Lion Chat with Liztigress!

Welcome to my very first Lion Chat! My name is Kall, but the focus today is not me. It is on the artist, liztigress. Her real name is Elizabeth, and she can speak English, Spanish, and a little French. She is a junior in college where she is studying Animation/Entertainment Arts. She is located in Southern California, USA.

Here's a map of California to help you see you where she is!

As I said earlier, she is enrolled in college, but she does work part time. She worked in the library of her old college, but she is now a student assistant in the InterLibrary Loan department of the library of her current college. She describes herself as very polite to her colleagues, but she is very stern with her siblings and boyfriend.

A Drawing of Her:

Her typical day involves her getting up around 6:30 in the morning and leaving around 7:10 to find parking. She works a few hours in the morning before heading to class. After class, she heads home at 2:30. While she is home, she relaxes for an hour before eating and doing homework. After doing homework, she enjoys to draw or to work on dolls. Even though she really enjoys making dolls, she said she enjoyed drawing more.

One of Her Drawings:

She said, "There's just a nice feeling of making a sketch, moving to inking in pen, and then coloring in marker that makes me feel like I've completed something. It usually doesn't take too long either, where as a doll can take days to finish [to] be called complete."

Another Drawing: (Warning! Slight Nudity!)

She finds inspiration in many places. Regarding dolls, she loves watching Poppen Atelier on YouTube, who makes realistic looking dolls from scratch and makes drastic skin color changes. Elizabeth aspires to make dolls as good as Poppen Atelier. She said, "I was so motivated [that] I bought a 17 inch Monster High Doll, and I tried giving her a face-up and wig inspired by Poppen Atelier and DannisDesignerDolls, on Instagram." She named her doll Jackie, and she sold her on Etsy for $60, which made her the most expensive doll she has ever made.

Jackie:

While she looks up to Poppen Atelier and DannisDesignerDolls for dolls, she looks up to DreamWorks Animation Studios when it comes to her dream career in animation. The Prince of Egypt, produced by DreamWorks, remains one of her favorite movies of all time.

'Prince of Egypt' by Dreamworks:

When it comes to dolls, some of her biggest influences are: Dollightful Dollmotion, who does dolls and stop motion animation, DannisDesignerDolls, and Poppen Atelier. For animation and entertainment arts, some of her biggest influences are: Rebecca Sugar, Alex Hirsch, Walt Disney, Don Bluth, and her art teacher, Mike Sheehan.

Here is one of her biggest influences: Walt Disney.

When Elizabeth is inspired to create, she does most of her creative work on the top bunk of her bed. She tends to spend hours up there working on dolls, homework, and drawings.

Here is another drawing of hers:

Until she went to college, she was mostly a self-taught artist. She would draw cartoon characters and other things in anime style too. Once in college, she learned how to draw realistically, paint, sketch quickly, and work in different art programs.

Here is some digital art:

Every artist has their tools. For Elizabeth, she uses a sketchbook, markers, pencils, and pens when drawing. For her dolls, she uses Mr. Super Clear sealant, watercolor pencils, soft pastels, and yarn. She uses Cintiq 13HD, Photoshop, and Autodesk Sketchbook for her digital art. Her most important tool is her sketchbook and something to write with.

Another Digital Art Drawing:

She has been drawing since she was very little, but she did not always do dolls. She started her first doll in September of 2017. She rerouted and did the face-up of her first Monster High, Clawdeen, because she didn't like her. She still has her first custom to this day.

Here is her first custom:

Since she has been doing art for some time, she has completed many pieces. When it comes to her dolls, her favorite is Jackie. When it comes to her artwork, her favorite piece is her witch characters that she created for her character design class. While she has her favorite pieces, she also has her least favorite. When it comes to dolls, her least favorite is her princess, Belle. She said, "I don’t like her face! I whipped up her outfit really badly because I was trying to meet the deadline of our collab." When it comes to her artwork, her least favorite is a painting of a set of teacups and small plates. She said, "I hate it! The ellipses are all wrong and wonky! My boyfriend has it hung up in his room because I was planning on throwing it away."

Here are her witch characters:

Elizabeth said, "It is hard to point out something I like about my art, especially when I compare it to the other students in our major. When I’ve worked days on a project and I complete it, I will be proud of the outcome a lot of the time." While she finds it hard to say what she likes most about her artwork, she said, "I think my dolls are pretty unique." While she thinks her dolls are unique, she dislikes when the eyes are not even. When it comes to her artwork, she said, "When comparing my art to other students’, I feel like it is nothing unique in comparison. I don’t think I have a specific style yet that deviates my art from others'. I know that’s not important, but it is still bothersome."

More Artwork:

She works on many projects at a given time. She may work on one to four dolls at a time. It's very similar with her artwork. When embarking upon a new project, she is both a pre-planner and a free spirit. For assignments, she said, "I have to draw thumbnails and sketches to pick out the best design." When it comes to drawing or making dolls for fun, she tends to go with the flow.

