some are sentimental to me and I’m not deleting them from my portfolio as they mean something to me. I hope quite soon I’ll paint something I’ll be really proud of

Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

Of course! I think one should try everything. For example I had a short experience with steel engraving, etching etc. I would love come back to it.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

I try not to get lazy. Getting lazy is what kills motivation and burns you out. Watching too much inspirational stuff actually can do the same too. I found out it’s often better for me to start painting when I get one idea, before I get flooded with next 200, so I don’t know what to start first anymore.

When you’re not in front of your canvas, how do you spend most of your free time?

Nothing fancy here. I spend time with friends, read a lot, listen to music. I also just like walking around, wandering. And, of course, I doodle almost everywhere I am anyway

and finally, What advices/tips can you give to the novice designers/ illustrators out there?

Here comes another cliche thing = practice. Nothing works better. Learn to see your mistakes. If quite a few people tell you the arm on your picture looks wrong it most probably just looks wrong, don’t fool yourself it’s a fancy stylization no one is able to appreciate (same goes for design projects of course). Also – ignorance is a sin. If you want to be an artist spend some time reading books about history of art and drawing in general. The more you read and watch the bigger potential you get. Good luck!

(c) Gracjana Zielinska – reproduced with permission

For other information, please contact her at:

website: vinegar.deviantart.com
vinegaria.com
Email: vinegar@vp.pl

wanna be a featured artist?

email me at: mcedesigns@gmail.com
with the subject: interview request