It’s time for our next Featured Student! For January we are featuring:
Gabby Correia
Website: nightshadeberry.weebly.com/
Instagram: @art_of_nightshadeberry
Facebook: Nightshadeberry
Art by Gabby Correia
Below is an awesome Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Gabby Correia:
If you’re looking for inspiration, you may find just what you need in the following interview with full-time digital painter, Gabby Correia. Her attitude of leveling up and staying focused is producing a display of enjoyable and creative artwork on her journey towards her illustration goals.
Hello! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello! My name is Gabby (Gabriella), but online I am also known as Nightshadeberry. I am 30 years old and stay in South Africa, Cape Town. I have been working full time as a self-employed freelance digital artist since leaving high school, dabbling in graphic design, book covers, album covers, fantasy art, portraits, caricatures, and most recently moved over to what I have always dreamt of doing, children's books. I am completely self-taught and learned everything I know online. I currently work as an illustrator with self-published authors as well as doing custom caricature portraits.
What styles do you work in, and which are your favorite?
I enjoy doing realistic but caricatured styled portraits that bring a smile to your face. Regarding children's books, I love whimsical colorful styles and cutsie characters with lots of texture and detail. My goal is to make my digital art look as traditional as possible. So I use as few layers and effects as I can and make use of lots of textured brushes.
Could we see a few pieces that you’ve created recently that show the direction you’re pursuing in your illustration work?
Dragonfly, Halloween Feast, and Together were done for the SVS challenges.
Art by Gabby Correia
Art by Gabby Correia
Art by Gabby Correia
"Zombies attacked my house" was an old piece that I decided to re-do as practice and to see how my skills have improved.
Art by Gabby Correia
I also added a caricature portrait I did to show my other style of art that I enjoy doing in between children's books.
Art by Gabby Correia
A quick look at your portfolio and Facebook page shows how busy you’ve been this past year! How much time do you dedicate each week to art? How do you organize that time?
I work full time as an illustrator and I work from my home so my hours are flexible. On a busy week, I will spend between 5 to 6 hours a day (including weekends) on my illustrations with lots of snack breaks in between :) I work about 1.5 hours at a time and then take a break. I also work on multiple projects in a day to keep my mind fresh. My most important work gets done first thing in the morning at about 7am, then in the afternoon I will work on another project and leave the least brain-draining work for the last hour in the evening before I shut down at about 8pm.
What was the most difficult art-related hurdle you had to overcome in 2020?
Hmm... that's a tough question. I guess trying to be as productive as possible while studying, doing commissioned portraits, and juggling sometimes two children's books at the same time. It was hard to stay focused, motivated, and not burn out. Time management was very important. I also had a client who had a lot of feedback and changes but took days to get back to me and it really set me back in my schedule. I learned the importance of putting a good, clear contract together.
You mention on your website that you’ve recently been focusing on illustrating for independent and self published writers and are loving it. Could you share a bit about why that is?
It is great working directly with the author of the book and helps them bring their vision to life. There is a bond that is created between author and illustrator and when the book is finally published it kind of feels like you are giving birth to a baby!
How have you gone about getting feedback for your work, and what role has that had in your process?
During the initial sketch phases of the children's book illustrations, I ask the client for feedback so that I can bring their vision to life. I also like to make use of the SVS forums for feedback, because it is more private than asking on Facebook, for example, and it is nice to get opinions and creative ideas from other artists that I might have missed or would not have thought of.
Finally, what is your dream as an artist? And what advice can you share with your fellow SVS students to help them achieve their goals?
My current goal as an artist is to illustrate and self-publish my own children's book.
My advice to my fellow SVS students is to never stop learning, always find ways to improve, level up, and experiment. Find something you love to do and focus on it.
I also just want to say thank you for choosing me as your feature artist, SVS has helped me so much to improve and sharpen my skills as a children's book illustrator.
Thank you, Gabby!
Featured students are selected from our amazing group of members! Want a chance to improve your illustration skills? Become an SVSLearn member today for 30 days with our free trial and take the next step on your journey to becoming a working illustrator.