Interview with
Illustrator, Textiles, & Design Artist
Maria Oglesby
Welcome Blog Readers & Bookish People,
Today we are learning from the artist Maria Oglesby. I fell in love with her art on Instagram and reached out for an interview. I am an artist as well, although never formally trained. I lack the confidence that Maria has with her use of color and beautiful strokes. I believe you'll fall in love, too!
Please read on and support this young and talented up-and-coming artist!
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Maria,
Can you tell us about your journey as an artist? How did you develop your skills and interests in illustration and design?
Where do your ideas come from? Do you dream of them? Get flashes? Sit down and outline potential art ideas?
A lot of my ideas come from worldbuilding. I work part-time as a professional DM for Dungeons and Dragons games, and I write my own graphic novels and YA fantasies, so I take a lot of inspo from worldbuilding practices that storytellers use. Personally, I find that asking myself a series of questions helps the most.
...just keep asking questions
as to how each problem
would be solved visually
until you have a world that’s fully fleshed out.
Mixing in rules of composition, color and value theory, etc. Helps bring all those ideas together.
What inspired you to pursue a career in illustration and design?
I’ve always felt drawn to creative fields. When I was considering colleges, writing, art, etc.
- everything that I could see myself
being happy doing
involved the arts.
A career doing work I enjoy has always been more important to me than making a lot of money. I’ve been really fortunate to have been given the opportunities I need in order to pursue those goals, and fortunate to have the support of my family to pursue the arts. Because of their encouragement and belief in me, it was a much easier decision than it could have been.
Were there any specific artists or experiences that influenced your decision?
When I was 19, I made friends with a group of illustrators who worked for Neopets. Seeing that it was possible to have a working career in the arts made me more confident in my choice to pursue a degree in them.
How would you describe your artistic style?
Whimsical, dreamy, fantastical.
Are there any particular techniques or mediums that you prefer to work with?
In my traditional work, I mainly use ink and watercolor, though, in the past few years, I’ve done a lot of work in digital mediums as well.
You mentioned being into graphic novels, fantasy, and Dungeons and Dragons. How have these interests influenced your work?
Ultimately I think being a fan of something, especially a visual medium, helps your work evolve because as you find other artists you love, it inspires you to integrate some of those elements into your own work. You experiment with them and make them your own. I’m heavily inspired by art nouveau and comic artists such as Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, the team behind the 5 Worlds, Bree Paulson, and many more. As I’ve taught myself digital illustration over the past few years, they’ve all been influences on how my style has evolved.
Regarding Fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons, reading as many fantasy novels as possible - just in general being well-read in your area of interest - has been a huge help in knowing what’s been done, what works, and how to build a story. Dungeons and Dragons is similar but relies so heavily on improv and thinking outside the box as well as being flexible as players throw curveballs your way. It’s definitely helped me tremendously with stream-of-consciousness drawing and being open to new ideas as I work to continually improve the various projects I’m involved with.
Can you provide some examples of projects where you incorporated these elements?
My most recent graphic novel, Horses of the Stars, went through 2 rewrites and 3 less drastic drafts. Even though I spent a huge amount of time on the writing, when it came to the sample pages, I think being open to continuing to evolve and grow the work as I saw it take shape on the page and continuing to be open to the idea of it changing and not being too attached to the previous version of the script really helped me make it a better pitch than it would have been otherwise.
Who is your biggest cheerleader, and how has she helped you with your art?
Haha probably my mom. She’s not super familiar with art, but we both write - it’s the main hobby that we share. We actually co-wrote a graphic novel pitch together, loosely based on her time moving from Boston to rural NC when she was 10 and coming to terms with no longer having the comforting identity as the adopted kid.
Any time working with another writer
forces you to be flexible and
continue to stretch your story
to fit a different mold,
which I think is a great creative practice.
If that person really believes in you and loves the art you produce for it, it’s definitely a lot more satisfying and certainly helps with motivation! I absolutely love having a creative partner where you can both be each other's cheerleader.
What are you passionate about? What would you fight for?
