Interview #9: Célia Beauduc's Sketchbook
A great talk on anatomy drawing skills, sketchbook practice and favorite art tools
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Hi and welcome back! Things are starting to get back on track, and I venture to say that I will bring you as many as 3 interviews a month! I also plan to reorganize the content of this page and add one post per month devoted to various topics in the illustration industry that I’m personally pursuing.
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Célia (aka @linu_art_) is both a digital and traditional French illustrator. You may have already seen one of her fantastic inked mermaid drawings. Personally, I’m fond of her line art and graphite sketches, which have such a strong energy and personality. I’m really curious to know more about her work and technique as well as her thoughts and passion for drawing!
✦ Hello Célia and thank you for contributing to forArtists page. Could you tell us what was your artistic path that led you to where you are today?
Art was an essential part of my childhood. With several family members drawn to painting and sculpture, I was influenced. However, there were several triggers, in particular the first comics I read and reread, Loisel's "The Quest for the Time Bird" and Rosinski's "Thorgal", or the first video game I played, Tomb Raider III for example :) that made me want to get into this field. I quickly wanted to immerse myself in these fantastic universes. And I think you can still feel those influences in my current work.
So, I easily made the decision at a very young age to study art (a BAA in Applied Arts, a BTS in Visual Communication, a Licence Pro in Multimedia Creation, a Master's in Computer Graphics and some additional training in 3D and concept art).
It's important for me to say that I learned to draw on my own. I had a few basics during my studies, but they were clearly insufficient. It's overall a passion that I've developed on my own and that I continue to work on every day :)
✦ You draw both digitally and traditionally. Can you tell us which technique you prefer for your personal art and which, on the other hand, you use most in your professional work?
I prefer the traditional art process. It's raw and mistakes are often unforgivable (although over time you find techniques to camouflage them or take advantage of them again, which can be very interesting). There's an authenticity to it that I'm particularly fond of. Working with materials and textures. I'm still shy on this point, but I'm working on it so I can be more daring. For those who know me or follow me a little, I'm particularly fond of pencil (graphite and colored pencils), ink and watercolors.
I also love digital, especially for creating my personal sketches. There's an intensity and dynamic to my research phases that I really enjoy. I also do more complex paintings for work, but not very much for my personal art, because I'm perhaps not patient enough and I can't retain the power and dynamics that I find in my sketches. Cécile Carré talked about this in one of her lectures. It's a particularly difficult aspect to transcribe onto more accomplished paintings.
I generally use digital tools in my day-to-day work, because I don't just do illustrations, but also layout, visual communication and so on..
✦ I'm sure many artists envy your ability to draw bodies so well. Do you have any tips or practices for studying anatomy and simplifying it?
Ah, I love drawing bodies! To be honest, I've learned a lot through observation. I like to observe people down to the smallest detail. The curve of a cheekbone, the shape of the eyes, the effect of the wind on the hair etc... (without them noticing, because I don't want to disturb them :)).
I think I've always loved anatomy and had the desire to improve. One thing that does work is the practice of gestural drawing in a limited time and trying to simplify the poses as much as possible with simple shapes to understand how the body works. This works very well as a little warm-up before getting down to work.
I haven't done much nude drawing, but I highly recommend it. It's really rewarding and constructive. You can always find videos online with break times to practice. I always think I should do more!
Here are some of my recommendations:
• Figure drawing - Design and Invention by Michael Hampton
• Anatomy, action & fighting poses (there are several in the collection) by Masters of anatomy
• Animation techniques by Richard Williams
• Drawing the Heads & Hands by Andrew Loomis
• Anime and manga characters by TB Choi
• Character design quarterly (CDQ magazines)
• Sketch every day / Draw what you love by Simone Grünewald
There are plenty of others, of course, but these aren't bad at all :)
✦ Have you ever suffered burn-out or periods of demotivation and lack of creativity? How did you overcome them?
Ahh yes, we all go through them! Everyone will find their own method, but for me what works quite well is to take a break and get away from it for a while. Refocusing on my family and friends or just enjoying the fresh air by going for a walk, or doing some sport too! Thanks to these breaks, my drawing skills have evolved all the same. You assimilate what you've been working on, and your eye improves over time too.
Don't put pressure on yourself with social networks and posts (even if it's complicated)... try to do things that make you feel good.
I constantly feel that I lack creativity and always do the same thing, that I stay in my comfort zone… But I tell myself that I'm getting better this way too!
A few years ago, the only thing that made me feel good was drawing. Not just any drawing, though, because I was incapable of it. Half of one of my notebooks is filled with almost automatic landscape drawings done with a ballpoint pen or a Micron ink pen. It lasted for a while, but then the desire to do something else gradually returned.