Gender-bent Pennywise doll:

Every artist goes through creative blocks. When it comes to creative blocks, Elizabeth tries to work on something simple that doesn't require too much effort or work. During creative blocks, she likes to make doll hair or do a quick sketch based off a picture.

Close Up of a Face Up:

When it comes to her dolls, she sees a doll as complete once they have a complete face, head of hair, and some final touches of gloss. She also looks to see if she can improve on anything before she calls it finished, such as weird lines or unkempt hair. When it comes to her artwork, she likes to make sure the final line is practically flawless, and that the shading and highlights make the character pop out.

Shiny Ribombee:

As an artist, Elizabeth has created many things. Out of them all, she has two which she considers her greatest accomplishments. She considers Jackie as her biggest doll accomplishment, and she considers the PSA animation about the importance of your Digital Footprint from 11th grade as her greatest artwork accomplishment. While she is very proud of her accomplishments, Jackie and the tortoises she made for her Character Design Class give her the most pride and satisfaction.

Ginger:

For the future, she wishes to make a very realistic 17 inch Monster High doll like Poppen Atelier. She also would love to make a very cute but entertaining short animation, and she would also like to become a YouTube Animator who tells stories, but she would have no stories to tell. While she has a long list of dream creations, she feels compelled to create a doll with body mods and skin color changes, but she feels like she doesn't have the tools, experience, or patience for it. She also feels compelled to create a traditionally animated scene using paper and pencil.

Doodle of her:

While the future looks bright, the past can be hard to deal with. However, Elizabeth did not want to change anything from her past about her art. She said, "Nope! I like to look at my progress when I compare my old stuff to my new stuff. I can see how I have improved and what I would do differently. It is important to learn from our mistakes."

Drawing of Ginger:

Gandhi once said, "The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is fear." Fear affects us all, but that is not important. It is how we deal that is important. Elizabeth has faced her fears with art. She has been afraid and concerned about being judged by others. She said, "Yes!! I will bring my dolls to school to take pictures of them, and I’m always worried someone is going to think I’m weird if they see me; it’s kind of embarrassing. I give other students my Art IG (Liztigress_art) instead of Liztigress because I don’t want them to see my dolls and think I’m weird."

Collage of eyes:

While she fears people finding her doll hobby weird, she does feel accepted by the community online and by her own family. She said, "Yes!! Apparently there is a big doll lover community online, which is why I got into making customs in the first place. My family really likes my dolls too. I’ve made three dolls for my mom and sister per their request."

Cat Girls: Alessandra, Liz, and Bonita:

When asked what role does the artist have in society, she said, "Ever since I was in high school, I have believed that art can help bring happiness to the world. I think it is also important that we use our art to address certain issues in our society, like racism, sexism, and other injustices. I think it’s a great way to express ourselves." When it comes to her art, she thinks a drawing or painting would be a good way to talk about it and express her feelings towards the issues.

Sadness:

Creativity is something many of us do to express ourselves. Elizabeth believes that creativity is a part of human nature. She said, "We’ve been creating since the dawn of time, but I do think it should be nurtured and encouraged further. There are some parents that will diminish and discourage creativity in their kids." She also believes that we are all born with the ability to be creative.

Jade from Collector's Line:

She sees herself as creative because she is constantly making art. She defines creativity as the ability to come up with stuff from scratch or from inspiration. While she is constantly creating new art, she tends not to make any of her creations too sexual, so she doesn't offend anyone. She also feels guilty for making time for her art, especially when she is meant to be working on homework.

Sunset Shimmer:

When asked why she creates art, she said, "My art keeps me busy and helps me express myself. If I didn’t have my doll hobby, I think I’d be a lazy person with no motivation. I want a career in art because I enjoy making it, and I hate writing and math."

Sketchbook Pro Doodle:

Elizabeth's goal with her dolls is to be able to create beautiful dolls to sell. When it comes to her artwork, she wants to build a good portfolio so that she may become an animator, storyboard artist, or a character designer.

Her business card:

When asked what she would tell a fellow artist who is scared to share their art, she said, "Don’t be afraid! Many people have different tastes, and your art might just be to their liking!"

Collage of Brown Eyes:

When asked what's the best advice you have been given, she said, "Practice!!!!! I know it is annoying, but if you keep practicing you’ll correct your mistakes and learn more, eventually it will become easy. If you want to get into drawing, draw as much as you can and learn life drawing!"

Chatter Wocky:

Overall, Elizabeth is an artist who I enjoy. This interview paints her into a light that makes her seem more human rather than just someone online. I hope you enjoyed this Lion Chat! My name is Kall, and today, we have took a look into the life, mind, and heart of the artist, Liztigress.