SVS Artist Interview with Braden Hallett - Art of B
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Hello all! Lately I've found myself interested in learning more from the artists on this forum. We are all at different stages of our journeys as visual storytellers, but I imagine that we have much to give and take from each other.
The idea came to mind to interview some of the forum members. Here is the first interview with "Art of B", Braden Hallett, who has recently allowed us to follow his work-in-progress on a number of pieces, including some winner monthly contest entries.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
-I’m Canadian living near the middle of BC. So kind of on the outskirts of the middle of nowhere. I was a substitute teacher for a couple of years but quit to pursue the small chance that I could be an illustrator.
What put you on a path to becoming an artist? What are your goals as a visual storyteller, and how far along are you in that journey?
-I quit teaching and when I turned down a couple of teaching jobs nearer home, someone asked me “so what DO you want to do?” My quick answer was “draw stuff”. So I buckled down and gave myself a couple of years to figure it out.
As for how far along I am I have NO clue. I’m not sure anyone pre-professional does. I tend to fluctuate between “&^%$-yeah, I have MADE it!” and “my art is bad, and I should feel bad”. My goal at this particular moment is to get my portfolio up and running then start firing off post cards.Could you share with us your two favorite art pieces that you've created so far? Also, is there a piece that was especially challenging that you could share, along with what you learned from working on it?
-Here are two recent favourites:
I can’t think of any recent pics that have been particularly challenging, though. I have enough of a process so that once inks are set I can kind of put my head down and paint by numbers. Though, honestly enough, anything to do with colour I find challenging. Which is why I'm trying to colour each and every piece of art that I come up with. Learning to paint with value first has certainly helped a lot.It's been great to see your submissions to the monthly contest here on the SVS Learn forum. The way that you share your process and utilize critique is great to learn from. When you're creating a piece, what do you think is the balance between following your own artistic eye and changing something based on a suggestion from someone else?
-I try every suggestion I get, especially if I don’t like the suggestion. Once I’ve actually implemented the changes I may or may not keep them, but I always try every suggestion out. So I suppose the balance is to make sure you actually give your ‘artistic eye’ a chance to see the suggestion before keeping or discarding it.
Is there anything that you need as an illustrator that the community here on the forum can help you with?
-The community helps out a lot. I get critiques, suggestions, and get to see a whole lot of cool art. However, what I think that I NEED right now is another few thousand hours of illustration under my belt.
Thanks so much, Braden, for taking the time to answer these questions!
Braden's work can be found at his portfolio site: http://bradenhallett.com
And Instagram: http://instagram.com/bradenhallett/
He also has a longstanding web comic: http://cato.thecomicseries.com/@Art-of-B
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I really enjoyed reading this! Thanks for the article, Katheryn!
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What a cool idea!! Thanks for doing this, Kathryn! I really enjoyed reading the first interview. It helps to flesh out the people we interact with daily on this forum. And thanks so much for sharing your process on the forum, Braden. I don't think I've said that out loud yet, but I thought it!
A suggestion: How about creating a tag for these interviews so we can find them more easily as the collection grows? I look forward to seeing more of them!
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Thankyou @KathrynAdebayo and @Art-of-B ! Excellent idea!
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Awesome read! That's cool that you actually try all the suggestions thus giving your creativity a wider range. And nobody wants to hear that they're a thousand hours away from realizing their goal but what would be doing a thousand hours from now if we don't go for it?! Very inspiring! Thanks to both of you!
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@kathrynadebayo awesome idea for this. Also a fun read. I created a topic under General for "Interviews" You can start to use that one moving forward. Great suggestion @LauraA .
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This was great! I look forward to many more. And if you have not checked out @Art-of-B 's webcomic you should. It is really well done. But be careful. You may be there hours later reading each one. And then WHAM you get to the latest one and now you are addicted and have to wait for the next one to come out. Also, @Art-of-B, if you don't make money on Cato, you should. Someone needs to pick it up and publish it. You are an excellent writer and world builder and I like to think I am a connoisseur of such things.
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Great Idea! Thanks for taking the time both of you @KathrynAdebayo @Art-of-B. It's so great to hear the stories and process of growth of people who are in similar shoes moving toward becoming a professional.
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Ha Ha I also live in the middle of nowhere British Columbia
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@chrisaakins Thanks
Someday maybe I'll start a patreon or some such. I don't think it's publishable, though, since it tends to switch between portrait, landscape, black and white, greyscale, and colour with absolutely no warning :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes: -
@rcartwright No way! Super far north? Cariboo? Interior? One of those awesome little towns between cities? Horsefly? Spuzzum?
I was beginning to worry that there were no other artists beyond the lower mainland :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes:
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@art-of-b @rcartwright i think @surfshineart lives in BC also. Surf town.
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@chrisaakins Agreed! I casually clicked on that comic and then experienced a complete loss of time as I binge-read the entire thing!!
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@art-of-b I live in the West Kootenays but I run resort kitchens as a chef so my work takes me all over the province
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I too, made the mistake
of checking out the Cato comic and just spent the last hour that I was going to work on painting instead reading the comic! Fortunately, we are in the middle of a blizzard so if I don't lose power, I foresee more binge reading because I'm hooked. @Art-of-B, your comic is not only well illustrated but well written which I think is a really rare combination and a unique gift. Thanks, @KathrynAdebayo so much for the interview and I look forward to getting to know more about the amazing people on the forum. -
Great read! And great to know a little more about Braden
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Nice
I could imagine these being collected and turned into a book one day. I'd buy it
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@chip-valecek Wow, Chip! Thanks for making "interviews" an option! Good idea, @LauraA
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@KathrynAdebayo Congratulation for the interview and the great idea. Thank you for sharing.
@Art-of-B It was good to read about who is behind the great art of B
I loved reading it. Thank you -
Very interesting read! Congrats @Art-of-B on your journey and thank you for the interview!
@KathrynAdebayo I'm looking forward to reading more interviews in the future, it's such a great idea and I thank you for bringing it to the forums!