I strongly believe that young girls need to see more works where they can make their own choices, fight for what’s right, and not have their plot hang on a romantic interest. There are a lot of great contemporary graphic novels like this, but I wish there were more high-fantasy options out there for kids. I hope to make more works like that.
As a professional Dungeon Master, how does your experience in Dungeons and Dragons influence your approach to storytelling and visual design?
Visual design-wise, it’s definitely gotten me more into map-making. Having to figure out how long it takes to get places and where things are located in the game also has made me a better writer, as it’s forced me to think of logistics more than I did previously.
Could you share some insights into your process when creating illustrations or designs for a project?
This often changes depending on whether I’m working for someone else or for myself. I’m very visual, and usually picture things in my head as I write, so by the time I get down to drawing them I have a pretty clear idea of what each panel and layout should look like. I’ve gotten better with panel design over time as I’ve become a better artist.
For clients, I use a method that is pretty standard in the illustration industry.
1. I do a set of thumbnails based on what info they give me. These are sloppy and more about composition.
2. I do a refined sketch of the one they like
3. I do value comps and let them choose one
4. I do color comps and let them choose one
5. I send them the final finished work.
The idea is that the most drastic major changes happen in the stage where I’m putting in the least amount of time, and the number of edits gets smaller and more minute the more I narrow things down and put more time into them. Depending on the client's budget, timeline, and how the client likes to have things presented, sometimes several of these steps are combined or changed.
How do you typically approach a new assignment?
I try to get as much info from the client as possible, or a reference photo with minimal instruction if I’m doing a portrait or pet portrait commission (which I specialize in). This cuts down on a lot of confusion later on. The more clear it is about what they want me to do, the more pleased they tend to be with the final outcome.
What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an artist, and how did you overcome them?
Working with people who don’t think visually. This is usually solved with them throwing extra money at me, or with me trying to ask them extra questions until I can narrow down more what they want. Sometimes it means adding extra thumbnails and redoing things at an earlier stage of the project.
If I gave you a megaphone and the whole world would listen, what one sentence would you yell?
Can you talk about your experience as an art teacher and college prep portfolio counselor?
Sure! I work for Ming Creative Art Academy, a private college portfolio prep program. The company is run by Ming Pan, a famous concept artist for Marvel, DC, and other big-name companies. We get a lot of students who want to be concept artists, so a lot of my work is walking them through how to make a story pitch and write a story with compelling and interestingly designed environments, props, and characters. It’s a lot of fun and involves a lot of great brainstorming sessions and world-building on top of art critiques.
I’m constantly impressed with the work ethic and creativity of my kids; they’re all so smart. Once we have the story figured out, I plan out their portfolio goals and make them a weekly schedule breakdown. They come back to my class twice a week for crit on their work and to check in on their deadlines, and get help with their essays. The rest of the week, they see other teachers for lessons in digital rendering, perspective, still life, sketchbook work, and figure drawing. I usually get the fun job of helping them brainstorm all their creative pieces and go over thumbnails/compositions with them. It’s mostly kids trying to do college prep, but we also get some people just trying to build a professional portfolio. If anyone is interested, we offer classes and free portfolio consultations at https://www.mingcreativeart.com
How has teaching impacted your own artistic practice?
Over the past six years, teaching kids has taught me a lot about patience and being kind to yourself as an artist. So often,
I see kids working as hard as they possibly can
and still feeling like they’re not good enough.
When it gets close to application deadlines, a decent part of my job becomes about giving pep talks and trying to make sure no one hangs all their self-esteem and hopes on one particular acceptance letter or scholarship. Saying it aloud so many times has definitely helped me to not put too much weight on a given agent submission, and as a whole it’s helped me feel better about where I am as an artist, even though with all the amazing artists out there on my social media feed it can be easy to see how many artists are out there that are just absolutely amazing at certain kinds of work.
What are your aspirations or goals in the comics industry?
I’d love to get an agent familiar with the industry who has similar goals and loves fantasy and graphic novels as much as I do. I’d love to sell one of my graphic novels and see it out there in the world and on a shelf.
