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Meet Greenbeanbaby!!!

Ramel Hill January 04, 2011 3 Comments 460 Views

Here is a unique artist on the web with a great love of video games and art...I had to interview her! This interview is long over do, and the artist is near and dear to my heart as she is the mother of my two wonderful children, and my precious wife Ellia Hill aka Greenbeanbaby!

You have a very unique style...how long did it take you to develop a workable style that you are comfortable with?

You know, I can't remember when I DIDN'T draw big-headed people with scrawny arms and legs... maybe its because it's a slight exaggeration of how I looked growing up?? Although lately, my characters have grown quite the behind and thighs on them. That came as a result of being asked to draw a more realistic woman [HA!] Medium-wise, I've been working with paper for the past decade. It was a relief to discover a medium that seemed compatible with my personality, tempermant, patient level, that would end with happiness and a decent illustration. I love paper and with the scrapbooking industry booming over the last few years, it has given me quite the collection to acquire and use.

Working Hard

How do you approach creating a Greenbean version of a character (like Kratos, or Nariko)

To put it simply, I start with a big head and end with teeny feet... It feels that simple although there is often research involved. Getting the outfits right, the colors perfected, and finding a paper texture to compliment the cuteness of the character is usually a part of the process. I've grown to love the kawaii style that is popular these days. Kawaii means cute in japanese and often the style calls for characters with huge heads, big round black eyes and a tiny smile. It's truly an utterly cute style that works perfectly with making an incredibly gruesome character turn to an "awwww that is SO cute" kinda villain. After all, bane is far from adorable, with his back-breaking skills, right?!

Nariko from Heavenly Sword

Kratos from God of War also featured Gameinformer

Who are some artist that inspire you?

Ohhhhh that is a difficult one as I tend to be inspired by oodles of things. I LOVE vintage greeting cards and will draw inspiration from them although my artwork doesn't have a vintage quality to it. My mom collects vintage cards and posts them online where I'll sift through them looking for color and composition ideas. I also like going through vintage children book for the same reason. My collection of books is HUGE, and I swear, there are books all over my house in little piles and on shelves. Many of the illustrators from the 50's and 40's are to be admired. I don't have a specific artist that I solely look to for inspiration- I'm more of the artist that looks at genres for inspiration.

Do you feel being a female gamer makes people treat you different online?

Well, having a gamertag like teenygreenbean is bound to bring up the question "are you a GIRL?" And I always like to respond with "are you a BOY?" Overall, I think gamers are becoming more accustomed to seeing females online but you always get the geeks who like to point out your gender. And they like to teabag so in turn, it makes getting revenge so much sweeter.

Name 3 of your favorite video games?

Bioshock, Gears of War, and Left for Dead. It's amazing as these three are all different from each other but Bioshock is the most beautiful game I've ever seen. The splicing ads in the game, the characters, the environment, the music, The plasmid advertisement clips. It's a DREAMY game! Gears of War is pretty awesome for its gruesomeness and co-op campaigning. I love that noise you hear after killing the last enemy of that moment. Left for Dead is a zombie rush of goodness filled with a ton of running, killing, molotov throwing, and witch screaming. It's a fast paced game. I love Halo too but you gave me only three picks and if my life depended on only 3 games, well, i'd choose those before halo... [that means Bioshock 1 AND 2, Gears of War 1 AND 2, and Left for Dead 1 AND 2]

With an unlimited budget what would be your dream project?

Oh I'd love to do a children's book series with a line of toys to go with and a cartoon series. There is a book series about a pig named Olivia and when you go to the store, you see that Olivia has an adorable line of toys both small and big. She also has a few dvds too. It's adorable and it's EXACTLY what I'd love to do. I'd also love a craft kit in that series and maybe a journal book. And a backpack. I guess my dream project would be a big line of one character that everyone would easily recognize and love. I mean, it would be swell to walk into Target and see my stuff there. Aside from the books, i'd love JUST a toy line too. I was enthralled by Mattel's latest project, Monster High Dolls" with their amazing designs and colors. Of course, another dream is to have my own scrapbooking line too complete with paper, embellishments, stickers, glitter, etc. I'd also like my own line of greeting cards. Wow, I have a lot of dream projects, eh?!

At what point in your life did you decide to become an artist?

Gosh, i don't really remember. I've always loved art and writing. I've always loved making artwork for others, including mini books and greeting cards [and magnets too]. I remember being very young and sitting at a resteraunt with some family members. One of the family members pointed to the paper menus, saying this is what he did and that it was called graphic design. I remember wanting to be a graphic designer for the longest but choosing illustration in college, especially after constantly crashing computers. But some time between there, I had the passion to write and illustrate my own line of books [like Clifford the Big Red Dog].

You do such a great job in networking and supporting other artists. Why are you so passionate in this area?

I think its from being raised to celebrate each other. Networking is a wonderful way to find jobs but it's also a great way to be encouraged and inspire others. Most artists enjoy creating for themselves but having an audience can give an artist a bit more purpose. Putting up your work and hearing compliments of your progress, style, technique or choice of subject matter feels great. There's no denying it. And it feels good to dish it out. I LOVE seeing other artists' work in progress. I honestly love to see that someone's work has been published or that they are opening an etsy store. I mean, we really should be able to celebrate and promote each other, putting aside any jealousy. I love being supportive as it feels good to BE supportive AND be SUPPORTED. Whether artists admit it or not, many of us go through a ton of highs and lows. We question if our dreams will ever come true, if our style is improving, if our passions and hard work will ever lead to something more. And when someone takes the time to comment on our work, to say it made them smile, or how much they like it, it can relieve the tension and stress an artist was feeling. Maybe not all artists feel this way and they don't care if they have an audience, but many of us do. As much as I like having an audience, I also like to BE the audience for others. The art world can be inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging others. We should be able to look at someone's work and feel like drawing too. And if an artist makes you feel that way, you should tell them!

9.) How would you survive a zombie Apocalypse?

Hiding behind my husband. I don't think I have the physical strength to beat down some zombies, even with a bat. I'd have to work on keeping my kids safe while my husband does all the fighting. I suppose having a machete knife would be ideal and perhaps a gun [neither of which we own... in fact, we JUST got some kitchen knives so prior to that, all we had for weapons was a hammer]. If we are talking about a zombie apocalypse where all kinds of weapons are just lying around everywhere, then I might be able to shoot a few zombies. But if this is a realistic zombie apolalypse, I'm sure finding a gun is going to be difficult. But if fighting a zombie is anything like the video games, i will be quick to die with no hope of being revived by a spare health pack.

Great Interview Greenbeanbaby!!! Love the art! Now time to plug her stuff! She recently had a chance to create some awesome info-graphs!!! Check these out!

First up Top 10 Video Game Bosses!