Name: E. K. Weaver
Likes: extremely spicy Thai food, thunderstorms, the word "butt"
Dislikes: almond extract, squealy brakes, the words "leverage" and "pro-active"

Brief Bio:
I was born in 1977 and grew up in Huntsville, AL - the cradle of engineering and governmnent contracts. Went to Berry College for my bachelor's degree in Studio Art. In the summer of 2000, I escaped the Bible Belt and made Austin, TX my home. I live in an old house with my wonderful husband, Brett, our dogs Dini and Bob, and our cat Bumpus.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long have you been drawing?
I've loved to draw for as long as I can remember, although I decided I wanted to become an artist when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I've been working in graphics since 1996.

Have you taken any classes, or are you self-taught? Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
I took art classes both in and out of school from about first grade on. At Berry College, I declared a Studio Art major during my freshman year, and took at least one art class each semester. Additionally, I continued to draw constantly outside of these classes. Since leaving school, I've learned more from independent life drawing, anatomy books, and interacting with other artists.

As for advice: Draw every day. Don't be afraid of "what if it sucks" or "what if I mess up" - just draw and draw and practice, and pull out the good stuff from the muck later.
Also. get a solid foundation in figure drawing before concentrating on cartoon work.I learned this the hard way. In high school, I blundered around with anime/manga style art while ignoring the basics, and I'm still making up for the damage years later.

Back in 2000, I had the good fortune to share an evening with Mr. Koichi Tsunoda, who has worked on many anime features including Mazinger Z and Sailor Moon. He and I talked (through a translator) about our respective portfolios - and when he opened his, it was filled almost entirely with life drawings, sketches of Greek and Roman statues, and quick doodles done from life. "The first thing an animation studio looks for in an artist's portfolio," he whispered, "is whether the artist can draw hands and feet."

What is your favorite medium? What tools do you use?
As convenient as digital formats are, I prefer plain old pencil and paper. . Even when a piece's final destination is a digital file, I do as much of the work as possible on paper, then do any corrections and color in Photoshop.
When working on Bristol, I prefer to use a drafting pencil (a very hard lead, about 5H or 6H) for the initial sketch - for inking and colour I like Pigma pens, Copic markers, and Speedball inks applied with a very small brush.
When doing comic work, I lay down foundation sketches in red Col-Erase pencil, then go over them again in HB and 2B pencil and black ink, then drop out the red lines in Photoshop.
On canvas, I use acrylic paint. It's not as refined as oil, but I can afford it, the mess is easier to clean up, and the faster drying time and compatibility with water let me layer washes nicely.
For digital work, I use Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS, and a 9x12" Wacom Intuos3 tablet. I currently work in Windows on an HP laptop that hooks up to a separate monitor.