Artist Feature: Rachel Joanna
Art by Rachel Joanna
Rachel is the artist behind BirB Olympus, a series wherein she draws Lore Olympus characters in their bird counterparts. She is active on the Lore Olympus official Discord, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.
How long have you done art? What mediums have you tried?
I’ve been drawing since I was a wee babe. I started getting real serious when I was nine, when I received my very first sketchbook. I would sketch magical girls and little comics about them all the time. I used to work in pen and ink most of the time when I was younger. I currently draw digitally for convenience and to save paper. Clip Studio Paint is my software of choice. I have a cintiq and an iPad.
How would you describe your style?
I was talking with a guy once who described my artwork as spooky with a touch of innocence. Feels pretty accurate. My biggest influences have been Junji Ito, Glen Keane, and CLAMP.
Why birds?
Haha! Funny enough, it started as some funny conversations on Discord in the Lore Olympus server. Someone called Thanatos a duck, and I thought that image was so funny that I had to draw it. And then I thought, “Well, shoot. I need to draw them all as birds now!”
I’m also putting a comic together to go on WEBTOON Canvas later this year, and a lot of the characters are based around birds.
The result: I have a lot of reference. There’s a lot of symbolism and mythology surrounding birds as well. It seemed like a no brainer to make the L.O. cast birds as well.
Tell us your Lore Olympus story. What got you into Lore Olympus? What made you stay?
Oh man. So I first saw the ad for the Webtoon on Instagram around 2018. I thought the art style was interesting and saved the ad for later to read. And this is where it gets a tad heavy.
My grandma was going through some medical stuff at the time, and I couldn’t sleep, so when I was looking for something to distract myself and make myself sleepy, I found the ad again. I ended up binging most of the comic over that weekend. I think it was up to chapter fifty-something? I can’t remember. Regardless...first thing that gripped me was its art style. I love the idea of the Greek gods and goddesses being different colors, reflecting their personalities. Second thing that gripped me/kept me reading was that it was Hades and Persephone. It was the first Greek myth I ever read growing up and got me hooked on mythology.
And finally, I love its deconstruction of Greek Mythology. I could gush about that forever: the coming of age for Persephone, making Apollo an antagonist, etc. It’s so good.
If you could body snatch one LO character for a day, who would it be?
Probably Persephone. I would constantly be changing my hair and floating around.
Which Lore Olympus fan art are you most proud of and why?
Ooo that’s tough. I’d have to say The Kiss from Chapter 110 that I did. Mostly because I don’t draw kisses a lot, so I’m proud that it came out as good as it did. Second is the Athena portrait with her owl pal, and third is Persephone and Apollo imitating the Idiot Sandwich meme.
Any advice for someone looking to build their art skills?
Reference is your friend. Use them as your guide, especially if you’re drawing people. Also, practice! The more you draw, the better you become. You learn something new every time you draw.
Who did you get on our Hades' dog character quiz? And do you agree?
First time I got Mushroom (I’m good as long as there’s food and sleep) and Pomelia (the star of Nymphstagram). I’m definitely Mushroom.
Rachel is a freelance cartoonist and comics enthusiast. You can follow Rachel at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjaystreet/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJayStreet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rjaystreet42
Tumblr: http://rjaystreet.tumblr.com/
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/rjaystreet
OTHER FEATURES:
Courtney is a style and fashion addict, sharing some really interesting insights on Lore Olympus characters.