Artist Feature: Jaki
“I love how supportive my fandom friends I’ve made are. The positivity I get from the community always pushes me to try new things and push my artistic boundaries!.”
Jaki is a freelance illustrator/designer, and a New England transplant in Vancouver. When she isn’t making art or comics, you can find her playing with her pet rabbit or playing videogames!
How long have you done art? What mediums have you tried?
I’ve made art my whole life--when I was younger, I primarily used colored pencils, watercolors, and ink pens. Around 2007 I received my first drawing tablet, and I’ve worked almost exclusively in the digital format since then!
How would you describe your style?
I think my style is always evolving, but things that stay consistent even as I try out different techniques are bold lineart, expressive faces, and using swirly shapes in the backgrounds! I don’t know that any one thing sets my style apart, but I do work really hard to make it my own, even if I draw inspiration from other artists!
Tell us your Lore Olympus story.
I’d already heard about Lore Olympus through the internet grapevine, but what really spurred me to check it out was becoming friends with the lovely Jaki (@dnaeri on instagram--I swear we didn’t become friends just because we have the same name) who is an art assistant for the comic. I think I ended up reading 130+ episodes in a single weekend!
How has fan art changed your style or helped you grow?
I usually worked in grayscale before making LO fanart, so drawing Persephone and Hades in bright pink and blue really got me working outside my usual comfort zone.
I love how supportive my fandom friends I’ve made are--the positivity I get from the community always pushes me to try new things and push my artistic boundaries! Fanart got me experimenting with bright, saturated colors more!
Which Lore Olympus fan art are you most proud of and why?
I really love how my Hades illustration turned out--it’s fairly simple, but I still love how clean the lineart looks, and I had lots of fun rendering the highlights and shadows!
If you could body snatch one LO character for a day, who would it be?
Hera, 100%! I’d probably spend most of my day just dressing up in all the clothes from her closet :D
Do you have any goals or aspirations for your fan art?
I’d love to improve the speed at which I complete things, as well as drawing backgrounds in perspective!
Any advice for someone looking to build their art skills?
Practice, practice, practice! Also: consuming lots of art, looking at different styles and techniques helps immensely with figuring out what your own stylistic preferences are.
Just for fun: Who did you get on this quiz?
Russell! I think I got a different dog when I took the quiz earlier, but I’ve already forgotten which one... 😅
OTHER FEATURES:
Courtney is a style and fashion addict, sharing some really interesting insights on Lore Olympus characters.