Drawn to you...
I’m so excited to introduce you to super talented Joburg-based designer and illustrator, Courtney Thornton; the artist behind my logos. A couple weeks ago, we met up at the fabulous Perron for a good catch-up and a little Q & A session, which I’m dying to share with you!
Courtney (24) and I met while I was working as a Features Writer for Your Family magazine. She joined the team as a Design Intern and we became fast friends soon after. Some of the first things I noticed about Courtney were her lustrous long locks, her shy smile and introverted nature, and the fact that whenever I spoke to her, or even sat near her, I instantly felt calm.
The lovely, and very talented, Courtney Thornton.
Career
While she’s now a fully-fledged Designer for Your Family, her dream job is to work for one of the big animation companies like Disney or DreamWorks as a Visual Development Artist. ‘That means I’d mostly come up with designs for the characters and figure out what the world they live in would look like,’ she explains.
When asked about the qualifications, skills, and personality traits required for her dream job, Courtney says that, as is the case with most creative jobs, the hiring committee more than likely cares more about the skills you show in your portfolio than your actual qualifications. ‘While a degree can count in your favour, if you don't have a strong portfolio, you have very little chance of being hired,’ she says. ‘The skills these companies are looking for in a visual development portfolio tend to be fundamental drawing skills, and also your use of images to tell a story. The story-telling abilities showcased in your portfolio are usually what’ll set you apart from others.’ She goes on to explain that most animation companies are looking for fresh perspectives and different ways of communicating their stories. ‘But in order for you to tell good stories, you need to understand people and their real stories. And that's quite a difficult skill to learn!’
I asked Courtney how difficult it is to get into this industry, and she explains that the animation industry itself, especially in the top companies, is incredibly competitive. ‘There really are only a few positions available for the large number of skilled people wanting to work in visual development, and the standard of work is just so exceptionally high,’ she says. ‘Often I hear about really amazing artists being rejected for positions at these large companies. That kind of news can sometimes be quite disheartening to hear, but it also makes you want to push yourself harder too.’
Beginnings
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
Courtney can’t really remember a time when she didn’t love drawing. ‘My mother still has my wonderfully terrible illustrations of Noddy from when I was four,’ she laughs. ‘Since then, I've just kept drawing.’ She took art classes in school and was labelled ‘that-girl-who-doesn't-stop-drawing’; a label that’s never quite rubbed off. ‘I think I doodled more on my notes for all my other classes than I did in my actual art class!’
Courtney says that for a long time, her obsession with drawing was simply copying her favourite characters from different TV shows and video games, but when she was finally exposed to more of the internet, she really started to explore more creative approaches to illustration. ‘At that point, I desperately wanted to be just as good as all those popular artists, and I tried drawing just about everything,’ she remembers. ‘Then, during high school, I set my mind on being an animator, because I'd never imagined that you could make a living off of just drawing. I absolutely love animations but I realised then that I simply didn't have the patience for it, and I was quite devastated.’ It was only after high school that she learned about the illustrative component of animation, and that's when she began focussing on improving her character design skills when drawing.
After high school, she studied a BA in Information Design at the University of Pretoria. ‘It's a degree that essentially delves into all aspects of design,’ she explains. ‘We tackled graphic design, product design, UI/UX in terms of web and app design, and even animation and illustration. Although it was a very demanding degree in terms of time and pressure, it definitely helped to prepare me for "the real world" of crazy deadlines and general exhaustion!’
Passion
‘My favourite thing about illustrating is the part of the process where you just get a little bit lost,’ says Courtney. ‘It's that moment when you fall so deeply into "the zone", and your mind feels quiet. It's almost like meditating – you no longer need to think about what you're doing, it all just happens.’
For her, the most challenging aspect of illustration is simply putting down onto paper what she can see in her head. ‘Sometimes it's that I just don't have the right skill for the concept; for instance, I'm still trying to learn more about using perspective. Other times, what I have in my head doesn't actually work on paper so, I have to figure out how to fix the technical elements, like the composition, so that the concept actually makes sense to others.’
