Someone Amazing

Within the studios and halls of D.A.A.P's (University of Cincinnati's School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning) there are a plethora of fine artists like myself that are creating all kinds of wonderful work. One of such artists, I've had the pleasure of not only becoming friends with but am always being pushed and inspired by her work. I've recently gotten to do an interview with her about her work.

First obligatory question: What is your name and what are going to Fine Arts to do?

My name is Allison Weyda and I am in the Fine Arts program to become a professional illustrator.

What type of art and artists inspire you?

Artists that inspire me are usually street artists and comic book illustrators because it seems that the main purpose of their art is to deliver a message or tell a story, which is the type of art that interests me. Some of my current favorite artists are Swoon, Darwyn Cooke, David Mazzucchelli, and Adam Hughes.

Your Diver print is fairly awesome in my humble opinion, what inspired you to do such a piece?

Well the print was made for class and the only requirement was to convey a sense of space and depth. I couldn’t help but think of the impossible depths of the dark ocean. The diver was put in the piece to show the vastness of the water and to convey a sinking sensation.

Have you done/planning to do any pieces that were inspired by your work of the Diver?

I have recently done a four-page comic book story based off of my Diver piece. I was having a difficult time thinking of a story, so I looked at my past work for inspiration. I decided to reuse the Diver character in a more modern setting and wrote a story where the diver is studying an old shipwreck and discovers something unexpected living in the underwater.

If you could change anything about these works what would you do differently and what do you feel has worked really well with in each?
Specifically concerning the Diver, I like the piece overall, but as a slight improvement I would make more of the diver disappear at the bottom so it is clearer to the viewer that he is sinking. My favorite aspect of the Diver piece that developed a lot better than I had expected was the contrast in tone and the textures. The use of aquatint creates a successful sense of a mysterious atmosphere. With some of my other works, especially my paintings, I feel I could just spend more time on them in general. I have slowly been improving my color with my paintings, but I am still working on composition.

If you could do any work in the future, what would it be?
I would really like to illustrate comics, but also do paintings on the side. I would also be fine with just doing illustrations for other publications, but I would really enjoy drawing full story comics and maybe even make some of my own.

If you could give any advice to any young artists, what would it be?

Well being a young artist myself it is a bit hard to give advice, but mine would be to keep an open mind and to explore and experiment with art. Exploring art is a good way to find a unique style that represents you the artist.