Are there any specific types of projects or collaborations you are particularly interested in?
My career has taken me in so many different places the last few years, I’ve been learning that often times the things that I really end up loving I didn’t see coming. Right now I’m trying to be open to opportunities and projects that sound fun, without an especially specific collaboration goal in mind. It would be amazing to get to work on a graphic novel for a company or another writer, but it would be equally amazing to get to work with an artist I admire or approach a completely different project that involves people who are excited and passionate about what they do. I’m just grateful that people are thinking of me and are interested in paying me (hopefully a living wage) to do what I love. I mean, seriously - how many people are lucky enough to get to draw and brainstorm all day?
If you could go back in time and tell your younger artist self some great advice - what would that be?
I think in college, my straight-A mentality really backfired. No one has once asked if I graduated with honors, just if I know this or that artist, and for a link to my portfolio.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in your artistic journey?
With so many amazing artists out there, how can you not be? There are so many fantastic artists who do tutorials, like Loish and Sinix Design and Philip Sue just to name a few of them. Seeing amazing work is in itself so inspiring, and reading amazing work that’s been published. I most recently finished the graphic novels Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying and The Girl From the Sea by Molly Ostertag and was hugely inspired by both the art and writing. I feel incredibly lucky to live in an age where such great resources and works of art are so easily accessible.
Are there any strategies or sources of inspiration that you find particularly helpful?
OMG I have a bazillion. I have a huge list of things that I recommend to my students, so I’ll just put a few here that are great for beginners:
1. Handy and Skelly - 3d skeleton and hand/foot apps which are great for tricky reference angles.
2. Any of the George Bridgman books (helps you learn anatomy, heads, and hands)
3. Link to some amazing research on historical costume reference by one of my favorite illustrators, Claire Hummel: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qm0MFwF4E5zjmPG6n0HiHBb1Ni--W-YBLHoWkhQ0fRQ/edit?usp=sharing
4. https://line-of-action.com/ and http://reference.sketchdaily.net/ for figure drawing practice if you can’t go to a studio with a live model
5. Pexels, Pixbay, and Rawpixel are all websites with royalty-free photos - great for finding textures if you want to photobash something or turn it into a texture brush (for digital artists).
Yes! I’m currently creating a serialized choose-your-own-adventure otome game called Charm School for Cupids (it’s a cupid dating sim, and it is very silly and tropey and fun) for the app Dorian. It’s sort of like an interactive comic, and you pay like 10c or something to access extra story scenes or romantic scenes. It’s been fun and fluffy, and I hope other people enjoy it! It’s aimed at adults, but all romantic scenes are behind a paywall, so it’s not inappropriate if a younger audience clicks through it. You can find it by downloading the app Dorian and searching “charm school for cupids”. Leaving a comment or saving the story really helps me to get boosted on the app.
Can you provide any details or sneak peeks?
Sure! I can share the cover art for my Charm School for Cupids Story, which I am currently writing chapter 4 of. The woman in the cover was inspired by The Soul of a Rose by John William Waterhouse, one of my favorite artists and who I think of first when I think of romantic art.
In other details - I’m also working on a YA fantasy graphic novel pitch, about a young witch who is struggling to both find her place in the world, her witches familiar, and herself.
What advice do you have for aspiring artists who are looking to pursue a career in illustration or design?
Join SCBWI (if you’re illustrating for Kidlit)! They’ve been such a helpful resource to me. Get inspired by people around you. Find a crit group you like and who you can get helpful feedback from. Be open to changing your work and accepting crit.
You mentioned that you've written books to go along with your artwork. How many, and what's happening with them?
I’ve written four! Well, I co-authored the one with my mom that’s about her move to NC. I’ve written one MG graphic novel, and two YA fantasies. They’re currently a backlog as I work toward agent representation. I love writing, and it’s an incredibly important part of my life.
You have a shop on Etsy - how easy or difficult was that to create, and how has it worked for you so far? Would you advise other artists to do the same?