When asked what her favourite things to draw are, Courtney says she loves drawing people and animals the most. ‘I suppose it's because both are so easy to characterize.’ She says that she prefers drawing digitally as opposed to the traditional method of pen or pencil on paper. ‘I just can't live without the undo button. I have a ctrl+z trigger finger!’ she laughs. ‘For me, it also just feels so much easier to experiment in Photoshop than it does with traditional drawings. I love trying different combinations of composition and colour to see what works best.’ But Courtney isn’t all about the digital; she still loves the messy parts of illustrating with traditional media, and says she can't ever walk away from a painting without being covered in paint herself!
Heroes
Courtney lights up when she chats about some of her favourite artists.
Zoe Persico - ‘I absolutely love Zoe's whimsical illustrations. She is hands-down one of my favourite children's book illustrators. Her work just has so much depth to it! She uses texture and light in such a beautiful way that you really feel like you could be transported to each one of the worlds shown in her art.’
Lois van Baarle - ‘I've been following her work for as long as I've been part of the online art community. I've loved seeing how her style’s changed throughout the years, and right now I'm obsessed with the dreamlike qualities of her pieces. She also draws the most interesting looking people.’
Cecile Carre - ‘Cecile is currently one of my absolute favourite character designers. Her style of illustration is so beautiful and flowing. She has the ability to create such expressive characters, and her animations are simply inspiring.’
Gobelins - ‘Although not specifically one person, the students from Gobelins, one of the most prestigious art schools, are also a big inspiration for me. Their works are of such a high standard, and one of my goals would be to get to where they're at in terms of story-telling skills.’
Inspiration
When asked where she draws her inspiration from, Courtney lists three main sources:
People
Photo by Rober González on Unsplash
‘Sometimes you just see a face that screams, “Draw me!”,’ she explains. ‘Yes, I'm aware of the level of creepiness that is drawing random people in coffee shops! But I promise, you won't even realise I'm drawing you.’ One of the things Courtney absolutely loves doing is coming up with a backstory for the people she draws.
Colours
‘I'll often see a colour palette I love, either posted online or just colours together in real life, that immediately makes me think of a scene, or maybe reminds me of a character trait that I can use in an illustration.’
Books and films
Sometimes when she struggles to think creatively, it helps to immerse herself in someone else's creative thinking. ‘One small detail that they've used might spark a completely different idea for me,’ says Courtney. ‘Other times, great works can also just inspire me to get a move on with my own stuff!’
Advice
I asked Courtney if she has any advice for anyone who would love to draw but isn’t sure where to begin. When asked how to get cracking and build illustration skills, she says that it may sound like a cliché, but ‘just do it’. ‘Just put pen to paper consistently, and you'll start seeing subtle improvements. No, you won't go from drawing stick men to beautifully rendered figures overnight, but you'll start learning how to see differently and that's really the point,’ she says. ‘Even if you progress from drawing one straight line for an arm on your stickman to drawing one with an elbow in between, that's already an improvement! The best ways to build your skills are to draw what you see, and use the great number of online resources out there to help you improve.’
Just for fun
Q What’s your catchphrase?
A ‘Ooh, I want to make that!’
Q If they made a movie about your life, which actor or actress would play you?
A ‘Emilia Clarke. I mean, who wouldn't want Khaleesi to play them in a movie?!’
Q Coffee or tea? And how do you drink it?
A ‘Tea. At the moment, my fav is Earl Grey, no sugar, in a batman mug, and mostly milk. Why must everyone doubt this, and bring me tea that is far too hot?!’
Q If you could take credit for any great piece of art, song, film, book, or invention, what would it be?
A ‘This animation:
It's the one animation I think about more often than any other. It amazes me how much emotion it's able to convey without the characters even having faces. The illustration style is so simple but it really is just beautiful.’
If you’d like to chat to Courtney about commissioning an illustration or any other designs, get in touch with her here. You can also check out her beautiful illustrations on Instagram.
If you have an interesting talent or hobby that you’d like to share, please get in touch with me. I’d love to learn more!
Take care,
C
xo
