Arts

Katoomba-based artist Heather Royall draws alot of influence from anime, manga and even video games. "These forms of art and media have fantastically interesting characters, emotions and reactions - in ways that differ from other mediums of art. Over-the-top and silly sometimes but that exaggerated element is something people relate to."

As many artists imitate and learn their craft by looking at others, Heather's early work focused on her favourite characters and games and she was a regular contributor to DeviantArt with her anime and Pokemon tributes.

"I started sketching as a little kid," says Heather. "I got interested in doing bigger ad better works when going online and seeing how good all these other artists were!"

"I try to make things playful and interesting. I enjoy doing cartoon style, I got sick of doing landscapes all the time," she confesses.

Heather has done a lot of local music poster works for bands such as Feast of Fools, allowing her to explore themes and characters derived from her love of anime. "Feast of Fools gave me a lot of challenges with their ‘innocent/corrupted’ themes."

"Sometimes I start on computer, other times I will sketch first. It’s most fun to play around with ideas that people give me, I love bringing those ideas to life for them.

"I’m trying some more simple styled art at the moment, basic lines and that sort of thing."

Feature/Icon Image: Lionfish Mermaid (watercolour on paper)

Below: Some of Heather's work – Hindu Fairy, Pig Shake, and Feast of Fools poster, (using a mix of sketching and digital manipulations).