Sara Lansdell is a fellow IUPUI student going for a double major in Drawing and Illustration and Media Arts and Science and a minor in Studio Art and Tech. She’s had a grand total of five art pieces published in both the Spring 2019 issue and the Spring 2020 issue, one of which even became the cover for the Spring 2019 issue.
Much of her work centers around fantasy environments and characters. What I find particularly interesting about her work is the fact that it all feels so varied in style. I was genuinely surprised when she listed all the different art pieces she had submitted, as each one of them looks stylistically different from the next one.
What follows is a series of questions Sara responded to, including the work she submitted.
What interesting tidbits about you would you like for us to share (where you're from, how many siblings you have, favorite food, favorite book/author/artist, are you a coffee or tea drinker, etc.)?
“My favorite color is orange, I love art that combines nature with civilization, and the How To Train Your Dragon movies (more specifically, the art book for HTTYD 2) are what first inspired me to pursue concept art.”
What are your career goals?
“My goal is to work in animated movies or video games, as a concept artist / visual development artist.”
“Technomancer’s Hideaway” - Spring 2019 Issue
What works of yours have been accepted into genesis and what issues were they in? Did any of them receive any awards?
“I have had several works in gGenesis, including ‘The ParPara’ and ‘Technomancer's Hideaway’ in the Spring 2019 issue (where ‘The ParPara’ got chosen as the cover image), and in the Spring 2020 issue ‘The Return’, ‘Swinging, Leaping, Landing’, and ‘Fantast-ish’. I also plan to submit some works for this semester's issue. :)”
“The ParPara” - Spring 2019 Issue
What was your inspiration behind any of those pieces?
“‘The ParPara’ was loosely inspired by sticky notes, piñatas, and Chinese New Year parade dragons. The creature thrives on festive spirit and the happiness of their companions. ‘The Return’ was inspired by Shaun Tan's ‘The Arrival’; more accurately it was an attempt at creating an original setting that looked like it could fit within the world of ‘The Arrival’.”
“The Return” - Spring 2020 Issue
Are there any interesting stories behind the pieces? Are there any personal values/meanings behind them?
“Fantast-ish’ at the time was a simple one-page comic I made for a class assignment, but since then, I have taken the characters and am using them for my Herron thesis project. I've gone in a completely different direction, one where Pinocchio lives in a bustling modern world rather than a generic forest, and it's been really fun so far to get to know her character and develop the settings she would live in and interact with. I also wouldn't say I'm a good writer, but because of that fact I've relied on drawing from myself quite a bit to create Pinocchio's personality, which is why a lot of her character centers around her being lonely and an outsider.”
“Fantast-ish” - Spring 2020 Issue
What would you say to your fellow students who feel like they are struggling creatively?
“Pinterest. I swear I get lost on there, sometimes for hours, when I'm trying to find a specific reference and instead can't stop looking at all the amazing art, landscapes, interesting objects, etc. etc. Also artbooks for movies and video games are a great inspiration, especially when there are captions that explain the artists' and team's direction, and why they made the design decisions that they did.”
“Swinging, Leaping, Landing” - Spring 2020 Issue
You can find more of Sara Lansdell’s work on her Instagram and Artstation, both of which will be linked below. We’re extremely grateful to Sara for submitting her work and we wish her the best in her future endeavors!
genesisSpring 2019 Issue Cover
Sara Lansdell’s Instagram and Artstation
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nohhsara/
Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/nohsara