Tower of Ivory: Hello! We’re here with Julie Snyder, a frequent illustrator of our e-zine. So Julie, what started you on art?

Julie Snyder: ::laughs:: Well, I suppose it all started with me being a terrible copy-cat when I was younger. My sister would doodle all over her school notebooks and I thought that was the neatest thing! So I’d sneak into her binders and copy what she had done. But what really was the kick-off was in third grade when I did a self-portrait out of boredom. That’s when I discovered that, yes, I could draw on my own!

TOI: Do you have any schooling in art?

JS: Only the basic grammar school up through eighth grade. There hasn’t been much time to take the classes so I’m pretty much self-taught.

TOI: Who are you greatest influences?

JS: Other than my sister? ::laughs:: I love Da Vinci and the comic book artist Steve McNiven. It really depends on what I’m drawing. Recently I’ve been doing quite a bit of cartoony creatures.

TOI: What mediums do you mostly use?

JS: A lot of pencils and coloured pencils. As of this past Christmas I’ve been experimenting with the addictive computer drawing pad.

TOI: Do you find a common thread throughout your works?

JS: Quite a bit of people, I’m terrible at landscaping. Fantasy is a large theme, faeries and elves, unicorns and dragons, etc.

TOI: What’s one of the ups of drawing?

JS: I love getting messy. Like when I’m using my acrylics on the border in my room, I love having the paint smears all over my fingers, or with pencils, having the smudges on the side of my hand.

TOI: And a down?

JS: Getting "artist’s block". Everyone has really only one story to tell and after a while you keep on repeating yourself with slight variations. That’s why I enjoy illustrating because then I’m bringing out someone else’s ideas and not stuck on my own.

TOI: Any parting words of wisdom?

JS: Don’t put candles in the microwave. Seriously? For all those who claim that they’re bad at art: it’s just well placed lines! Keep trying! I know people who taught themselves to draw at age 40! And for those who claim that they’re good at drawing: don’t get into weirdism art. You’re probably the only one who knows what it means when you do it and that’s no fun for the rest of us!

The End