An Interview with Anna Duval
2/20/2021
by Clio Thayer
Vampire (Digital Illustration)
Tell me about your senior project.
I plan on doing around 12 digital paintings of mythical creatures and environments. One of the things I wanted to do was make puzzles. I actually turned one of them into a puzzle already. I was trying to test out the website that I plan to use to make a bunch of puzzles and the quality looks pretty good, the pieces themselves look clean.
What are some of the themes in these pieces and in the rest of your work?
Mythical creatures. One was a Vampire Hunter. I'm working on a banshee painting right now and I have a couple others. It's just random creatures. I like the fantasy aspect of things. I tend to go for more darker themes in my work by using darker color palettes and darker moods.
What are some of your inspirations, whether artistic or otherwise?
I look at Norman Rockwell and J. C. Leyendecker. I don't imitate their styles, but I like how they paint, their brushwork and everything. [There’s also] Sakimi-chan, I like how they use color in their work, especially with dynamic lighting. I think a lot of the people that I get inspired by are actually just my peers. Some of my peers have really nice brushwork. My technique is a little too smooth, whereas other people have more of the texture going on and I kind of wish to get that more.
Ice Castle (Digital Illustration)
What does your studio space look like right now?
My studio space is just this desk and this area that I was testing out my puzzles. And I share some of this space with my friend. I don't have any space at home to do work. I mostly do digital artwork, so I just need a computer but if I want to do any sort of traditional artwork, I have to come here to do it.
How far do you think you've come since you got into college?
Before college, I wasn't doing a painterly art style. My art style was more cartoony, like anime style. I used to use very thin outlines, and then it'd be a flat rendering. Once I hit college, I got really inspired by how some of my peers did very painterly stuff. I wanted to have that kind of aesthetic, especially cause I got sick of doing outlines. I switched and I actually enjoy painting digitally more than what I was doing before.
Do you work outside of digital as well?
I really like doing digital just because it's clean. It’s very smooth. I don't like making messes, so it's all on a laptop. When it's traditional, it gets on your fingers. I've been trying to push myself to do more traditional.
What type of work do you want to do when you graduate?
If I get my dream job, it'd be to be a promotional artist or something for the commercial field. Advertising for making posters and stuff for movies or video games. That's my dream job, but if I had to settle down as a freelance illustrator and just work for different companies for small projects, that's fine too.
Would you want to do more work in puzzles or is this just for this project?
I actually don't mind the thought of doing more work in puzzles. It's kind of like an experiment to see how it goes — if it sells or not. I kinda like it because I grew up with a lot of puzzles so it hits home.
Is there any type of message that you want people to take away from your work?
Not exactly for my senior studio project, but sometimes when it's more personal pieces it's usually about global issues. It's not obvious, but sometimes I like to reflect on some problems in the world and I put that as subtle messages. There was this one project in sophomore year. I made a polar bear on a melting ice cap, but I put a bunch of cherry blossoms around it. It's subtle, I'm not trying to scream at people to see these issues.
Hand Lettering (Digital Illustration)
Java Giant (Digital Illustration)
How do you feel the community here at school has impacted you?
This is my fourth year, I've been here since 2017, so I've got to see how it changed. When it was NHIA, it felt more local and all the classes felt like they were for us, directed for art students and art students only. But now it feels like it's bridged out. I'm not even mad about it. I had a couple of years of NHIA, so I got to feel some of the classes, but it's kind of sad to see some of the things go.
Even with the community not really being the same as when you entered, how do you feel like the school has impacted you?
At first, I didn't feel comfortable because it was hard to make friends, but now I think I'm used to everyone. I think that's just being here for four years and not a matter of schools changing. I do have to say, I did have a scare over the summer. They raised the prices for tuition. I'm not the most wealthy person but they gave me a grant, so it's fine. And since I waived my health insurance, cause I already had health insurance, they gave me some of my money back. So it’s fine. I can't be too mad.
What advice do you have for underclassmen or for incoming freshmen?
It depends on what they're in college for, because this isn't a college to have parties and stuff. If a professor’s giving you a good critique, but it feels harsh, don't take it too hard but take their words. They should definitely consider the critiques and ask professors or peers for advice on their art to help improve. You won't get this opportunity out of college that much. I mean, if you can talk to people on Instagram or other social media but it's kind of hard. So using the opportunity here to have someone critique your artwork and there are some professors here that will also help you with business or social media. Like Rich goes off on how we can properly use Instagram and stuff. He knows a lot about it. If you don't come to school every day, sometimes you miss that kind of stuff.
