In the
digital age of computers and technology-savvy software, there are some art forms that just cannot be
replaced. That’s the case with Toronto animator and illustrator Tabitha Fisher’s intricate hand-sketched
drawings.
Transforming the dark, fluid-line strokes into whimsical silhouettes and caricatures,
Fisher draws inspiration from the everyday people she encounters. From wandering through the bustling city,
to dining at local restaurants, she creates the illustrative sketches in mere minutes.
“I
like to go around and document what’s going on in the world, like little snapshots,” she tells
Lifestyler. “Once you start opening your eyes to what’s around you, you see a lot… almost like a
photojournalist with a pen.”
Q&A: Tabitha
Fisher
Tell me a bit about yourself and
your work.
I have been
working in animation for four and a half to five years. I graduated in 2008 from a three-year program at an
animation college [in Toronto]. I’ve just been working on different shows in Toronto and I just recently
pitched a film to the NFB and had it made. I just wrapped that up a couple of weeks ago. I was in Montreal
doing that, and it was really cool. I would like to continue going in that direction and making more
independent films.
With the drawings that I
do, on my blog, I like to go around and document what’s going on in the world, so of like little snapshots.
It’s purely for my own enjoyment — I just love to do it. Once you start opening your eyes to what’s around
you, you see a lot of stuff. The world is full of so many cool things. Little moments in time. That’s what
it’s all about. Almost like a photojournalist with a pen. Just identifying these key little stories that
surround you every day and trying to document them.
How long have you
been interested in illustration and animation?
I always knew I
wanted to work with animation. I didn’t really start animating until I got into college. Even though I always
knew I wanted to, I think I was more drawn to the storytelling aspect… I’m more into telling the narrative, I
guess of daily life and stuff like that. Also, I’m classically trained so I’ve done oil painting as well in
high school.
Tell me about your
drawing style.
I would say it’s
a style that was created organically. In animation, a lot of the time, you have other people’s drawing that
you are copying, because you have to fit into the esthetic of a show, to be consistent because there are so
many people working on that one show. With my own drawings, I try to just do what naturally comes to me. Not
think at all about what it looks like, which is how you get that frantic, quick esthetic. I try to eliminate
all those little things in your mind, when you’re drawing, that can create self-doubt… it can hinder your own
creative output. But if you just kind of let it all go and not be self-conscious, and not critique as you’re
working, it shows in the line quality as well.
Where did you come
up with the idea for the Campagnolo sketch?
I like to just
find cool things around the city to draw. It’s totally in my own interest; just for fun. I really love food
and I love to eat. I’m also very interested in food culture as well. I have a bucket list of places within
the city that I would like to eat at. When I have the time, I like to go to them and draw the vibe; the
kitchen environment, all of the customers eating there — It’s such an interesting dynamic. On one hand, you
have the romantic couple that goes on a date to a restaurant and they have certain expectations of what their
evening is going to be like. From some perspectives, it’s very romantic. There’s candlelight, music, and
everything. But on the other side, there are the cooks. The cooks are like pirates.
(laughs)
They
are very loud and energetic, they scream, sometimes they swear, they are generally very rough but very
friendly guys or girls. The dynamic is very interesting to me. There is the romantic side versus the harsh
reality of what it’s like to be a cook. I find that juxtaposition of those two extremes coming together for
something that they are both experiencing in two different ways. It just seems like a good dynamic place to
be drawing with a lot of high-energy and a lot of stories that are all simultaneously going
on.
How do you select
the people that are the subjects for the sketches?
With a bit of an
animation-trained eye, you kind of look for silhouettes — very strong posing. It can be something that grabs
you in a second. In the case of the Campagnolo image, I was drawn to his very sloped shoulders, his back —
his hunch, and how that made a nice graphic curve. It just made a nice framing, where you have an overlay of
the bar in the front, but you also see a bit of action behind. You can see some of the cooks and some of the
patrons. It’s sort of setting the scene.
The sketches are
quite intriguing, especially since you have been able to transcend a person’s physical appearance (sketching
people of all different ages and sizes while still making beautiful art). Tell me about
that.
It’s really cool
because what I try to do with that is that, I’m not trying to draw people as a likeness. If you see the
facial expressions and things, they have character but it’s just three lines or little dots for eyes. You can
get a lot of those. You sort of have to take that part out of wanting it to look like the person because it’s
not like looking like the person, it’s about feeling like the person, which are two very distinct thing… It’s
the essence of the person instead of the likeliness of a person. It ends up being a caricature a
bit.
What have people’s
reactions been when they realize you are sketching them?
They generally
think it’s really neat, but sometimes you get some funny reactions. No one has really said anything negative
to me. It’s all been either positive or they try to ignore me. (laughs) Sometimes, I’ll be drawing them from across
the room, on the subway or something like that, and you see they wiggle in their seat a little bit. I’m
pretty bold, you can say, so I keep doing it. (laughs) You sort of have to laugh it
off.
You have also
released your first book Tabitha Draws Paris, last November. Tell me about
that.
It’s something I
self-published for CTN, an animation conference in Los Angeles. I had a table there and I wanted to bring
something to sell there and to share with everyone. A friend of mine encouraged me to get away for a bit for
an adventure for the summer. I always wanted to go to Paris so I rented an apartment there for a month. I
wanted to place myself somewhere by myself. Some place new so I could see everything with fresh eyes. I just
brought a bunch of sketchbooks and every day, I would pick some place to go. Everything I did was pretty much
free, except for the Louvre.
How long does it
take to sketch one drawing?
Maybe two to five
minutes, depending on the complexity.
What inspires your
creativity?
I would say, it’s
just life. I really love life. (laughs) Daily life and finding stories in things that seem
to be mundane, or things that everyone seems to experience. Finding out how we are all
connected.
For more on Tabitha
Fisher, visit her website and blog at tabithadraws.com
Photo Credit: Tabitha
Fisher
