Today, I’m really excited to bring you guys an interview with a really good friend of mine and an amazing young artist. Her name is Sara Tisdale, but you can find her art under the name Sergle. When we first met, some time back through the deviantArt community, I had already noticed her before hand for her gorgeous pixel art. Which at the time was primarily what she did. So when she messaged me about a possible collaboration one day, I was ecstatic. Of course, her pixel skills far surpassed my own and since then not only has she improved but she’s also branched out into digital illustration.
The thing that really stuck out to me then, and I sometimes forgot this because her work was so fluid and beautiful, is that Sergle started out in illustration working with a mouse. Without access to a tablet and pen, Sergle worked with a regular old computer mouse which to me is like trying to paint with a bar of soap. Below are examples of older pieces she did before she finally picked up a tablet, I couldn't settle on just one.
In the time that I’ve known
First then, can you tell me a bit about yourself and what you do as an artist?
As far as I go, there's not much separation between who I am as a person and who I am as an artist since it's my main passion. I'm really involved in cooking, cats, talking too much about my personal life on the Internet, etc. It's fun stuff. But the art is more fun- a lot of the art I do I feel is inspired by fairytale style stuff, but it varies. I do a lot of character designs and fanart too, and the fanart is DEFINITELY a big part of where I place myself in the art community. Overall though what I aim to do is make things that are fun to look at, and I'm learning as I go.
I think in the time since I first met you, you've really grown as an artist. What are some things that motivate you when you start a new piece and keep you creating more?
You know, it depends on if I have a plan or not. When I have some kind of visual in my mind when I start, the piece never quite comes out how I want, and in a way that motivates me to make it look more and more like how I'm imagining it. But I mean, that's the sophisticated answer. Aside from
You have really beautiful style that I've really enjoyed watching you develop. From what places or even people do you pull inspiration from?
I take inspiration from a lot of garbage, it all plays a little part. I really like Pre-Raphaelite paintings, fairytale inked illustrations and my fair share of cartoons. Steven Universe is playing a big role right now, and there are a lot of webcomics and individual online artists I follow and enjoy too. Phobso is especially amazing, I really aim to make my work look that soft.
Those are the things that I'm actively inspired by. There's also all those seasons of Spongebob that I'm ignoring. Disney and Don Bluth stuff is also a big influence, it's pretty inevitable. BUT MOSTLY THE OTHER STUFF.
Can you tell me about your art process a little? When you have an idea of the image you want, what's it look like from start to end?
My art process is SUPER disorganized. A lot of it is made up as I go- whatever happens just happens naturally, for most of my personal art. But the idea that makes me start is usually just the vibe I want the art to have. Like, if it's supposed to be really energetic and cute, or if I'm going for something more relaxed. The colors in my art are also a big deal to me, so sometimes a piece is quickly put together just as a vessel for some colors I wanted to use. The thing just kind of happens, and it keeps happening.
It looks like a simple outline at first, and by the end it's snowballed so much more detail and color and dimension over the course of it. Almost none of my addends are planned.
Where would you like to go from here as an artist?
I mean, ideally I'd like to be paid to draw
When you say you'd like to be paid, does that mean you'd consider doing work for someone else? For example, I'd love to hire you for a comic or to do a cover for a book.
Definitely. There are a lot of things I'd like to do on my own, but being hired on as an artist for projects or a more long-term thing is in my books, too. Working on someone else's ideas could, I think, be a lot of fun, and give me a chance to stretch my abilities a little. As long as the person sees me as a person working on a project alongside them rather than an art-production tool, which has totally been a problem for me before. I'd be really pumped to work on something with you.
Lastly, where is the best place people can find you? I know there's Tumblr and DevaintArt, but do you have anything else like Twitter? Maybe a website in the works?
Technically I have a twitter, but I post almost nothing there, so I'd say that the best place to see my stuff is through my art tag on tumblr.
You can find Sergle through the following links. And check out the stickers she’s selling over on RedBubble.
Hope you enjoyed the interview. You can leave feedback in the comments below, it’d be super appreciated! Or tweet me @DeadEnd_Seid and let me know of any artist you’d like me to interview in the future.