Fun With Fandom: Q & A with Artist Emmy Cicierega

About Art. . .

Celebrity Animals © Emmy Cicierega

How long have you been drawing? When did you decide you wanted to do cartooning? Who or what inspires your characters?
I’ve been drawing since a very young age, like most kids. It just stuck longer with me.

I really started getting into it around 14 or so. I started thinking, “This is fun and I’d like to make my living by having fun!”

I’m not quite there yet, but I definitely see myself there someday.

All things inspire my characters. Music, real people, books, TV.

Who are your illustration heroes/heroines?
Too many to list! Lately I’m quite fond of Joy Ang, Mary Blair, Marguerite Sauvage, Hayao Miyazaki, and a million more I can’t even think of right now.

What is your creative process? How do you go from an idea to a finished product?
I listen to a lot of music and watch movies any chance I get.

I make a mental list of all the things I encounter and become oddly fond of (cloud shapes, certain colors, certain clothes, facial features, textures, etc.) and I’ll refer to those mental lists if I’m pressed for ideas.

I need a lot of music for when I’m drawing, too. Helps you focus!

Do you freehand and then scan the art, or use a tablet and work digitally?
I’m a digital girl, I must admit! I used to waste absolute stacks of printing paper back in my doodling days, but now I sketch all digitally with a Wacom tablet. I think it saves a lot of paper (go green!) and saves me the task of scanning things in.

I would like to work more with traditional media though, because I am told it is good for your soul!

The Fainting Couch © Emmy Cicierega

How is working with your brother? Do you ever have any competitiveness or creative differences?
Nah! My brother is awesome and an excellent friend to me. We bounce ideas off each other and it always helps.

You and your brother seem extremely busy: constantly creating and showcasing many talents. How do you two do it all?
By doing nothing else! Growing up homeschooled left us with a lot of free time for creativity, and now it’s a lifestyle we can’t seem to shake.

What are you up to right now in terms of arts programs or freelancing?
I’m not up to much right now, just kinda taking some time to enjoy life. I haven’t been applying my art to professional projects lately, but I expect I will soon.

Any projects/ambitions for the future?
If I commit myself to it, I think you can look forward to a self-published sketchbook coming out some time this year! I’m also quite fond of the idea of doing more short stories and comics for the Internet.

Additional Resources:

For more of Emmy’s art, please visit her deviantART gallery.

And check out her brother Neil’s various creations, including music and Animutation, here.

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