✦ Many artists are worried about not having their own style. What do you think of your own style and what have been the major influences in your career?
Uhm, it's true that I had periods of doubt like that when I was younger. I think style comes naturally over time. It's our trademark, the curves of our drawings are unique to each of us and also represent us. You can tell a little of the artist's personality from a drawing! Its gentleness or rigor, depending on the strokes. My style is a continuation of my personality.
My influences ... there are far too many haha. I'll mention just a few. Thorgal and The Quest for the Time Bird, as mentioned above, had a major impact. There was a period when I was fascinated by Boris Vallejo and Louis Royo's ability to manage anatomy and dynamics in their illustrations. I learned a lot from their work.
I also love the Impressionist period, especially Monet and Manet, and some of Courbet's work. Art nouveau is one of my favorite periods too. Also Land art! ;).
I really like Charlie Bowater, Eliza Ivanova, Bluebirdy, Viktor Kalvachev, Karl Kopinski, Kim Jung-Gi, Sibylline Meynet, Claire Wendling, Even Melh Amundsen... and many others.
✦ How many artbooks have you self-published so far? And what have been the biggest challenges in producing them?
6 art books in total, including the last 2 in 2023. I use online printers for reasons of cost and convenience, as I don't have any printers near me. To be honest, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. The result is still a little below my expectations in terms of rendering and color matching. I still have some testing to do to find what suits me. All in all, I've had some good experiences, they're all attentive to my needs and do their best to meet my requirements. I'm just very picky XD.
I like matte papers for artbooks, but prefer satin or gloss paper for posters and cards. The blacks are deeper and there's more contrast.
I usually start with 100 artbooks to have enough to sell at conventions, but I may cut back to 50 for future releases. Unless my fame explodes haha! -And we wish you that it happens!
✦ What are your favorite traditional materials and what's one you couldn't live without in particular?
So, I'm preparing your future shopping list ;)
Let's start with pencils:
• Faber-Castell polychromos. I draw a lot with them. I love the color range and the feeling of drawing with them, so high pigmented!
• I use a Pentel mechanical pencil that I can't find in stores: Pentel ORENZ Metallic 0.5 mm mechanical pencil.
• my indispensable Kuretake brush pen, which I use for all my inktober drawings.
• Sakura pigma micron pens too.
• I mainly use Schimoni art fibonacci brushes. They're my must-haves. I mainly use the rounder size 2 and The Soft Quill Brush. I also have a promo for them for the whole year with the code LINUART15.
Then I love the Finest sable Serie7 size 000 brush from Winsor and Newton and Master kolinski from Raphel size 2/0.
• I use Rohrer and Klingner ink. And I don't have a preference for watercolors.
• I need to test more metallic paints, but I really like Coliro and Rohrer & Klingner ones.
✦ I know a lot of us have a problem with sketchbooks, we buy too many and finish very few.... Do you have a favorite sketchbook and a daily routine for consistently drawing in it?
I have the same problem ... but is it really a problem? haha
I have an attachment to a sketchbook I bought in Denmark on vacation. I still have 2 pages to fill! I did all my Mermay on it. I like it a lot, because I could see my evolution on this notebook. I'll be sharing all the pages soon in real life, I think.
I don't particularly have a daily routine (I don't think I'm a good example of that). Routine tends to bore me in the long run. I draw mostly when I feel like it and ....I feel like it very often ^.^ . All I can recommend is that you draw a little every day, but don't force yourself too much if you don't feel like it. Putting pressure on yourself isn't good for the long term and can even discourage you.
✦ What’s your typical day like?
uhm ... I look after my daughter, then when I've got 5 minutes I draw. Since she's started school, it's been easier, though.
During the working day, I sometimes have more time, so I take advantage of it to practice a little or take photos, and prepare my insta posts for the evening. On the other hand, I still can't get ahead on this part.
I do my inktobers in the evening when my daughter is in bed. The quiet of the evening calms me.
✦ What are your current projects and goals for this year?
I've just finalized a great project with a major French publishing house. I can't talk about it yet, but by July-August I'll be able to announce it.
I'm currently working with another publishing house to illustrate a book... a real joy! I might be able to talk about it at the end of the year too.
This year, I'm gradually getting back into conventions, and I'm really looking forward to it! I’ll be in Metz on May 18th and 19th (at Metztorii). Don't hesitate to come and see me :).
I'm also planning 1 or 2 new art books. A ton of originals to sell, if possible :).
Not bad at all!
You can find out more about Célia's work and books on Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube and on her website/shop.
