Some online illustrators begin their careers as fan artists and use it as a way to explore their style before moving on to original artwork. Once they have a decent following, these artists usually stop illustrating fan art to exclusively develop their own works.
As a fan of geek culture, I love to seek out fan artists that reference pop culture, television shows, or illustrate t-shirts because I want to see a new twist to an existing franchise and follow new and upcoming artists. Several of my friends know about my little hobby to follow fan artists and often share works they think I’ll enjoy.
I came across illustrator Erin Hunting when I saw her work shared on twitter. Although, I’ve become a larger fan of Erin and her illustrations once I saw more of her original work!
Erin Hunting is an illustrator from Melbourne, Australia whose professional clients include Blake Education, Rubberduck Software and Pearson Education. Her work can be found in children’s books, magazines, and various other publications.
“I have always loved designing characters and telling their story. I’m always super thrilled to get projects such as those,” Erin said.
“No matter how many times it happens, it’s always an extra thrill to see your work and name in print.”
Erin’s style is unique and lends itself to odd shapes and pop culture art. Her artwork includes various animals (especially cats), and every Friday she draws a new fan art piece to keep her skills sharp. She experiments with fan works to keep her skills fresh in-between professional projects.
Erin’s work has captured the attention of people on dribbble, tumblr, deviantart, etsy, and her own website – and for good reason! Her art is stylized, creative, and every piece includes oddly expressive faces. It’s certainly eye-catching!
Although Erin’s online popularity doesn’t come without risk. She has had her work stolen in the past!
Design theft is serious, be it stolen logos to web designs and illustrations. Designers work hard to ensure that it doesn’t happen to them, but that is part of the risk of doing business online.
To make a long story short, Erin had illustrated the pop culture phenomenon Grumpy Cat, but a company stole her artwork to put it on their grumpy cat merchandise. Fans contacted her about the art theft, and let her know it was stolen without credit.
Erin has taken several of her works down because of similar incidents and shrunk the size of her internet exposure in an effort to control what is seen.
Despite all of the mishaps, Erin still publishes some of her work online and sells prints of her work in her Etsy store.
Between the Internet forums, social sites, and her website, she creates powerful network connections and continues to grow in skill and exposure. Fan projects are only a small part of what Erin completes, but it brightens her spirits every Friday.
Illustrators nowadays use various mediums for their work, and some still prefer the pen and paper method over the tablet. Erin will use whatever she feels fits the piece be it digital art or using her Copic markers and inking pens.
“The sketching process doesn’t usually take me too long, it’s pretty much sketching shapes until I find one interesting enough to develop. After adding detail in with my pencils, from there I ink the sketch with my many assorted brush pens and fineliners. This is when my drawings usually start to find real life.”
Her YouTube has several videos that show what she uses and explains a little more about her process and gives you a peak of how she colors with Copic markers:
“It’s important to find what YOU like and what works best for YOU. Just because a paint brush that someone uses works for them doesn’t mean it’s going to get the same results from me.”
While it’s nice to share what you use from time to time, Erin advises other designers to stop worrying about it. She finds that experimentation with digital and traditional media sometimes causes designers to become afraid of making mistakes.
“I’ve noticed quite a few people becoming afraid of making mistakes on paper. They are used to working digitally with the undo button as a safety net.”
When I asked Erin what inspired her, she told me it comes from the day to day things like her cat, other artists, and picture books and comics. Putting a unique twist on the normal illustrates what she called “absurdity of the unnoticed”. It’s what she enjoys more than anything else.
How do you feel about designers who indulge in fan works? Does fan art have a place in the design industry? Tell us what you think below!
All images source: http://www.erinhunting.com/
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