Learn about the artist behind the art!

All about the artist!
Hi! You've reached the page about me, so you obviously want to know more.
My name is Lara and I live in that lovely wet country of England. I live with my parents, cat, hamster, Aibo, fish and 9 guinea pigs.

I was born on May 19th 1984 and have been drawing ever since I learned to hold a pencil. I was often told off at school for doodling all over my books while the teacher was trying to tell us something very educational but completely boring. I watched cartoons nearly all my life and used those to help me with my own art to begin with. Through using other styles for inspiration, I blended them all together and finally came up with my own style that I am happy with.
My favourite 'toons growing up were Rude Dog and the Dweebs, Widget, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (they called them "Hero" Turtles over here for a while since the word "Ninja" was deemed too violent), most of the Warner Brothers cartoons, Hot Rod Dogs, Bucky O Hare, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys, Gravedale High, Sonic the Hedgehog (in his various series that had nothing at all in common really) and a multiude of others, too many to name. Growing up in the 80s helped because I think back then cartoons were getting popular and there was a craze for them, so many imaginative ones. Aside from cartoons, I also like stop motion animation, such as Tim Burton's work and Aardman Studio's creations. CGI doesn't enthrall me that much. Its good in its place but it seems to be taking over from 2D animation which doesn't bode well for people who want to make a future with traditional cell animation.
I did Advanced GNVQ IT for two years at college and one year of Media Studies. I have been using a computer in a big way since I was 13 and am pretty familiar with all the main paint programs available at the moment.
I have a diploma in pet portraits.

Growing up, I used to write stories and comics of my characters, mostly about my pets and my cuddly toys. I did a monthly magazine just for fun and that lasted about 4 years. Now I look through these magazines and see how much my drawing has improved, so its an interesting piece of personal history. For my Art mock GCSE I bought my guinea pig in as my drawing subject and for my main GCSE, I drew my friend's mouse she bought in. I got A's in both. However in college (6th form) I was disappointed to get a B in my first year and a C in my second year. You can imagine my disappointment. However my teacher told me my art was too commercial for the exams. They focused on fine art. But that wasn't a complete loss. Commercial art is useful for the type of career I want to persue and many people have been impressed by my work so I keep at it.

Type of art I do? Mostly cartoon, my own characters and a small amount of fanart (no fanart on this site, you might want to check out my deviantART gallery if you want to see that). I also draw realistic animals, fantasy (dragons and other creatures) and cars. Cartoon cars of course! I also sculpt in Premo Sculpey polymer clay.
Mediums I use? Mainly Crayola coloured pencils. Not very professional or expensive but they work for me. I do most of my backgrounds in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. I am currently learning Flash so I can bring Katnip to life as well as Meo n' Co. later on. I paint on t-shirts and have made things in many different materials such as paper maché, felt and cuddly toys I designed and made when I was younger.

So now you know a little about me and what inspires me. Hope you enjoy your stay at Silvolf Studios! I do commissions and please feel free to sign my guest book, I love getting feedback!
~Lara