Amy Williams
Illustrator & Concept Artist · Durban, South Africa
Durban-based illustrator and concept artist, working in a manga-informed style built almost entirely around characters and their costumes. This interview first ran in ArtSketch in October 2011.
10 pieces
From the artist’s public gallery
10 pieces from Amy Williams’s public gallery, chosen by the editor rather than the artist. Click any image to open the gallery. All artwork © Amy Williams.
Artist Interview: Amy Williams
With her convincing and well-drawn manga style, and artworks filled with attitude and spunk, Amy Williams is fast becoming one of South Africa’s most recognised digital artists. We took some time out with Amy to ask her about her art and her creative process.
Hi Amy! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do for a living.
Hi there! I’m a multimedia graduate from Durban with a passion for art and gaming! Currently I’m just freelancing to fund my drawing addiction.
Can you briefly summarise a day in the life of Amy Williams?
Basically I try to fit equal amounts of drawing and gaming into my day, sometimes a bit of reading or TV, and then at some point in the early hours of the morning I may decide to get some sleep.
How long have you been seriously drawing and painting?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had some sort of mark-making instrument in my hand. My family are all quite creative (and crazy), so art has always been part of my life, and I always knew I’d make a career out of it. But, I probably started taking my drawing really seriously when I went to high school, and began studying the theory and history of art.
What are your tools of the trade?
Paper, pencil, eraser, graphics tablet, photoshop, coffee.
Your drawing style leans strongly towards a modern anime/manga style (with your own twist added, of course!). What first sparked your interest in the anime/manga style?
I remember watching Pokemon for the first time, and being totally blown away by the art style. I knew right then, that was how I wanted to draw.
Judging from your deviantART gallery, you mainly work digitally. What advantages and disadvantages have you found in the digital medium and what qualities of the digital medium keep you coming back for more?
I love the different options the digital medium gives, especially with regards to colouring. I love being able to go from a very painterly style, to something clean cut like cell-shading. Digital also gives me the option of experimenting , without the risk of ruining my original artwork. The only disadvantage for me, is sketching digitally. I find that I feel too disconnected sketching on a graphics tablet, I much prefer good old paper and pencil.
The vast majority of your work consists of character illustration. Can you tell us why this is?
I just really, really love designing cool looking characters and costumes.
You have a roster of unique and charming characters that creep up in your artworks every so often. Which one is your favourite and can you tell us a bit more about him or her?
I don’t have an overall favourite character, but I often go on “binge-drawing” phases, where I’ll obsessively draw one of my characters for weeks, forsaking all others. My current victim is my character Eli, I just really enjoy his design and personality. He’s a bit of a weirdo, and is completely over-emotional, which gives me lots of room to play with scenarios and expressions. Other than that, there seems to be a dark haired girl that often pops up in my doodles; I think she may be my muse.
You can never study enough, there is always something new to learn!
Amy WilliamsWhat is the process you follow when designing a character?
I basically just draw lots of random doodles of faces, pick the one I like best, and then start adding little details as I go. I’ll often only think about the character’s personality traits after I have a basic face down, and then tweak it as I see fit. Sometimes it takes me weeks of re-drawing and re-designing before I’m happy with the result, and sometimes I get it right in the first drawing.
Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
Hopefully in an awesome company, working with awesome people! Or married to a millionaire, either one….or both.
Can you tell us a bit about your hobbies and interests?
First and foremost, I’m a big gaming fan! I cant go a day without running around a dungeon or fighting a few Templars. I also love reading and collecting books, mostly non-fiction, books that I can learn from. I love anything to do with history, mythology, fantasy, animals and of course, drawing.
If you had the opportunity to ask any artist of your choosing, deceased or living, a single question, what would you ask them?
I’d ask Da Vinci for his autograph, I’m such a fangirl!
Can you tell us a bit more about your favourite artist or artists and why you admire them?
Adam Huges, because he is a god with a copic marker. Da Vinci, because I absolutely love his technical and anatomical sketches. Multiple anime and manga artists because of all the inspiration they give me, and all of the South African artists I know and met at rage, you guys are awesome!
And finally, do you have any words of advice for your fellow artists who might just be starting out?
You can never study enough, there is always something new to learn! And it’s cliche, but it’s true: practice practice practice!
Three things Amy would tell a beginner
- You can never study enough. There is always something new to learn.
- Practice, practice, practice — a cliché, and still true.
- Design the face first and work out who they are afterwards; the personality can be tweaked in once something is on the page.
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