interviewing: Angel Eris

We got the chance to interview Angel Eris, a UK-based artist and illustrator. We asked her about her career so far and what she sees for the future.

Iuliana: Hey Angel! How are you? Thank you for the time today. Let’s start off by telling our readers about yourself.
Angel: Hiya, I’m not too bad, thanks! I’m Angel and I’m a doodler from the UK.

Iuliana: How did you become an illustrator? Can you remember some of your earliest influences? Is it something you have always done?
Angel: I’ve always been into drawing, think I may have come out the womb with a paintbrush or something. Around the age of 6, I started trying to create my own little comics and making up my own characters. Throughout my life, I’ve always been encouraged to draw, paint or just create. I can’t recall an age in my life where I didn’t do artistic activities. It’s been constant. But I never drew with purpose until 2014, I think.

Iuliana: What specific tools do you use for visual storytelling?
Angel: For the longest time, I swore off digital tools and strictly drew on paper, canvas or any surface but only with traditional tools such as pen, paper, paint etc. But in 2018, my mum gave me a WACOM tablet for Christmas and it pretty much changed my perspective on art as a whole. A couple years have passed and now I’ve been fortunate enough to adapt my whole art routine onto an iPad. I mostly use Clip Studio Paint as it’s been the most flexible program I have used. The projects I’ve created on Clip Studio can range from detailed and extensive to casual doodling and mindless scribbling. It’s incredibly versatile.

Iuliana: Which of your projects has been the most important to developing your personal style?
Angel: Each personal project is different. Some are created consciously to develop my personal style and some are created just for fun. There is the odd moment though, just one rare moment where both purposes are infused and I suddenly have a breakthrough. So it’s like I’ve just found a way to develop my style as well as had fun throughout the process! Nowadays, I’ve been thinking about the journey more than the end product and each project I dive into I will try to create with care.

Iuliana: How would you describe your illustrations in three words?
Angel: Cohesive, sombre, goblin.

Iuliana: What do you enjoy the most about what you do?
Angel: Just being able to try things out through trial and error. Recognising the errors and realising that there’s no right and wrong in art.

Iuliana: Color seems to have such a special place in your drawings. How do you choose the colors for each illustration?
Angel: Colours are very important to me. It’s one of the first few things that catch my eye in illustrations. I personally like to just eyeball colours. When I look at a drawing and it “feels” wrong, I try out other colour combinations until it starts to “feel” right.

Iuliana: How much attention do you pay to the feedback of others on your work?
Angel: Not as much as I used to. Negative feedback used to bum me out and I used positive feedback as validation. I’m very open to genuine constructive criticism. But at the end of the day, I try not to let feedback bother me too much. I’ve found that you truly cannot please everyone so you may as well do your best for your own self!

Iuliana: Any upcoming projects/work you’re excited about?
Angel: I’m excited about a lot of projects, mostly personal and some for illustration work. But I’m most excited for the recent awakening I’ve had to not giving a f*ck when it comes to drawing. So I’m very excited to apply that mindset in future works.

Follow Angel on Instagram here.