It’s worked out well, though it’s definitely changed a lot over the years. My watercolor pet portrait work got a lot of traction early on, and I’ve moved into to mainly just taking commissions via etsy. If you make a certain amount of money each year they send you a tax form, which makes things easier than having to keep track of all your sales yourself, and if you don’t make enough to get a tax form you get a summary of sales.
Maria Oglesby Art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MariaOglesbyArt
The amount of work I get from there varies, but has increased over the years as I’ve gotten better and also as I’ve made a habit of leaving a stack of business cards at various pet-themed places of business (with their permission, of course). I’m actually in the process of partnering as the official pet portrait artist for The Green Beagle, a fantastic dog and cat boarding place in our area that just opened its second location.
If you can find your niche and need an easy way to sell things that will also drive some traffic toward your site, it’s great, but I do have to promote a decent amount on my own.
I think it’s important for artists and small businesses to be transparent about money, so I don’t mind sharing that I made a little over 3.5K last year from commissions on Etsy. That’s after building up a clientele over the past 8 years.
That said, I think there are a lot of things I’m much better at than business and marketing, and others might do better on the platform after that period of time. I’ve always needed additional work outside of Etsy, though, and have never relied on it for my full income.
Where do you hope to be with your art in 5 years?
I’d love to be better than I am now, which I’m sure will happen. Maybe that will be with digital art, maybe I’ll get into something 3D, maybe I’ll get a job doing murals or watercolor work, or something completely different. I think as long as I’m continuing to take advantage of opportunities that are presented to me and I get to be paid to work in a creative field, I’ll be in a great place.
How can my readers help you on your artistic journey?
Please go save/comment/read my Dorian story Charm School for Cupids!
You can find me on TikTok, where I give art tips and tutorials, and on Instagram @mariaoglesbyart
I’m also currently taking on a few private students for those who are seeking virtual art lessons, and can be contacted regarding it via my website, http://www.mariaoglesbyart.com
I also take commissions via https://www.etsy.com/shop/MariaOglesbyArt
Do you belong to any artist groups or art critique groups?
I’m in 2 SCBWI groups - one for MG and YA writers, and one for illustrators. I also have three amazing writer friends who beta read my work and offer great feedback (one of them just had a book come out! Check out The Worry Balloon by Mónica Mancillas! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250852939/theworryballoon
Getting a second (or third or fourth) read on your work is so incredibly important. If you’re not open to feedback and reworking your writing, you can’t grow as an artist, and it’s often people who are working in the same field as you who are knowledgeable enough to point out where you can improve.
That said, you need to find a good group, and not every group will work for every person. It’s okay to try a couple different ones. Crit groups are so vital to your progress as an artist, it’s important to find a group you really gel with, and it’s also a great way to make friends with people who share your goals and interests!
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your work that we haven't covered in this interview?
I foster bottle baby kittens! We always have a litter up for adoption or about to be up for adoption. If you’re seeking a furry companion and live anywhere near Chapel Hill NC, check out my Instagram stories or http://beautifultogethersanctuary.com/ (the rescue we work with) for more info on adoptable kittens!
They’re a foster-only rescue, so any companion you adopt through them will be well-socialized, and they’ll have an accurate assessment of the pet’s personality. They’re a wonderful organization to work with, too, if you’re interested in fostering or donating!
I’d also love to shout out http://kittcrusaders.org - the wonderful cat rescue we fostered back in LA. They’re going through a tough spot right now with vet bills and always appreciate donations and new foster volunteers!
Thanks so much for having me on the blog; it’s been a pleasure!
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Oh, you are so very welcome, Maria!
I enjoyed this interview and laughed a few times out loud. So, thank you! I especially love all of the resources you shared to help new artists and illustrators. I am going to check them out for myself as well. I have never tried to monetize my artwork - always felt it was not good enough (like your students), but you've given me some great ways to break that habit and try some new things.
And if you'd like to get in contact with Maria, here is a list of where you can find her:
Twitter: @MariaOglesbyArt
Instagram: @mariaoglesbyart
TikTok: mariaoglesbyart
Website: Maria Oglesby
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Email me angazur @ gmail
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