Who is this Anna Daviscourt person?

[AnnaDaviscourt]

Hey everyone!

I'm Anna- a nerdy, Harry Potter obsessed, animal loving, clumsy, hard working plant mother and book enthusiast.
Since I plan on teaching more on SVS, I thought it would be a good time to tell you guys a bit about who I am!

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I attended the Art Institute of Portland where I got the privilege of learning from both @Lee-White and @davidhohn (Hey guys! Thanks for being amazing!)
After graduating I worked as a concept artist for mobile games while creating personal work in every spare moment. The first class that I taught at SVS was the painting process for this piece-

I fell into the habit of painting fantasy portraits around that time. I didn't know exactly where I fit into the art world, so I just kept going with what I knew I could handle (and was popular online).

Painting these was a lot of fun, but I felt a lack of momentum in my career.
I started to take small steps toward children's publishing by creating spot illustrations, hoping that it would move me in the right direction.

After almost 5 years in the game industry, I applied to the Adobe Creative Residency and magically got accepted!

The Residency began in May of last year, and it feels like a lifetime ago. Lee has been mentoring me through transition into becoming a children's book author/illustrator.

This summer I'll be teaching a 9 week live course on character design here on SVS!

I can't wait to work closely with more artists and create some amazing characters. It's gonna be a lot of work and a lot of fun!
I'm always thinking of new ideas for classes, but I'd love to hear what you guys would like to see as well!

Whew! Thanks for reading all that.
I would love to get to know you guys better and become one with the forums, so please tell me something about yourself in the comments!
Have a great day!

[Coley]

Hi Anna, I have watched your digital painting video here on SVS and loved it so much I followed you over to youtube lol. There was a video you did with your Adobe residency I watched
i love your work! Will be great to watch more being posted! I am pretty new to the forum too I am also Harry Potter obsessed lol, tho a bit older than you with two early teenage boys who are also obsessed animal loving as well------currently only one dog and a chicken but I have had everything from turtles to horses over the years........one pony I had forever and am sure she will show up in my illustration work (new to illustration tho......I usually do representational work and a lot of pet portraits as animals are my main thing )
anyhow , nice to have you around!

[Chip Valecek]

@AnnaDaviscourt That piece with the girl on the mushrooms, wow I love the glow from it. I enjoyed watching your painting video, i was pretty excited when it was released. As far as something about me... I been on the forums for a long time now, i think like 5 years. I have 4 kids and one dog who is my work pal when I work at home. I love all things horror and cute and fuzzy. Oh and I love tentacles. Anything with tentacles is better. Looking forward to seeing you around here.

[MichaelaH]

You have so beautiful work, love how you draw persons, these have great figur, the colors you use are also very good in choise and the one with mushrooms ist really highlighted...

[Jonas Zavacky]

@AnnaDaviscourt Nice to have you here! Your work is very charming and welcoming! Love it!! I also watched your digital painting class and it is great so I am sure the character design one will be amazing - especially for children book illustrators.

Can't wait to see more from you Have a great day!

[peteolczyk]

Hi Anna, love your work, I’ve learned some really good tips from you.
I want to illustrate children’s books, but happy to take on anything along the way. My wife’s a graphic designer, and tells me straight when my work doesn’t look right
I have two great kids, who are into all sorts.
We have pet chickens.
My kids have given them crazy names like Storm Kicker and Miss Wriggle Legs. We also have a fish called Steve Bubble.

[demotlj]

I'm very excited that you will be teaching -- I loved your first SVS video. I have been a member of SVS for about two years and am older than most here. I am 61 and an amateur with no plans of doing this professionally but I love looking at everyone's work, learning from them, and talking about the creative process (which cuts across disciplines). I have three children nearly all grown (one is still in college), live in a rural area of western NY where coyotes howl at night, bears sometimes knock over bird feeders, and spring doesn't arrive until May. Art keeps me sane during winter's dawdling exit. I look forward to your course (or, I hope, courses?)

[LauraA]

Hi Anna, and welcome! I have been watching your Twitch channel (or whatever you call it) ever since Lee mentioned your Adobe residency and the Harry Potter covers. I love your work and especially how it has become so extremely fresh since you started your residency. Love the rework with all the picture frames that you posted above! And the color!

Funny, I could have sworn there was some amount of Southern in your voice and mannerisms, but maybe I've just been away too long. I love Portland and tried to move there but it didn't work out. Oh well! It's still a great place, and if you come to Italy to go to the Bologna Book Fair, I'll be happy to play tour guide!

[davidhohn]

Congratulations on the new course!
It has been a pleasure to watch your career grow over the years. I'm a huge fan of your work!

[StudioLooong]

Hi Anna

[evilrobot]

My #1 and has been keeping a character on model. Drawing those characters from every direction and keeping consistency in appearance and proportions.

[MissMushy]

ooh excited for this new course! Love your work @AnnaDaviscourt

[kaitlinmakes]

I agree with every posting here! I got to watch your first class, and it demystified so many questions I had on color and process - thank you. And it's so cool to see your work all together like this.
So looking forward to learning more from you!

[Elizabeth Rose]

Hello fellow Oregonian love your work! So playful and colorful! I'll have to follow you on Instagram.

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@Coley
Hey Coley!
Oh my gosh, you've had all the animal reference- that's awesome! I'm definitely going through an animal phase right now. I've been sculpting and painting lil mammals as a hobby and it's hard not to spend all my time on it.
What's your Hogwarts house? I'm Hufflepuff, although I've also gotten Gryffindor on the test before, so I guess a Huffledor/Gryffinpuff.
Thanks for following along on the youtube journey! I'm making a video that's basically a progress report on my book. It'll feel great to know that everyone knows where I'm at!

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@Chip-Valecek
Hey Chip!
I want a dog sooooooo badly!! Now that I'm working from home I'm dying for a companion with some great energy, but alas, my apartment is barely enough to fit me and my husband. Someday I'll have a yard, and on that day I'm going to get all the pets!
Horror & cute/fuzzy! What a match made in heaven! Haha, I love the diversity. I actually have tentacles my current project. They are pretty dang fun, and a great way to lead the eye around a piece.

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@MichaelaH
Thanks so much!
I had a ton of fun using saturated colors. The mushroom one was a total experiment with glow. I love bio luminescent plants, so obviously there had to be a pretty glowy lady among them, haha!

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@Jonas-Zavacky
Thank you, Jonas!
I've learned an absolute ton about how to communicate and teach since the last video (and upgraded equipment!), so I'm going to pour all my knowledge and energy into this class. I can't wait to see the designs that come out of it!

Thanks for being so welcoming! :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@peteolczyk
Hey Pete!
It sounds like your pets are ready to have a book about them! -The Legend of Storm Kicker!-
Isn't it the best having a partner that can critique your work? My husband is a character designer for animation and gives me the best input whenever I need it, so we're both really lucky! :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:

[AnnaDaviscourt]

@demotlj
Thank you so much, Laurie - you're way too kind!
I love that you're so engaged with everything going on here.
We're on opposite sides of the country, but I definitely feel that winter slog. The days are getting warmer here and I feel like life is finally starting again!

I'm really looking forward to the class and definitely want to keep teaching!