Artist Feature: Ri
“Practice and don’t expect perfect… Draw often, and draw things that make you happy. It's a lot of work improving your art, but it won’t feel like work if you enjoy it.”
Ri is a cartoon artist who has been drawing fanart for video games, anime, and cartoons for as long as she can remember.
How long have you done art? What mediums have you tried?
Around fifth grade I began scribbling fancomics in my english notebook for cartoons and games I loved like Pokemon and Minecraft. It is a bit embarrassing, but hey, humble beginnings. To this day I still have not stopped drawing fanart. I usually work digital using my classic Wacom Intuos and Paint Tool Sai. When it comes to traditional work, I prefer micron ink or watercolor pencils.
How would you describe your style?
I try my best to make my characters feel alive. My style is ridiculously emotional. Whether using exaggerated poses or crazy, cartoony facial expressions, I never want someone to look at my style and be unsure what emotion the character feels in that moment or think that the character looks lifeless.
Tell us your Lore Olympus story.
A friend suggested Lore Olympus and a couple other Webtoons to me. I read most of them casually, but I was not particularly attached to any of them. Around Episode 66, I started to become invested in Lore Olympus.
The amazing writing had always piqued my interest, yet it was the art at this point in the comic that made me stay. This is where I think Rachel really found her style and it is stunning. I can always go back to the later Lore Olympus chapters for art inspiration.
How has the fandom received your work?
So far all positive! Honestly I never expected to get this much attention, but everyone has been super nice so far!
Which Lore Olympus fan art are you most proud of and why?
Definitely my Hera watercolor drawing. I sketched it immediately after first reading episode 119 (my current favorite episode). I was so satisfied with the sketch and terrified I would ruin it with my amateur watercolor skills, but it came out so much better than I expected. It is hanging next to my laptop in my workspace.
If you could body snatch one LO character for a day, who would it be?
Per-se-pho-ne~! She literally has my dream power set- flower powers AND flying? Yes please!
Do you have any goals or aspirations for your fan art?
So many! Right now I am focusing on getting through college with a major in animation, but there is a lot I would love to do in the art field itself. Storyboarding, being a character designer, or teaching art are all careers I could see myself in. Short term, I just want to keep growing my art account and interacting with the Lore Olympus community (and maybe creating art for my own stories eventually).
Any advice for someone looking to build their art skills?
Practice and don’t expect perfect. I have literal bins full of sketchbooks of my early artwork that still makes me cringe. Even when I was drawing in those sketchbooks, I knew my artwork was not the greatest. Still, I pushed forward anyway and kept drawing simply because I liked doing it. That's the important part- having fun. Draw often, and draw things that make you happy. It's a lot of work improving your art, but it won’t feel like work if you enjoy it.
Just for fun: Who did you get on our Hades' dog character quiz?
J.P.!
Apparently he “Likes to listen to indie rock and spoken word poetry.” Yes that is totally me. Also he is wearing a cone, and I know for a fact I would be rocking a cone all the time as a dog because I’m a clumsy blond mess.
Ri is a cartoon artist who has been drawing fanart for video games, anime, and cartoons for as long as she can remember. When she is not drawing, she’s either jogging or playing with her black labrador. You can follow Ri at:
