Skilled in many mediums, styles, and subject areas, Lindsay Archer started out with a degree in computer animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Over the years she has become an accomplished professional artist in the gaming industry by illustrating for such Role Playing Games as: Serenity, Supernatural, Dragonlance, Battlestar Galactica, Cortex, and Metamorphosis Alpha. In addition to these exciting projects, Lindsay also does storyboarding and released a collaborative art tutorial book in 2016 called "Fairies in Color Pencil" produced by Walter Foster Publishing.
How long have you been illustrating and what made you start?
My first illustration project was while I was still at the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1999. I illustrated a role playing game called Legendmaker for a friend. At the time I was studying computer animation, but after I got my degree, I ended up falling back into illustration and got my first major illustration job working on the Serenity RPG and Dragonlance.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Sometimes I have photoshoots with models and they inspire me. Other times, I have dreams that need to be drawn. When illustrating for others, I don't always get a say in what I create, but I love it when I get a general direction and free reign.
Where is your favourite place to illustrate?
Somewhere open with good lighting, although I have friends who have napkin collections of my work.
What are your illustrating/colouring material essentials?
I'm a bit of a jack of all materials when it comes to art. I paint in oils, acrylics, and watercolour, as well as digital. Recently I have tended to gravitate toward colour pencils, just for portability. Also I like to use my wacom board for inking digitally, instead of having to scan and go back in to clean up the lines.
What’s the piece of work that you’re most proud of or enjoyed doing the most?
Journey's End is my "work out of time" It was when I took the leap forward and realised "Hey I can do this." I made some other awful art at that time, but it spurred me forward. I studied under Larry Elmore and worked hard to get better.
Keep moving forward. Keep your old work to remind you where you've grown, but just keep going. Keep creating. Every time you do so, you learn and improve. Experiment! What's the worst that can happen?
