Artist Feature: Gabrielle
Gabrielle (aka @pleasurenerd) is a British artist and big ol’ nerd with a number of useless facts up her sleeve. She likes to occasionally draw googly eyes on her illustrations and has a love for plants.
How long have you done art? What mediums have you tried?
I think I’ve been making art probably since about 4yo? Probably younger? My mum is an incredibly creative person who would do all sorts of artistic activities with us as kids. We would have various salt dough/paper mache creations dotted around the house until they inevitably broke (my entire family are dyspraxic, there were many art casualties). I also studied at art college (15-17yo). I actually stopped drawing when I was 18. My mental health deteriorated, and I was in a very dark place. Art was no longer a fun outlet. I found it stressful and nothing I was doing was making me happy. My imagination felt like it had disappeared and that was devastating.
Seven years later (Feb 2020), Lore Olympus got me back into drawing! I loved the style and just wanted to draw some panels. One thing led to another, and I started to really enjoy drawing again. It’s something I’m eternally grateful to Rachel Smythe for. I genuinely don’t know if I would’ve picked up a stylus again at least for a few years without Lore Olympus.
The mediums I’ve used to create artworks previously are clay, paper mache (don’t judge me), embroidery, pencil/coloured pencils, paints (watercolour, gouache, acrylic and oil), wire for sculptures and a few things made on sewing machines however I predominantly do digital art now. I am a hella messy artist. My home is a rental so I’m not allowed to get paint/clay everywhere unless I want a huge bill when we leave!
How would you describe your style?
At the moment it’s a mixture of painterly and cartoon. I’ve been inspired by all sorts of art over the years but the main artists that come to mind are Gabriel Bá (illustrator of The Losers and The Umbrella Academy), Sir Thomas Lawrence, and Alphonso Mucha (and the many other art nouveau artists) with the heavy outlines but delicate illustrations.
Tell us your Lore Olympus story.
I actually came across it via a recommendation in the comments section of Reddit! I can’t remember the exact post but there was a discussion about classical mythology in a contemporary setting. I binged the series in about 4 days (I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything). I’m typically not interested in Romance, as it’s not my genre of choice.
I just fell in love with the art style. It felt very raw and expressive, which I’d not seen in any webcomics I’d read. It felt exciting and fast. I love the way that Rachel draws the eyes like they were both closed and open (heavy lashes on the lower lash line). I like the way she drew the bodies and had a fun way to show curves and straight lines of the anatomy. Her composition also really drew my attention and the colours looked so well thought out. I was in complete awe!
Although I love the main story of Persephone and Hades (I really do love it), I also adore the secondary characters in this series and really want to see how the world unfolds. That’s what’s suckering me in and bringing me back for more.
Which Lore Olympus fan art are you most proud of and why?
I’m incredibly proud of the “The Adventures of Cerberus” series I’ve been doing (two posts at the top, click through!). There’s only two so far but I’ve got a number of other plot lines I want to explore! It’s a slow process because I only have about 3 hours a night to draw – if I literally do nothing else. I’m proud of these because I never thought I would be able to do a fan-comic. Ever. I didn’t think I had it in me. Then I had this really stupid idea about Cerberus thinking Persephone was lost and going to find her (this was before she disappeared). The whole premise for the first fan comic is based on a book called “Where’s My Cow?” that is inside the book “Thud” by Terry Pratchett. I wanted to add a twist and that was just at the point in the series when Ares and Aphrodite had their stern talking to from Eros. Perfect, just what it needed!
Now, I basically can emulate Rachel Smythe’s style pretty well in the form of a child-friendly(ish) story involving a three-headed giant size changing dog. I can’t complain really! Good excuse to look up dogs and melt into a puddle.
My other favourite is my Persephone in the style of Art Nouveau. It was originally going to be Persephone as a burlesque dancer, but I couldn’t get it to work and was getting very frustrated by it. I placed it on the back burner for a few months and recently was inspired to do a death vibe with it. It was both fun and INCREDIBLY frustrating. I am not good with lineart, so rage quit my illustration a few times to immediately go back and continue working on it.
If you could body snatch one LO character for a day, who would it be?
OOf, I think either Cerberus or Zeus.
Cerberus because I think it would be super fun to be the gatekeeper for the Underworld. Plus, head skritches are nice. Even in human form they’re nice. And a good ol’ belly rub.
Zeus because I want to see how many side pieces he has. If it’s just for a day that I’ve got his body, it’d be fun to cause mayhem in it. Maybe fire Thetis or give a good old fashioned display of lightning wrath in the mortal realm. I think being Zeus could be a bundle of laughs! At his expense of course.
Are you part of any other fandoms?
I’m not really very active in other fandoms. I often feel like I’m on the outside looking in for most fandoms, and I try to steer away from them as I have a tendency to get a little obsessive if I like something. I love Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and I listen to a lot of Dungeons and Dragons podcasts and also play D&D myself, but I’d hardly call that a fandom.
I think it’s honestly Rachel’s art style that makes it different for me. I just really love the way she illustrates these pieces. Plus, I’ve made some fantastic friends within this little community which is unexpected but really wonderful.
Any advice for someone looking to build their art skills?
Strap in kiddies…
Don’t wait for motivation to start something.
It will not come when you want it to. It’ll come whilst you’re driving home from school/work and then disappear as soon as you open the door to your house. If you want to get into illustration, grab a pencil and a scrap of paper and start drawing. Want to get into sculpture? Buy some cheap clay or make some paper mache and create whatever you like. If you don’t start, you won’t improve.
Study the masters.
It sounds kind of stupid, but doing transcriptions of artists that are deemed masters is the best way to get a grasp on colour/values/shadows and highlights. I know I always see an improvement after doing a study. It also doesn’t have to be an artist! Want to improve your backgrounds, start studying landscape and architecture. This will also help with portraits if that's what you’re interested in.
Be silly.
Struggling to start a drawing/illustration/sculpture? Remember to do some silly little exercises before you try to do something properly. Draw some circles, straight lines, wiggly lines, silly poses, stick figures fighting whatever takes your fancy. You can’t just be ready to draw after no warm up! I’ve always found I draw best after 15 minutes of “drawing” aka doodling with purpose.
Don’t give up.
It’s a learning curve. We’re all learning. I started drawing again in February and I have come leaps and bounds since I started. I’m a new woman with my illustrations now. The more time you invest in it, the better you’ll become. You can’t lift dumbbells for a week and suddenly be able to complete a 50kg snatch. You’ve got to train and let your hand/eye coordination develop and your skill grow!
HAVE FUN!
Don’t do it if it doesn’t feel fun, I know I said to do it regardless of motivation but if it isn’t actually fun when you’re doing it, it is the wrong hobby for you. You should feel like you’re having fun when you draw, it shouldn’t be a chore or an obligation unless it’s your job.
Just for fun: Who did you get on our Hades' dog character quiz? And do you agree?
Cerberus - I fully agree.
I am indeed the best boy. Plus I get to see ladies in their underthings. THEIR UNDER-THINGS!
Gabrielle (aka @pleasurenerd) is a British artist specialising in digital portraits. She’s a big ol’ nerd and has a number of useless facts up her sleeve. She likes to occasionally draw googly eyes on her illustrations and has a love for plants. You can follow her on:
