Hello everybody and welcome to a new news article after such a long time. Sorry for my slacking performance but as you knew I have been ill and then computer had a virus, so it’s been a series of bad things coming with this New Year. So today I bring an amazing artist, she’s from Australia and been travelling a lot. Lately she’s been to Japan/China She is the one and the only …

Enjoy !


What is your name ?
Lisa Rye

What is your alias and why you choose it ?
…now this one’s embarrassing, complicated and goes back quite a long way. It’s Risa-chan (from the pronunciation of my name in Japanese plus the suffix -chan), with TAG on the end. That stands for “Lisa The Anime Goddess” (aka, LTAG), which was a rather nutty alter-ego character I created in high school. I remember trying to sign up for a geocities account a very long time ago, and going through all sorts of combinations of “risachan” and “ltag” before I put in “risachantag” out of frustration, and was stuck with it ever since.

Tell us a bit about yourself Lisa?
I’m 23 years old, and live in Perth, Australia. I’m working as a concept artist for a game development company, which is pretty much a dream job for me.



As a child, what were your greatest memories related to Art ?
I remember sitting in my tree house drawing pictures of my guinea pigs. I loved animals when I was little, so I drew little else.

Do you get loads of support from family/friends ?
Aside from my grandfather, who paints from time to time, the rest of my family is more science-based than arts-based. However, they’ve always been supportive of my following art and design as a career. I’m very lucky in that respect.

We also see you’ve recently went to Japan, how was it ? Great experience ? Big difference from Australia ?
Well, this last trip was the fourth time I’ve been there now. I lived in Japan for a year in 2003, staying with host families and attending high school, so one of the reasons for this trip was to see my host families again. I went with friends this time, and we scheduled the visit to coincide with the Tokyo Game Show, which was an absolute blast! Aside from TGS, we visited the Kansai region, Hiroshima and Beppu.



Have you done any previous studies before getting yourself into Digital Art ?
I studied Multimedia Design at university, and took a couple of illustration classes, one of which was digital art related. Even the non-illustration related classes came to teach me quite a lot of useful things though, particularly photography and 2D animation.
That said though, in respect to digital art, I was mostly self-taught through my university years. Having long summer and winter breaks gave me plenty of free time to work on my drawing and painting techniques.

How long does it take you to get into the feel of creating something new and stunning ?
That depends a lot on my mood and what sort of inspiration I’ve had lately. …and strangely enough, the time of year makes a big difference for me, too. Right now in the southern hemisphere, it’s just getting into Summer, and for me it’s one of my most productive times of year. I just want to be doing creative things all the time, and I have three pictures in the works at the moment.

How did you first discover DeviantART ?
You know, it was so long ago that I really can’t remember that well. It was the year I was in Japan, and I think one of my friends said I should sign up. I was looking for ways to keep in touch with my friends at home and to show them my drawings, so it worked out pretty well at the time.



You are really well known over DA, is it the same case in real life too ?
*laughs* Thankfully, not really; I’m rather shy by nature. If I’m at a convention though, often people will recognize my art from online. That’s always a lovely feeling.

Do you plan your images before doing them, or make them up on the spot ?
A bit of both. Often I’ll have an idea and plan it out with thumbnails and studies before drawing or painting it on computer. Other times I’ll just sit down in front of a blank canvas and speed paint until I have something.

What does your work represent to you?
Creative expression, story telling, humour, the result of a lot of hard work… my art is rather variant in style, and I suppose that reflects a lot of sides of me.



Who will be your favourite artist at this moment ? (either on DA or somewhere else)
Hmm… I find it hard to single artists out, as there are so many artists on DA and off the site that I follow and look forward to seeing work from. At the moment, for concept art, I’d say *ANTIFAN-REAL and artbytheo, for anime art auroreblackcat, for fanart, *AnnouncerGuy and ~e1n

How do you respond to change in trends in this "digital" world ?
I have to say, after I first started to get the hang of drawing on computer, there really wasn’t any turning back. I still sketch in pencil and sometimes enjoy getting my paints and markers out, but I’m very comfortable painting on computer. Possibly too comfortable; often when I work with traditional media I find myself trying to ‘ctrl+z’ in my head.
As for trends… I keep up with them to some degree, but I don’t often find myself being affected by them. When I’m working on my own pictures, I’m drawing what I want to draw in whatever style I think would work best for the picture. Even when I draw fanart, I don’t draw to please the masses; I just go and draw what I enjoy drawing.

So where is your working place, in an office at home ? Once you're finished with your pieces where would you post them ?
I have my computer set up in my bedroom. It gives me a little less space than I’d like, but I love having privacy when I’m drawing and it feels comfortable to me.
Before I post anything anywhere, I run my pictures past my housemates to get feedback and art criticism. Often they’ll point out things that need more definition, or poses that look awkward. I don’t post much outside of DeviantART, mostly out of laziness. I have a portfolio/personal website, though it hasn’t been updated since I got my last job.



We see that you have a special thing for Animes such as Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball. Is it because it's easier or you just feel more comfortable?
There’s a common misconception out there that all fanartists draw fanart because ‘it’s easier than being creative’. I won’t say there aren’t beginners out there who start off drawing fanart for those reasons, but for me that’s definitely not it.
I draw fanart of shows I love simply because I love doing it. I wouldn’t actually say it’s ‘easier’ either; there’s just a different set of difficulties. Learning to mimic multiple styles is very challenging, and if you want to do it well it takes time and practice.

What software do you use and what is your favourite tool ?
I use Photoshop for the vast majority of my work, though occasionally, if the picture requires it, I’ll use Maya to model objects that require difficult perspective (like spiral staircases and bridges) and paint over the render. I love making custom brushes, and playing with different brush settings; it’s amazing how much faster they can let you work.

Is there any tips for other Digital Painter or Illustrator you would like to share ?
Studying art techniques like perspective, anatomy and colour theory should come before you worry too much about learning how to use computer programs. Don’t be afraid to try new techniques, and draw subjects outside of your comfort zone.



Do you work with commission, if so is it enough to make a living out of ? Or do you have another job which you work full-time ?
Between finishing university and being hired at my current job, I spent half a year working as a freelance artist. I only worked part-time, so it was only enough to pay the rent, and very little else. It’s a rather stressful way to live, as you’re never sure when work will come in and spend a lot of time just waiting for replies. There were some really enjoyable illustrations here and there, but I’m very glad to be working full time now in a job where I draw for most of the day.

Do you usually have a message to send through your work ?
Draw what you want to draw, but always strive to improve. There’s nothing wrong with trying different styles and moods.

What would be your casual routine like ?
Hmm… probably wake up after 9AM, do chores and general procrastination through the morning and then get down to work in the afternoon. …and then end up drawing until 2AM if I were particularly inspired or into a project.



What are your other hobbies, when you're not drawing or sketching ?
…good gods, there are too many of them. The ones more people on Deviantart would have a chance of knowing about are cosplay (costume-making) and photography. I’m also a committee member in a manga-drawing club here in Perth, called Pencafe. I play console games, read, bake cakes and do poi and staff twirling, making some of my own equipment.

We see you also like Photography, how did this one grow ? Ever thinking of getting recognized for it ?
My interest in photography was one of those things that even surprised myself. I did a course in photography as part of my first year studying design at university. At the time I was rather frustrated at having to do it, as it was one of the most time consuming, expensive and difficult classes I had to do.
A couple of years later I bought a fairly ordinary digital camera for when I went traveling, and immediately began to miss having control over how the photos were exposed. For a while I put up with it, but last year I decided it was time to save up and buy a decent digital SLR camera.
As much as I love it, I can’t see photography becoming more than a hobby for me. I’ve had nothing like the sort of training or practice that I’d need to do photography professionally.

What is your ultimate goal in Digital Art ?
To have the skill set to draw anything that I would like to draw to my best ability. I think I’ll always have a few ideas sitting in the back of my mind, waiting for my painting skill to be good enough to do the ideas justice.



Where does your Inspiration source come from ?
All over the place; sometimes from dreams and daydreams, sometimes themes come from books, tv, anime or movies I’ve seen recently, or even things people have said.

What would your top 5 tips be for anyone that is starting to Paint or Illustrate ?
-Learn to draw what is there, not what you think is there. This was one of the biggest turning points I had when I was learning to draw. I recommend reading and practicing techniques in “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”, by Betty Edwards, to help with this.
-Practice art techniques; anatomy, pose/gestures, perspective, color theory, composition, visual language and so on.
-Being able to develop your skills on your own is a useful ability, but learning from other artists is often the fastest way to learn new things.
-Don’t expect a program to do the hard work for you. Computers are tools, like pencils and paint; you still need the skills to get a good result.
-Be open minded and try different techniques, themes and subjects.

What do you think of today's Digital Arts levels and amount of work ?
The level of quality some digital artists are able to achieve is amazing. As for the amount of work, that depends on the artist; included in my favorite artists are people who spend 20+ hours on a picture painting in all the details, and people who mostly speed sketch to get just the rough, painterly feel of an environment.



What type of music do you listen to ?
All sorts of music, including more mainstream pop & rock, movie soundtracks, classical music, game music, j-pop & j-rock and anime music. I’m always listening to music while I work, and generally listen to music that fits the theme of what I’m drawing or painting.

What is your setup like ?
Nothing particularly flashy; I’m planning on buying a new computer next month, as my current one is five years old and is rather too slow for the number of layers and resolution I’ve grown used to using at work. It’s an AMD Athlon XP2400+, with 1.99GHz and 768MB of RAM. I have a Wacom Graphire tablet, a scanner and Epson stylus photo 1410 A3 printer.

What is your opinion about people thinking a tablet will make their work better?
As I said earlier, computers and anything that is involved with inputting or software; they’re just tools. You’re not likely to get anywhere with digital art without one, of course; but you won’t instantly be a better artist for it.



If there was another software you would like to master, which one would it be ?
I’d like to learn more about modeling and texturing, so I’ll say Maya here.

You have achieved a stunning number of 4 Daily Deviation over DA, how do you feel ?
Very happy, especially as three of the four were pictures I was particularly proud of and it was great to see them acknowledged. My first one took me completely by surprise,

Your popularity over DA is ever so increasing, I mean how do you feel, from what we can see on your stats we see that you get per average approximately 1000 pageviews per day. Going back to your first day here on DA, how do you feel achieving such impressive stats ?
It’s pretty overwhelming if you think about it too much, and since it’s been such a gradual thing for me it only hits me every now and then. At times it make me feel a little guilty, as I don’t have time to respond to all the comments and emails I get.
I don’t want it to affect what or how I draw, so I just go along drawing what I want to draw and if people like it then it’s a bonus. I’m just happy that there are so many people out there who enjoy looking at each picture I post.



Did you had to go through some very challenging task in your Digital career ?
When I first started my job as a concept artist, it felt like I was dealing with a new challenge every day. I love that about my job, though.

What are your future plans ? Are you thinking of taking Digital Art in the next level and make it as a profession ?
…well, it already is my profession, so yes.

If you could, you would ...
Go on a massive world trip! I’d love to travel more, and see all sorts of places.



What is your favourite piece, that you ever created ? And why you chose this piece ?
Hmm… I think it would be Facing the Storm, as I really felt the feelings I wanted to get across came through.

What are your favourite pieces on DA, could you share them ?
Flying Frigate Water [link] I love the style and colors. I’m so impressed with what this artist does with vector art.
Fly With Us [link] For the lighting and story telling. Arcipello’s art was a big influence on me back when I was first learning to paint digitally.

If you had to sum up all your work into one sentence, what would it be ?
I don’t think I could write a sentence long enough…



If you had to choose between Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball. Which one is your favourite ?
Hmm… I have to say, it’s a toss up between Dragonball and One Piece, both of which I love very much. Naruto’s fallen off the radar for me as of late; I haven’t had much interest in the series after Shippuden (the later series) started.

And to finish it off, What would you like to say to your millions of fans out there ? And what did you think of this Interview ?
The interview’s been fun! Thanks for watching and giving me your support for so long!





And that’s it from me tonight, hope you enjoyed it and learnt something new from this great artist !
You may check her work on the following icon, so go to her gallery some of that beautiful work and give it a good old Enjoy !


That’s it from me, hope you enjoyed the latest edition of the “Hidden Talent”, by the way, if you like my news article then wear this stamp to show it Or just it ! this article if you liked it and to show your support !



Take Care,
=Sangiev