I'm so excited to bring you an interview with Katie O'Neil, the artist and writer behind that absolutely gorgeous comic Tea Dragon Society.
Tell us a little bit about
yourself.
I'm Katie, a freelance
illustrator and children's book author from New Zealand. I'm best
known for my webcomic-turned-print Comic Princess Princess ever
after. I draw a lot of dragons and cute creatures as well as stories
about girls.
You create comics, what are
a few of your favorites?
My top favourite comic of
all time is Yotsuba by Kiyohiko Azuma. It's so sweet and funny and
makes everyday events into an adventure. I also really love all of
the Moomin comics by Tove Jannson, and Cat Person by Seo Kim.
Who are some of your
favorite artists?
I'm extremely luck to be
surrounded by amazingly talented artistic friends who inspire me
everyday! I can't express how much strength I gain from their
enthusiasm and creativity. More Broadly speaking, I really love
Kawase Hasui, Mike Mignola and Amelie Flechais.
Where does your inspiration
come from?
My inspiration comes from
the world around me, I do my best to enjoy everyday details and small
happy things. To me, that's the most important way to have a good
life.
What do you do to turn
around a bad day?
I have a list of really fun
self-care things that make me happy without being associated with
drawing, like watching cooking shows, playing Animal Crossing, or
baking. For me it's important to have positive activities that
aren't tied to drawing, because that can have a lot of frustration
attached to it.
Walk us through a typical
day for you.
Since starting freelance
full time, I take things very day by day. I'm extremely diurnal, and
never get up later than about 8 am. I try to get most of my work done
in the morning, because that's definitely when I'm most productive
and focused! I eat when I get hungry, which usually results in a
late breakfast and lunch. After Lunch, I usually just do sketches or
reply to emails-nothing too heavy. I try to stop drawing for the day
by 4-5 or so, as I really don't want to damage my wrists and hands.
How do you plan a chapter of
your comic?
For me to feel confident in
a story, I pretty much have to have the whole story scripted out
before I begin the drawing of it. So at the moment, I fortunately
have a solid script to work from when I start each chapter.
If you could live in any
fictional world, what would you choose and why?
Definitely Pokemon! I've
wanted to ever since I was a kid, it just seems so idyllic and happy,
and you have adventures and go exploring so easily.
Do you have any advice for
novice artists?
Practice a lot, but don't
let drawing become a chore for you. If there's something you love to
draw, draw it and don't worry about whether it's self-indulgent or
silly. Remember that you have something special to offer the world, and
while influences are important, the don't need to take your style in
order for it to be good. You're a blend of all your experiences, and
so it your art, which is what makes it so cool and interesting!
How would you describe you
art style?
Colorful and simple,
without much rendering or shading. I've never been very good at
either, and I've been a lot happier since I embraced that.
If you could work with
another artist or write, who would your dream collaborations be?
Pretty much any of my
friends could walk up to me with an idea and I'd be excited about it-
I'm mostly inspired by people who are passionate about characters,
and all of my friends are!
How did Tea Dragon Society
Come to be?
I kind of drew the dragons
as a one-off illustration- just something simple and cute for fun.
They really took and off and people began asking me about the world so
I began fleshing it out and it pretty much kept going.
You can patronize Katie at the links below:
Until Next Time,
Stay Nerdy,
~Spokhette!~
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